What happens when you get called for an interview for the first time?

Do you start to worry and become anxious? Do you start to overthink things? Do you get nervous about what you shall be asked in the interview? Do you become conscious about your resume or attire?

All these questions are overwhelming for you since you are appearing for the first time in an interview – and you have not done any interviews in the past.  

Let’s come out of the dilemma of your jitters – and read the entire article for a better understanding of how to make the best out of your interview offer. A survey on recently qualified university students suggests that 70% of the candidates are unaware of how to prepare themselves for the interview. On the contrary, another survey, which we targeted interviewers for, depicted that 90% of interview-candidates don’t even have a complete resume. 55% interviewers were of the view that candidates don’t show up on time – and the list goes on. This article will walk you through all the essential – but must-to-do things before you walk in for a first interview – and these tips will eventually lead you to your 100% job success.

Using Job Description as a Tool Only 30% of job seekers go through the job description in the early stages of their job hunt. That’s true. The only thing that irritates hiring managers is you randomly applying to the job – without looking into it –and actually analyzing that whether is it really for you or not If you are serious about getting a job – you need to use the job description as a tool. It can aid you a lot in preparing for your first interview. It contains a secret wealth of information that you would be using in your interview. For example, the name and the intro of the company, your role, and responsibilities, the list of essential skills, the company culture, perks, and benefits, etc. Prepare a list of question, and take some important notes which will essentially help you feel self-assured and motivated during the interview.

Here is a list of questions you can extract from the JD: 

1. Is this job for me? Is there any gap between the skills I have shown in my resume and what the company is looking for?
2. Did I meet my previously set up goals and objectives?
3. What are my weaknesses and strengths?
4. What is the company culture? This way, you would look more prepared as well as a determined candidate. Never undervalue and underutilize the job description. My hunch is that the success criteria will be close to 80%.
5. Your Resume Never underestimate the hiring managers or the recruiters when hunting for your job. They are well-trained to accept or reject you. For trained hiring managers, it takes them a few seconds to decide whether you are a good fit for the job or not. Hence, pay much attention to it.

Now you start thinking of making it a bit nicer and improve it than your previous one. The first thing that crosses your mind is how to organize your resume content. There are a lot of resume samples over the internet that can help you come up with the one you think is the best one for you to impress the recruiters. Your resume should start with a professional summary of your key skills and objectives, which should be right below your name.

It’s good to make it about the career you’re pursuing, while the rest of your resume's layout being of a high standard. The ideal layout of a resume goes like your professional summary, then key highlights of your skills, your work experience or history, and then your education. 3.   What exactly the company is, for which you are going to walk in for an interview? Have you thought of it? If not, let’s put on your detective hat and investigate the company to better prepare yourself for the interview. Wondering why? Because by doing quick research on the potential employer helps you know what does the employer do, its values and culture, its worth in the market, the skills it is looking for in the candidate, etc. Imagine if the employer asks you a question, “What do you know about the company.” You being able to answer very well for all the other questions you were asked, except for your knowledge about the company, would not turn out to be a good symptom for them to hire you. You should consider this to be a very significant question in your interview. Let’s go a step further in preparing for this question in order to answer this question effectively.

Not sure how to do it? Following points tell you how to gather information about the company; ·        

Look at the JD – it shows the company’s precise details – benefits and culture it lays out for its employees, its mission and vision, and the services it provides.

• Any recent news and events
• The company's clients, products, and services 
•  The person who shall be the interviewer
• The company’s overall rating Above key points are stated for you to review, since you will then feel yourself as a standout candidate in your first interview. 

Dress up nicely, first impression does matter So, now that all the stuff is ready. The next step is to decide what to wear- business or professional attire. Since you have gathered specific information about the company – and now you know very well the attire you are going to put on that specific day of your interview. Your first impression is the last. With that being said, just open-up your wardrobe and straightaway get into choosing what you shall be wearing. It might be silly, but you have to dive in with your styling skills. You should choose some neutral tones for your dress, neither should they be very dark nor light. Believe me, being neutral in dressing can have a great impact on your first interview whilst meeting with the hiring managers. The colors have a huge impact on the ambiance, (doesn’t matter whether it’s the color of a wall or a dress). So, have an open mind in your dress selection. The decisions and preparations made at the last moment are never appreciated nor do they lead to success. You need to do your preparation one day before the interview to avoid any chaos on the big day. 5.   Introduce yourself – are you ready for it?   The first question one’s usually asked with is, Tell something about yourself. Primarily, the recruiters want to hear a pertinent answer from you about your experience for the job you’re being interviewed for. You need to be professional here. They don’t want to know about your personal life and your hobbies, (which your resume already entails), but your persona regarding your career and your passion.  Behind your success is only “YOU”.  You have to be reliant on your abilities and qualification. “The Hiring Manager is going to choose you; he is not going to make you” What I mean to say here is that you must have confidence and firm belief in yourself, the appalling hesitation can ruin all of your efforts. You need to show the potential and energy that is expected of you. 6.   Art of Responding interviewer Questions This part is going to be the last hurdle that you’ll face in the interview, you might be asked about; ·        Tell us something about you? ·        Why do you think this job is important for you? ·        How you find yourself a good fit for the position? ·        What are your ambitions in the future? ·        What strategies do you suggest to accelerate the growth of our company? ·        What’s the feature or aspect of our industry that captivated you towards us? Respond to each one of the above – and other questions smartly. Don’t elaborate unnecessarily, until or unless you are asked to do so. It is needless to say that preparing the answers for these questions in advance – and answering them relevantly – shows your worth to the recruiters.

Final Thought

The first interview is something that may be a game-changer or a turning point in pursuing your whole career. If you get an invite for an interview, never take it for granted. You have to ace your first interview by hook or by crook. Everybody gets the golden chance in his or her life – but a few know how to inherently avail that chance. Your selection will not come with ease, it’ll come with self-esteem and the will to hard work which you have to portray in your interview. This is how you will convert your first interview to the final interview – and then, hopefully, you will get hired! Best of luck!