With so many people chasing each job these days, merely being called to an interview is an accomplishment in itself. However, it is the last fence and it would be a pity to fall at it. Therefore, if you come this far, you should pull out all the stops, exactly like a race horse goes flat out in the last furlong.
The intention of this piece is to provide you with some tips that might just help you be triumphant at your interview.
The first thing to do is research the company. That is very easy to do these days, because every company tries to establish an Internet presence. You may know your job inside out, but you will have to know about the company who is providing the career as well.
One of the most commonly asked questions at a job interview is: how do you think you will benefit our company? or How do you think you will fit into our company? You can only answer these questions if you know about the company.
You ought to acquaint yourself with the names of the key members of the company and read the pieces on them. These articles will tell you the history of the person’s career, hobbies or interests and perhaps about his or her family (married with two children).
You should also learn the history of the firm: when it was established and by whom. Whether it has overseas branches and when, if ever, it got its stock market listing. Has its share price been increasing or falling and why? Do currency fluctuations have a major effect on the company and is it better to have a robust or weak home currency for that firm?
Do you know who will be interviewing you? Is it an outside recruiting firm or is it a member of the company’s staff? Endeavour to find out something about your interviewer. You never know it might benefit you even if the interviewer is from an external firm. The least you ought to do is remember the interviewer’s name before being introduced.
Endeavour to learn something about your possible future colleagues. Is there anyone well-known there? Or has any of them written a book, given lectures or published papers? If so, say that you are looking forward to working with ’so and so’, because you admire their work on ’so and so’, which he/she wrote on so expressively in their book called ’so and so’. Do not be afraid to show that you have done some research.
Write down the questions you think you will be asked, write out responses and practice them. Read and reread them out loud until you can roll them off naturally. Get a friend to help you to think of questions and ask them to listen to your replies. Tell them to warn you of any quirky habits you have like messing with your hair or beard,
Lay out your clothes the day before so that you do not have to worry about what to wear. In general, darker colours and conservative styles are the best clothes to wear, unless you are going for a career in a fashion design firm. Dress the part and strive not to look too flashy. There might even be a dress code that you could find out about – look on the website or ring up.
Finally, put your passport, birth certificate and resume in your bag or pocket, just in case, carry a lovely pen and a business card if you have one. A small note pad might come in handy as well.
Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on lots of subjects, but is currently involved with Jobs for Translators. If you would like to know more go to our web site at Real Translator Jobs Advice.