I tell some of my buddies that jobs are mostly lost at the interview stage. This does not even have to do with poor competencies or mistakes. Some candidates just don’t know how to create an excitement within their recruiters’ minds.

Except you are about to be employed by a quack firm or you know some very influential people within a certain company, you have as much chances of getting the job as your fellow candidates aiming for that same job. Once you are called for an interview, the recruiters already have seen something (or a lot of things) in your CV that qualifies you for the job. This is the first step!

Excellence during job interviews involves less of competencies or experiences. You can be the best candidate for a job and still not get it. It boils down to two things: Research and Psychology. I can assure you that once you are able to conquer these two things, the job interview will be as easy as anything. We will focus on Research now.

Research
Research forms the backbone of every step we take. Putting it in simple terms, research doesn’t make you take blind steps. Putting research into the context of your job interviews, you need to find out a couple of things about your potential recruiters that will make you sound like you both are speaking the same language. Here’s a list of research exercises that you can take:

• What does the company really do?
• Who are their clients?
• Visit their website and read more about their services
• Find out the HR personnel/Technical Lead/Managing Director of the company
• How long has the company been existing?
• Why do they need someone in your capacity?
• What is their work philosophy?

You can get a whole list of other things about any company by researching extensively online. You’d be shocked how easy your job interview be when you talk to your employer like you have been in the company for a couple of years. It boosts your confidence and unsettles your recruiters a bit.

Put it in mind that your employer wants someone that will perform in two aspects; competence and culture of the company. Once you know their culture and you show them that you know, it’s smooth sailing from then on.

To be continued…

Gina
CrazyCV
Free CV Rewrite and Review/Free Interview Assistance

http://www.crazycv.com/forums/topic/the-art-of-excelling-during-job-interviews/