- Be honest
- Be enthusiastic
- Develop rapport
- Answer questions with strong examples
In this two-part series, I’ll be discussing way to increase your confidence during interviews. Develop answers to basic questions and practice interviewing to build up these skills so that you impress your interviewer.
- Be honest! Do not answer every question in exactly the words and phrases that the company used, either in the job description, press release, or on their website.
You need to present yourself so the interviewer is able to evaluate your fit with the company. If you create a persona that fits their culture, but isn’t really you, it can be very difficult if you are offered the position. When you take the job, based on a persona that you created, you’ll need to put on that persona each and every day!
That is an awful burden – pretending to be someone you are not!
- Be enthusiastic! Sometimes being calm and professional may come across as uninterested and unenthusiastic about the position or the company.
While you want to appear calm and professional during the interview, you must also make the effort to show enthusiasm.
That enthusiasm must be genuine and appropriate to the situation. Show your enthusiasm by smiling and making eye contact as you answer questions. Be upbeat in your answers. Demonstrate what you know about the company in your answers. You probably won’t get the job if you admit that you don’t know what products or services the company provides.
Listen closely to the interviewer’s statements and questions. Be sure that you are answering the question the interviewer asked – not the question for which you already prepared an answer!