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Have you ever wondered why some people easily find interesting and good jobs, while for others the process of finding a job turns into a long marathon? Surely among your relatives and friends there are both. And if career success can be somehow explained by the presence of profitable acquaintances or just luck, then unsuccessful attempts to get a job are depressing and cause deep bewilderment. What’s the matter? Let’s try to figure it out.
Common mistakes in hiring
The first and most banal is the appearance of a person coming for an interview. It happens that a recruiting agency or a meeting with an employer “runs in along the way” from the garage, from the store, on the way to the beach or car wash. Dear applicants, you should not combine the solution of everyday issues with an interview. It is absolutely unacceptable to appear at an interview in a tracksuit, T-shirt and shorts, with shopping bags in hand. Saying «I’m renovating» won’t protect you from losing that first impression. A visit to an employer or a recruitment agency requires compliance with a certain dress code adopted in this field of activity.
Some candidates prefer to come to the interview accompanied by relatives. Psychologically, this is justified, since for parents the first workplace of the child is the same as the first time in the first grade. However, do not forget that your child has grown up and has become a specialist after graduation, so do not interfere with your child to prove himself at the interview.
If the applicant is accompanied by an active spouse, then here, I assure you, it comes to jokes. For example, an active other half seizes the initiative and instead of the candidate begins to answer questions from the employer. In such a situation, the candidate himself looks like a person who is not able to express himself. After such a visit, the employees of the recruitment agency unanimously feel sorry for the poor fellow, but they cannot take responsibility for providing the employer with a lethargic and uninitiative employee. The end result is rejection.
Being late for an appointment with an employer can also be a significant blow to your business image. Explanations about traffic jams and other «force majeure circumstances» are usually not accepted. Immediately there is a suspicion that in the future you will violate the work schedule. Therefore, it is better to go to the interview with enough time to arrive on time. After all, you may no longer have the chance to make a first impression of yourself.
How to prepare for an interview in order to finally move from the status of a candidate to the status of an employee of the company and start working?
Confirm the non-randomness of your choice
Of course, you need to prepare for the interview in advance. It is advisable to think over possible questions and your answers to them, to write a summary. Try to find out as much detail as possible about your future activities. Find out what the company-employer specializes in, and then think about what you find interesting and promising in this job. Link your interest in the nature of the job to your choice of school or to specific disciplines that you were particularly interested in.
If you’re about to apply for a job for the first time, you certainly don’t have any practical experience yet. Therefore, the only plus that the employer will undoubtedly appreciate is the level of your motivation. It is important for each employer how interested you are in the activity that will bring him money. And your task is to prove to him that you are highly motivated to engage in this activity.
It will also be useful to identify all the negative aspects of the work, such as the need to constantly sit at the computer, frequent trips, flights, etc. This can help you figure out what you’re willing to do with these problems. Your ability and willingness to overcome difficulties is also important for the employer and may be the subject of your discussion when applying for a job.
By the way, it will be useful to remember what happened in your life when you had to face similar difficulties and how you overcame them. Your constructive approach is important, for example, the ability to break a complex problem into smaller and easier to solve.
Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses
Make a list of your «strengths» and «weaknesses» in advance, as well as the features of your communication and behavior. Then, from this long list, select those that may even indirectly affect the work that you have to do. This is where the knowledge about your possible work gained in the previous step will come in handy.
For example, if you have to work with documentation, it is good to mention that you are careful and frugal in relation to information carriers; if with clients, then your sociability will come in handy; if you are expected to sometimes work overtime, then it is not bad to find in yourself working capacity, stress resistance. It will be very good if you confirm this with some cases from life that directly or indirectly prove the presence of this good beginning in you.
As for your «weak» sides, they must be turned into virtues: slowness — into the desire to complete everything to the end, meticulousness — into a responsible attitude to business, etc. Those character traits that characterize you not from the best side and may interfere employment, it is better not to name.
«Why did you quit your previous job?»
Get ready for this question. For a potential employer, the motivation for your departure is very important. Feel free to talk about something that did not suit you at your previous place of work. However, criticism is good in moderation. Think for yourself: if you want to work in trade, then it will be very strange for the employer to hear from you that at your previous place of work you were annoyed by the need to smile at customers. List acceptable reasons for your dismissal.
Three little secrets
You can significantly win over the interlocutor if you use three simple rules of communication:
— smile
— measure the time when answering a question (preferably within 1-3 minutes)
— address the interlocutor by name
In conclusion, I want to remind you that your task is to get as much information as possible about the vacancy and about the company at the interview. It may very well be that the procedures established in the company, for example, the work schedule or penalties, will not suit you at all. In this case, you can not rush to answer, but take time to think. The final choice is yours.