I’ve been called for a job interview. What do I have to do?
A job interview is always a bit daunting I’ve been asked this question many times.
To be honest it’s positive the person I’m supporting in their exploration of the labour market is actually asking this question and isn’t assuming that nothing has to be done.
Unfortunately, in Italy many people have an obsolete attitude towards recruitment processes. In other words, they think that a job interview is like an oral exam at school where you show up and answer questions as well and as transparently as you can, so you can reveal what you’re like on a personal level. Obviously that’s a subject matter that everyone’s familiar with!!
If that’s what you think, you couldn’t be any more wrong.
An interview is a business event and must be treated accordingly. You therefore need to prepare for it even if you’re young and don’t have much experience.
Maura’s case
Just yesterday I met a person– let’s call her Maura for the sake of simplicity – who, after a period spent mainly looking after her children at home – two small kids – wanted to start her career over again and look for a job. She doesn’t feel like she’s achieved much in her life … but that’ something we’ll be looking at in another article.
Maura knows a lot of people and slowly but surely – after I suggested this – she began contacting a few people, asking to meet them to see if there might be a role for her in their organisations. One of these people agreed to meet her.
Now what has to be done?
Maura hadn’t “studied” the website of the company she’d be meeting. She didn’t even want to “peek” at the LinkedIn profile of the people she’d be meeting. She hoped they would like her. Period.
Let’s get a couple of things clear:
You do need to prepare since these tools exist nowadays. Years ago - before we had the Internet - it was almost impossible to find out about the company and the people you’d be meeting. Today it isn’t, so it’s your duty to do this. The companies and people you meet will be expecting it and even if they weren’t, they’ll certainly be impressed if you show them you’ve done your homework.
- LinkedIn is a public network where individuals provide information so that everyone who is interested can read this. Try not to be overly suspicious when you don’t have to be!
- The same applies for the websites of companies and organisations and for all the information available thanks to Google. You do need to prepare since these tools exist nowadays.
Gone are the times when you just show up and wait to hear the company’s verdict. This attitude does not pay. What does pay is having a sound level of initiative and enthusiasm which involves going to your interview with a smile on your face, with plenty of ideas about what you can do for the company. Don’t leave it to them to read things from your eyes. Recruiters are not magicians, believe me. If you want them to know about you, what you can do and what you can do for them, TELL THEM.
Even if you’ve sent your CV and you know there’s an open position or there is no open position. This is why they wanted to meet you: to get to know you, not for you to sit there in silence and have them assess you on the basis of a piece of paper they had already seen – and which got you the interview in the first place.
Anxiety can play tricks on you. I only know two methods: a rational one and a gentler one.
- The rational one involves preparing by thinking of the questions they might ask you and answering them out loud. Actors repeat their lines out loud, so you can do that too. You can find a lot of questions on this website too (see ebook).
- The soft approach consists in using breathing techniques, borrowed from yoga or autogenic training. You might even be doing a yoga course and know about techniques for concentrating. Use these techniques in a professional capacity. They work!
Finally, treat yourself/invest in an interview simulation with a professional like the ones at GoodGoing! It’s worth it.
