Preparation is the key to finding fantastic chances and performing well in job interviews.
When you’re prepared, you’ll perform better, stand out from the crowd, and land the finest job offer imaginable.
Here are five things to consider when applying for a job.
Your network will provide you with the best opportunities.
There’s no harm in putting your résumé out to see who responds, and you might find a terrific job this way. However, your finest opportunities will come from your network. Unfortunately, these possibilities are frequently not advertised on job boards or career pages, and the best way to obtain them is to excel in your industry.
This means two things are critical:
Develop ties with people in your industry to expand your network.
Make sure you don’t burn bridges by quitting a job without giving notice because you’re unhappy at work.
Do your homework before each interview.
Many candidates show up for interviews and begin answering questions. However, you’re capable of doing better. Prepare for your interviews by visiting their website and spending some time on Google researching basic information about their company before interviewing them. Following are some examples:
What exactly is their mission statement?
Who are their clients?
What are their current objectives (expansion, development of a new product, rise in margins)?
What kinds of jobs are they attempting to fill?
This minor amount of preparation will help you stand out in interviews.
You have something useful to offer—emphasize that you are applying for a job. However, that job position exists because the company requires your skills. Your job is to show them that you have what they’re seeking and that what you have to offer is beneficial to their business.
Approaching interviews with this mindset can help you make a stronger argument for why you’ll be a worthwhile candidate for the job, which means you’ll perform better in interviews and receive more job offers.
You’re telling a story about how the company will improve if you join it.
This is your interview approach, and it is directly related to the last point. You should continually demonstrate how your abilities and experience are beneficial to the organization and help it grow. But, again, this is a departure from the traditional interviewer, whose purpose is generally “I don’t want to mess this up.” or “I hope they like me.”
This is an excellent approach; but, how about some tactics?
Here’s a structure you can use to put this method into action when answering practically any interview question:
Determine the company’s goals and pain issues. Again, it would help if you understood based on the preliminary research in preparation for your interview.
Determine what abilities and experience you have that will assist them in achieving their goals or addressing their pain point. For example, you might contribute directly (you have experience in Sales in their vertical, and they are attempting to create money) or indirectly (an experienced software engineer who can help improve the product, making Sales’ work easier).
In attribute-for-need statements, combine the goals or pain points with the unique skillset or experience. For example, “My experience selling into this area can assist you in increasing income and growing your firm.” or “I’ll concentrate on developing high-quality software that consumers enjoy so that your sales force can close more deals and generate more leads.”
Set a beginning salary.
You’ll have to put in a lot of effort to expand your skillset, identify good prospects, and perform well in interviews. Then, when you get a job offer, make sure you follow through and negotiate your starting salary so you can optimize your starting salary and take full advantage of your new opportunity.
Most people will only have a few jobs during their lives. And shifting jobs is usually the best way to raise your compensation drastically. So please take advantage of it and bargain, rather than accepting their first offer.