You found your perfect company using one of the online job sites in the Philippines, you have sent your well crafted resume using the techniques in the resume writing tips that you’ve read. And now, the company have called you for an interview.
Job Interview Tips
Preparations Before the Interview
1. Familiarize yourself with the company you are applying for.
You can visit their website or google news or articles about them. An employer would appreciate it if they find you have knowledge about their company and this would demonstrate that you are really interested in working for them.
2. Review the description of the job vacancy.
This will help you highlight your qualifications and skills that fit the job requirements during your interview.
3. Dress neatly and appropriately.
If the company has a formal dress code, then you should also dress formally when you come to the interview. If you find that they dress casually, you should also come wearing clean casual clothes. If you have no idea, come in semi-casual attire.
It is important that you research the dress code beforehand. It is distracting to come to an interview wearing very formal clothes and your interviewer is only wearing casual clothes. Try not to dress above your interviewer.
4. Don’t wear strong perfume.
Again this could be distracting and your interviewer may happen to be allergic to strong perfumes.
5. Practice answering common interview questions.
It will help you be more confident in front of your interviewer plus it will save theirs and your time.
Common questions are — tell me something about yourself. Tell a bit about your personal background but make sure to highlight your skills and previous work experiences.
Another question would be — why do you think we should hire you. You can highlight your qualifications but also give them an idea what it is like working with you.
Skills and experiences are important but so is personality. The employer must also make sure that you will be able to work with their existing team.
What to do During the Actual Interview
1. Come early.
This will help you become familiar with the place. You won’t feel rushed. And this is also a courtesy to the interviewer.
2. Make sure you brought extra copies of your resume and a pen.
This is to make sure that you have a copy incase the interviewer misplaced theirs. The pen is for taking down notes that you may need to write.
3. Turn off your phone.
We used to have this interviewee who felt the need to answer a call in the middle of an interview. Please do not do this. This clearly shows that you do not respect your interviewer’s time. What more if they let you in the company. Don’t do this. It will give a very negative impression about you and may even cost you from getting the job.
4. An interview is about gauging the applicant’s qualification and feeling if they can fit the company culture.
Do your best to be confident. Try your best to make the interviewer feel that you are interested in the job and try to make them feel that you are on their side.
In the end, it is all about helping the company you will work for while they help you grow in your career.
When to Follow Up after a Job Interview
After the interview, the interviewer may require you to take some exams or they won’t depending on the company or how impressive you were.
They will usually say, they will give you feedback after a few days.
Wait a week or two before you follow up. The application process can take a few weeks sometimes even over a month.
By delaying your follow up, you won’t sound needy and you won’t give the impression that you are demanding during work.
If they give you feedback, and they say, they found someone else more suitable for the job, thank them and tell them not to hesitate calling you incase the job becomes open again.
This will help you leave a good impression on the employer.
With regards to rejection, don’t be too hard on yourself and don’t take it too seriously. Sometimes it just happens that the company finds that you don’t match what they are looking for.
Pick yourself up and move on to your next prospect.
If you do get the job, congratulations. Make sure you do your best. Every company you work for will help you build your career.