A job interview is usually stressful. You spend hours preparing for the ‘unknown’. Basically, you have no clue on how the interview could go or how many people are going to be on the panel. You are also faced with the task of convincing yourself that you are the ‘one’. The perfect candidate.

Having a job interview goes beyond preparations. In as much as you think you are a perfect fit, there are basic qualities and mannerisms that you must possess in order to have an edge over other candidates. If you have been called for an interview severally without success, the problem isn’t your qualification. There are things that you probably are not paying attention to. You sure are guaranteed success with these few tips that we have highlighted:


Dress Smart: Human beings possess different senses and there are elements that appeal to our subconscious minds. What appeals to our subconscious differs – probably a result of environmental conditioning or self-reasoning. Dressing smart does not necessarily mean wearing a suit or a tie. Dressing smart means that you understand the kind of industry and you have an idea of the kind of dressing suits that industry. You will probably look very odd wearing a three-piece suit for a job interview as a factory worker or wearing a pair of jeans for a bank interview. Also pay attention to how your body looks in certain outfits. Don’t wear a suit just because it’s Giorgio Armani and then you look like you borrowed it from an uncle. Dress like you fit the role. Your confidence will be boosted.

Impress, don’t please: If you are faced with an experienced HR Manager, it becomes very easy to know when you are trying very hard to please. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Leave a lasting impression on them but don’t always act like you are trying to please them. Do away with ‘Good day ma’, thank you ma, God bless you sir. Concentrate on the interview, not the interviewer.

Have a good sense of humor: This is perhaps one of the most important aspects to consider when going for a job interview. This indirectly ties into leaving a good impression on them. Rather than just knowing how to do the job, the interviewers also want to know if you are a nice person to work with. Do you have people skills? How well can you relate with people you just met? The ability to tell ‘relatable’ stories of past work experiences is a great thing. The amazing thing about having a good sense of humor is that it reduces your degree of nervousness.

Research about the company: This is supposed to be part of your preparations for your job interview. You need to have basic understanding about the company and its operations. If you don’t do this, how then can you convince your interviewers that you can offer value to them?

Learn to speak good English: You must understand how to string up words together to produce a good sentence in English. Remember that the interview process isn’t just to test your ability to do the job. It also tests your appearance and communication skills. You must be able to convince them on why you are the best fit for the job by being fluent in English Language.

Listen and understand the question: This is not a contest for the fastest person to respond. Listen and understand the question before replying. If you need some time to pause and analyze the question, that’s fine. However, you need to understand the question before you can give answers.

Maintain Eye Contact: Always look at the members of the panel during a job interview. It does a couple of things. It shows them that you are quite confident in yourself and your level of concentration. An important factor to note is that eye-contacts have an appealing feature. They tend to compel people to believe what you are saying. When you maintain the eye-contact with your interviewers, you are certainly selling to them something that you believe in and in the process, unconsciously compelling them to believe you.

Do not brag: Just because we said impress doesn’t mean you should act like you are the best thing that ever happened to interviews. You need to leave a good impression but do not brag about achievements. Remember that human beings have subconscious elements that they are attracted to or not attracted to. Depending on your interviewer, bragging may be misinterpreted as a show of over-confidence and you could get a negative score for that.

Make peace with your previous employer: Most of us hate to read this but it’s the truth. Your previous employer – if stated on your CV must have a few good things to say about you and you about them. Nowadays, especially with the shortage of jobs, interviewers are looking to minimize errors in recruitment so they usually make certain inquiries from the candidate’s previous employers on behavior and skill. Never bad mouth your previous employers when you are asked about them. Most interviewers see it as rude and are usually on the guard when this happens. If you can bad mouth your previous employers, you can also do the same when leaving their company. That’s a NO-NO!

Ask spontaneous questions and give compliments: The ability to ask questions that aren’t expected also show an alive and inquisitive mind. A simple ‘I’m curious to know how it feels like working in such a large organisation?’ does wonders and massages the ego of your interviewers.

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