How To Nail An Interview

Have you got a job interview approaching? Do you want to not only do well, but nail the interview? Well, keep reading for some ideas on how you can do that!

Interviews are a vital part of an IT professional’s career. You’ve likely had, or will have, quite a few interviews over your career - some that went well, some not so well. I’ve listed some tips below that I hope prove useful on the best way to nail an interview.

Before The Interview

Lots of the work for an interview is performed before the actual interview begins. It gets you set up and in a great position to get the employment you’re going for. Some pointers on activities to do prior to the interview are:

• Explore the company - Look up the organization, their website, any news articles about them. Find a bit about how they work, and what they look for. Its possible you have done this when you put together your resume, but this will assist to get it fresh in your mind.

• Bring your resume - Not many people do this anymore, and recruiters usually have a copy with them. Having said that, if you bring a copy of your resume, itreveals you’re dedicated and prepared for the interview.

• Bring a notepad - If you bring a notepad to an interview, it displays you’re willing to take notes and are thinking about what the recruiter has to say.

• Dress smart - The attire you wear to the interview play a large part in the first impression of you in the interview. Dress right for the job and the interview. If you’re not sure, dress on the more careful side - business attire is recommended.

• Set Your Facebook User profile to Private - It’s typical practice among recruiters to check out a candidate’s social networking profiles, such as Facebook. Even though you don’t have anything embarrassing on there, it’s a smart idea to set it to private or friends only.

• Be On Time - Nothing gives a worse first impression than turning up late to an interview. Ensure that you’re on time. Ensure you consider any situation that can go wrong in getting there - delays with trains and buses, insufficient car parks, elevators not working. It’s advisable to be a half hour early than a few minutes late!

• Turn Your Phone Off - Be sure that your phone is switched off for the interview. Turning it onto silent could possibly be a possibility, and if you do that it’s recommended that you turn off the vibrate function, as a phone vibrating in your pocket may sidetrack you within the interview. If you wish to nail an interview, you don’t need any potential distractions - to either you or the interviewer.

During The Interview

The time has come that you’ve been waiting for. The chance to speak with someone with the business and ideally get a position with them. Several ways to boost your odds are:

• Smile and Be Polite - When you meet the recruiter, grin and shake their hand. Be polite and friendly. They don’t need to learn about your life dramas. A confident attitude and a nice smile significantly help.

• Don’t Badmouth Your Previous Employer - It might appear like it’s acceptable at that moment, or you might need to explain the reason you’re there, but there’s no reason to speak negatively about a former employer. They might think you’ll do the same to them whenever you look for the next job.

• Mention Your Goals - This exhibits assurance and direction for your career, and also passion for what you do. If you know where you need to go, and how the job fits into your goals, it shows the business you know what you want. It also can help the employer in determining whether they want to hire you or not.

• Promote Your Accomplishments - The most important tip to anyone going for an interview is to be able to sell themselves. Interviews are about convincing an employer that they really should hire you. The ideal way to do that is to promote your feats. Mention things you’ve completed in the past as a way to meet deadlines or deliver projects or work together with teams. Even when you have no experience, you may mention that you’ve successfully passed a degree or certification and achieved certain marks. Target the positive!

• Ask Questions - This portion of the interview isn’t just a pleasantry. It’s a good chance to indicate you’ve been being attentive and are thinking about the company. Try to come up with a few questions from your initial research, and possibly a couple of from the interview itself. Questions on salary, or taking leave days, or anything like that might be best left to later in the process when you’re confident you have the job.

After The Interview

Once the interview has finished, congratulations, a lot of the hard work is finished! Having said that, there are a few actions to take to assist your chances a little bit further and learn how to nail an interview:

• Thank Them For His Or Her Time - When leaving the interviewer, say goodbye to them in a equivalent way you met them. Smile, shake their hand, and thank them for his or her time. This can show consideration and professionalism.

• Send A Thank You Follow-Up - This isn’t a thing that everyone does, which is the reason I think it’s advisable for you to do this. Thanking the interviewer a few days after the actual interview is a great little trick to jump out from the crowd. It should help your chances too!


I hope these tips show you how to nail an interview - if you have one coming up or just for a bit of general interview knowledge!