Going to your first job interview is likely to be a
very frightening experience for most new job seekers.
After all, this first interview combines the
frightening aspects of venturing into the unknown and
being judged for your responses. Fortunately, there
are things that you can do to make the process easier
and less nerve-wracking. For starters, you can begin
by learning as much as possible about the target
company before you go in for the interview. At the
very least you should gain a basic understanding of
the industry, the company and how the target job fits
into the company. Additionally, you should get a clear
understanding of the daily duties of the target job.
Since it is your first job interview, chances are that
the job you are targeting does not require an
extensive amount of experience. Still, the company
does expect for the person they hire to be able to
come in and do the work in a short time period. The
better you are able to convince the interviewer that
your life experience from your summer jobs, your
academic career, your hobbies and your activities
translates to an ability to perform the target job
then the better you will be able to get the job. Think
back over your activities and life experiences with an
eye to how they might be similar to the requirements
of the job. You will be surprised how well some of
them match up. That’s no coincidence. Many of the
activities that schools encourage are designed to
create better workers in the future.
More First Job Interview Strategies
In your first job interview, you might be able to
discuss how your academic research has prepared you to
perform the research for this first job. You might be
able to discuss how your leadership in student
politics or sports has given you experience working
with groups. Whatever you decide to focus on, your
case will be helped if you are able to tell about your
experience in a way that matches or parallels the
environment and requirements of the target job.
For your first job interview, be sure to tell about
your experience in stories that describe the situation
that you faced, the actions that you took and the
results you achieve. These examples are more
interesting, more vivid and more memorable than simple
statements about your abilities. Practice this sort of
answer ahead of time and even record it to see what
areas still need more work to sound natural and
convincing. Last but not least, dress appropriately
for the interview, make sure that you get there on
time, and let the interviewer take the lead of
conversational topics. Above all, relax. After this
first job interview, they all get a lot easier. To
take advantage of the learning process, it’s a good
idea to schedule as many interviews as possible ahead
of your “dream” or “long-shot” job interview. Going to
interviews, succeeding, practicing and getting job
offers is great preparation for the big interview.
After all, you don’t want to have your first job
interview also be your dream job interview.
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