8 Creative Surefire Ways to Nail Your Job Interview

Aug 22nd, 2007 by Leonid Shalimov | Scroll down for comments

We all have that anticipated new job that we need to have. Future decisions like this can often stir us to become nervous and impatient but don’t fret! Here are 8 surefire ways to make sure that you nail your interview and get the job you’ve always wanted.

1. Stalk your company, hang outside their offices.

Go to your company two or three days beforehand (if possible/practical) and hang out. Yea, you heard it. See what people are talking about, get a feel for the attitude, note how they are dressed.

Obviously you won’t always be able to do this. If it’s a really small company you could get noticed and then in your job interview the boss will say, “Hey, weren’t you the creepy guy hanging outside the building two days ago smoking a cigarette?”. And then comes the awkward silence.

If this happens. Admit to it. You might be relieved to know that they appreciate you taking the time out to check out how their company works. I have to stress, don’t go into the interview blindfolded. You wouldn’t pick a fight if you didn’t know who you were fighting right?

2. Get a piece of paper and make a visual time line of your past achievements.

Get out a piece of blank paper, grab a pen and sit down at a warm and comfy desk. Ready? Starting with the farthest memory you have, write down some huge achievements you have made in previous jobs. Keep working up the list until you arrive at your most recent job.

Visualize these achievements, embed them into your brain and lastly, bring them up and use them in your interview to secure your position.

3. Show your value, bring your best to the table.

When you sit down, let the person who’s interviewing you know that you can earn them money, why else would they want to hire you? Let them know how you would be valuable to them. Make them believe in your worth. Be passionate.

4. Bring your god-damn resume to the interview, oh and be polite.

Interviewing people who don’t bring their resumes is a pain in the ass. You make me have to go back to my computer, open my e-mail, print out another copy, come back and sit with you while your enjoying the water I graciously offered to you. Don’t forget it, it’s a stupid mistake.

And also, be polite to the secretary (if applicable) or assistant. You never know how much actual influence they may have on the person they are ‘assisting’. I know many people who have best friends for secretaries and assistants (although that would be a weird relationship, giving out orders all the time to your best friend).

5. Listen, don’t speak.

Unless the person who is interviewing you is actively asking you questions to get a conversation going, take the time out to actually listen to what the person is saying. Don’t be running through your own thoughts and what you want to say while the other person is talking. You will miss out on important criteria and information by doing this.

This may seem a little obvious but I assure you that 90% of people do this. Stop worrying about yourself so much and try to figure out what type of person the company wants to hire. Become that person.

6. People are greedy and selfish, cater to their needs.

Blah blah you want to do this and that and the fourth thing, and oh that other thing as well. The interviewer is not really interested in what you want. They are interested in what you can do for their company.

Believe it or not, people are selfish and want to make the most money possible (who would’ve thought), that’s why you need to express what you can do for the company, not what you want to do.

7. At least make it seem like you know what you’re talking about.

If at any point in the interview they ask you a question that you have absolutely no answer to, at least try. “I don’t know” is probably the worst thing to say. Make something up!

The interviewer might throw weird questions at you to try induce some creative thought or problem solving abilities. Stay light on your feet (the ones in your head) and keep calm. As long as you can think a problem out and come up with a sound solution, you should be well ahead of most interviewee’s.

8. Applesauce can ruin lives.

I interviewed a candidate one day. It was supposed to be like any other day, except this guy sat down and had applesauce stain right above his belly. Not a lot, about a spoonful. How did I know it was applesauce? The smell.

He finally noticed what I was looking at and actually ran out of the office. I sat there for about fifteen minutes just digesting what just happened. What’s the moral of the story? Clean yourself up, look professional.

Leonid Shalimov posted this article under Personal Development, Business Development on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007 at 10:02 am You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment or trackback from your own site. View Technorati Linkbacks.