Saturday, December 27, 2008

Interviewing In The New Millenium

By Craig Calvin

If you're one of the unlucky ones who has recently found themselves laid off due to our tough economic times, you will soon need to ramp up and prepare for the interview process. Tough competition will greet you and you'll need to be ready. If you haven't been on a job interview in a while, you may be surprised at the new styles and tactics being employed.

If you happen upon a potential employer who's chosen the intimidating interview style, be prepared. Know that it's not personal. It's simply a means for the employer to determine how you will react to stressful situations, handle hostile communications, and how well you might work under pressure. Expect interview questions to be more challenging. Employers are likely to want to know more than just what duties your last job entailed. Many employers today are conducting behavioral interviews. They ask questions that might range from wanting to know how you dealt with a difficult supervisor or coworker at your last job, to describing an exceptionally difficult task and how you handled it.

The key to a successful interview is preparation. The questions may actually be simple, but if you're not ready for them, they could be disastrous. The employer will want to see all possible sides of your personality and will want to know how you react in certain situations, even if they're hypothetical. So expect the unexpected and be prepared.

If you want to prepare, you may do an internet search for the term "job interview questions", and then study the results. The information out there is plentiful and should be able to give you access to current questions on the minds of employers. Be sure to allow yourself ample time to prepare, maybe even a few days. Being the last one interviewed is always an advantage.

The reason being last is advantageous is because you're more likely to still be fresh in the minds of the interviewers when they're making their final decision. Prior to the interview, study the questions and rehearse your answers with a friend or family member until your responses come naturally. And, while you may not be asked all of the questions during the interview, just knowing that you are prepared will help to calm the butterflies and give you an air of confidence that may just land you that job. - 16089

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