Landing that first job can occur with the passing of several milestones, but for most it happens upon graduation, either from high school or college. Upon receiving that diploma or degree, the real world seems to set in rather quickly so you get your act together quickly, hunting for potential job opportunities and mailing out resumes. If all goes well, you will have an interview lined up as quickly as possible; but that is just one piece to the puzzle. It may sound like an odd question, but do you really know how to act during an interview?
Your actions during an interview can either make or break your impression on the hiring manager. Never fear though, there are five easy things you can do to boost your first impression, ultimately increasing your chances of being hired.
Professional Appearance
Okay, so step one—make yourself appear as professional as possible. In other words, make sure that your attire is business-oriented. Basically, what you’re wearing right now won’t cut it. Dig deep into that closet of yours and find appropriate clothing. Now you don’t have to have an $800.00 suit to pull off a professional appearance, but a good dress shirt and tie definitely doesn’t hurt. Even of the job you are applying for has a dress code already established, it never hurts to look your best during the interview. If it helps, pretend that you are going to a meeting with the president. You wouldn’t wear a track suit to such an event, would you?
Body Language
Your mouth isn’t the only thing that can speak. Your body can do just as much talking if you let it. Ellyn from QLP suggests that self-motivation, positive attitude, organization, and confidence are the 4 most important traits to exude to hiring managers. Upon arriving at the interview, walk in confidently and always start your interview with a firm handshake. A “limp fish” handshake—or a weak handshake—never looks good to employers. Throughout the course of your interview be sure to uphold your eye contact with the hiring manager as well as preparing yourself to answer whatever question that might be thrown at you. And of course, don’t slouch! Your posture says a lot about you.
Attentiveness
Oddly enough, a number of job interviewees will arrive on time for an interview but then fall off mentally as the interview progresses. By that I mean that candidates will literally vacate their own heads and become robots, just staring around silently, not asking questions, and simply nodding to every sentence. Show employers that you grateful and enthusiastic about the position being applied for. Similar to being back as school, you need to be present and accounted for during an interview too. Ask questions, give insight, etc. When employers come across someone who simply isn’t enthusiastic during an interview, they already assume that the same will be true upon entering you into the workplace as well.
Personal Grooming
While it should be fairly obvious, most employers don’t want to hire a werewolf that just crawled out of bed, so take a shower and grab that razor of yours and get to trimming. No employer is going to want a personal health hazard mingling in with their rest of their workforce. On the morning of your interview be sure to wash your hair, clean your fingernails, and always, always, always, put on deodorant. After all, you don’t want your first impression to be your pungent body odor.
Overall Preparedness
Know your prey! Do a little background search on the company or business you are hoping to work for. In today’s day and age, research should come fairly easy as most reputable businesses have websites that describe in detail who they are, what they do, and their goals. A website would also give you a deeper insight into the demographic or customer base being targeted. Any knowledge you obtain from this research can be incorporated into your conversation with the HR rep interviewing you. It shows the hiring manager just how enthusiastic you are about landing this job.
