Asking questions in an interview demonstrates your interest.
In today’s competitive job environment it’s important to be conscious of the impression you give when interviewing for a prospective job. Employers rely on a series of cues that will often quickly indicate them whether you’re the right fit. Covering all your bases before entering the interview process will help to ensure that you are conveying the right brand, and there are some key influences that you should be focusing on:
Package your brand: be consistent!
To package your brand is to know who you are, your objectives, and how you best communicate. This is significant when portraying to the interviewer specific experiences and how they have assisted you over the course of your career. Setting objectives can help you to understand what you want and what you are looking for. With a better understanding of your goals you are able to align your characteristics with the impression you want to give. It’s important to remember that your brand includes the way you communicate and present yourself, which needs to be in line with your objectives. Sit up straight, make eye contact, smile when appropriate, and dress in the right attire. If your brand is corporate dress, then dress in corporate clothing to the interview. This is all to ensure that the employer knows who you are, and your brand. The last thing you want is to do is confuse the employer by creating a mixed impression, keep things consistent!
Know your target audience: Who is the employer?
To create a great impression is to market ones self, so it makes sense to know who your target audience is (the employer), and learn their language. Invest time in researching the employer to get a feel for the company culture, use their website to highlight key words, and look up current trends within that industry with a focus on your specialised area to show depth and understanding of the role being offered. Knowing who your employer is will give you a better chance of knowing if your brand aligns with what they are looking for. Not to mention, showing you’ve done your research won’t go unnoticed.
Be prepared to highlight what’s important
It’s important that the employer gets the impression that you were prepared for the interview. It’s noticeable when someone has put time into researching, and has sold their brand. If you walk out of the interview knowing you could have said more, or marketed yourself better, then you were not prepared. It takes practice, but it’s imperative to highlight what’s important to that specific job role and your linked skills. Some people find it hard to talk about what they are good at. So if you’re not sure, before your interview take some time to ask colleagues what they think you excel at, it’s often helpful to get another perspective. In every interview you are “selling” your skills and expertise, so don’t shy away from emphasizing relevant experiences, scenarios where you have solved problems, and accomplishments. There’s nothing worse than when an employer asks why you’re meant for the role and you squirm in your seat because you didn’t see that question coming. It’s always coming! So be prepared to impress and increase your chances of a great impression.
Ask questions
Asking questions in an interview demonstrates your interest. By having a series of questions already prepared, two or three, you will highlight to the interviewer your interest and enthusiasm in the organisation. With your questions you want to be assertive and engaging to show that you have put considerable thought into the role.
So now you know that making a great impression is a matter of covering all your bases. Package your brand so that the employer knows who you are as an employee, show you’ve done your research by speaking the employer’s language, be prepared to highlight what’s important to the job, and ask questions. Focusing on these aspects will ensure that you are on the right track to a successful interview impression. Happy job hunting!