5 tips for the ultimate job interview preparation

When the job interview invitation lands in your inbox, all of a sudden insecurities and nerves seem to hit us. Especially when it’s your first interview in a new country, the expectations on the employers’ end might be different and you want to prepare yourself accordingly. You don’t know what to expect and want your performance to meet up with expectations. All the more reason to chat a bit more about the things you can prepare to feel confident your next job interview. In this post, I will provide 5 tips to support a solid job interview preparation.

Why is job interview preparation important?

OK, I believe job interview preparation is Key in having an amazing job interview. Why? If you know what to expect and if you prepared yourself accordingly, you feel confident. This will support setting a trustworthy image of yourself during the interview. I already mentioned it before, the applying process looks like dating. You first have to like each other before you start a relationship. The job interview is THE most common way to find out if you like each other.

Now, please know everyone needs a different level of job interview preparation. Some like to prepare everything and leave nothing to coincidence, others need a general approach and too much preparation will only make them nervous. So, before you dive into your job interview preparation. You might want to figure out what works best for you.

A bit more about Expectations

In the first paragraph of this blog, I mentioned the expectations of the employer briefly. Employers expect to meet a professional in his or her area of expertise and someone who knows him or herself. This last point relates to knowing how you contribute and want to contribute in a team and to the companies success. More about this topic can be found within the Masterclass Know How You Contribute, part of the Catalyse Your Job Search Member Programme.

What I notice is that the confidence in your professionalism, in your way of working all of the sudden seems to disappear when we have a job interview coming up. This is such a pity since this professionalism will help you to land a second-round interview and secure a job offer. This is why I believe job interview preparation is Key. It will bring back and keep the confidence on the table for your upcoming interview.

5 Tips for the ultimate job interview preparation

Let’s face it, you made it to the interview stage, which means you already beat 95% of the other candidates. This calls for a celebration. No matter what you do, they can’t take this away from you anymore. Time to hand over some tips to keep this smile on your face and keep your confidence high. Here are 5 tips for the ultimate job interview preparation:

 1. Know what you want to get out of this job interview

What we tend to forget is that a job interview is a 2-way street. It is an opportunity on both sides to get to know each other better and see if you like each other. So before you head over to the interview don’t forget to note down what you would like to get out of this job interview. What are your goals, what is important for you? Is it not getting nervous? Or perhaps have the first experience with a Dutch/European employer? Want to find out more about the company culture?

 2. Preparation is Key

I still run into people who don’t prepare for job interviews and then are disappointed or surprised they never receive a job offer. If I ask them about their job search preparation, they tell me they didn’t prepare for whatever reason. Such a pity, since job interview preparation will help you to bring your experience to the table and convince the employer you are the best hire. This is WHY I believe job interview preparation is key. The ultimate job interview preparation consists of all points mentioned in this blog.

One pointer to help you in your preparation. What we tend to focus on is the question: “What is the recruiter/hiring manager wants to hear?” and think about suitable answers to this question. Instead of thinking about the things we want to share during the job interview based on the requirements of the vacancy published. Of course, there will be more or less standard questions in a job interview. But you decide how you would like to answer them based on your experience and the examples you wish to share.

 3. Listening is Queen

During a job interview, the recruiter/manager usually leads the conversation and this is fine. If you listen carefully, you will find out what they are looking for, what they expect from someone in this position and more. But because of the nerves, because we want to share our story or many other reasons, we forget to listen. Listening will allow you to ask critical questions and in-depth questions about expectations, direction and company culture. Ask questions if things are not clear to you. So, leaning back and listening carefully to establish an image of the job opening at hand.

 4. Know how you contribute

This is an important point also addressed in the Membership Masterclass Knowing How You contribute. I always like to take myself as an example to explain what I mean by this. If you and I both would be career coaches, people will immediately notice the difference in approach between you and me. Just because we are different people.

Your way of working together with your knowledge make a difference, this is your added value to a company. So think about the way you approach things and how you differ from the person sitting next to you. The Masterclass mentioned can be found within the Catalyse Your Job Search Member Programme and will share some simple and practical ways to find about more about your way of working.

This also relates to things like dealing with stress and difficult situations at work. Be prepared to answer questions about these topics.

 5. Trust your professionalism

You are a professional in your field and it’s up to you to highlight this professionalism. During the job interview, a recruiter/manager wants to check your professionalism and hear that you know about new developments in your area of expertise, find out the GAPs between your knowledge and what they need within the company and so on. The job interview is THE opportunity to share what you know about certain topics and highlight your accomplishments. Employers expect you to be a professional and this makes you responsible for your professional development. Your ability to highlight and relate your knowledge and skills to the requirements set by the company will show you professionalism. No need to worry about this if you already made it to the interview stage.

Key Take-Away from these 5 tips

These are my 5 tips for you for the ultimate job interview preparation. I hope the take-away is the fact that you can do this, that you can nail this upcoming job interview if you prepare yourself. That it is YOU who decides the stories you want to share. This also means you want to set aside some time for job interview preparation if you have a job interview coming up.

 Increase effective job interview preparation

During the individual Job Interview Prep sessions, I support you individually to prepare for your upcoming job interview. These sessions not only allow you to speak your answers out loud, but they will also help you to reshape your answer to the expectations and it will shed some light on the blind spots – the things you missed out on. With my professional experience, I have been able to help many people to prepare to secure a job offer during their next job interview and land the job they desire.

If this is what you are looking for, grab all information about the interview preparation session over here.