SUCCEEDING AT JOB INTERVIEWS

(Mainstreet Equity Corp. Careers)

So, you’ve made it to the interview stage.

This means that the recruiter and the

potential employer liked your resume and

the initial phone screening procedure. Now

it’s time to prepare for an in-person

interview. Remember, you only have one

chance to make a first impression!The

following interview tips are timeless.

Follow these rules and you’ll put your best

foot forward every time.

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WardrobeCurious as to what to wear to a

job interview? You should be

dressed in formal business attire.

Be an individual, but always

remember to keep it

professional.

Check my previous blog “Dress

for success”.Bonus Tip – Make

sure your hair is cut and neatly

styled, and your fingernails are

trimmed.

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Do your homework

There are two important things you must do before your

interview: research the company to understand what the

company is about, and, devise a list of thoughtful

questions to ask.Use all of the online research tools at

your fingertips to find out who runs the company, how it

is performing, what challenges it presently faces and

how it plans to grow. If you’ve done your research

correctly, you should be able to perform a rudimentary

SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and

threats) analysis of the company.

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Do your homework

Bonus Tip –

Read the company’s financial statements, it will give you a

thorough knowledge where the company stands today.If you

know the name of the interviewer, you should research him or

her as well. Find the person on LinkedIn. You’ll know how long

they’ve been at the company, where they’ve worked in the

past, and what some of their professional interests are.

You might even find that you’ve gone to the same school, or

have been members of the same groups — instant

icebreakers!If you’re in school, your career services centre

may be able to help with mock interviews. If you’ve graduated,

consider asking a trusted friend or a mentor to interview you

for practice.Bonus Tip – Humber graduate or Alumni, visit

Career center – they have tons of good things to tell you and

can help with your resume or mock interviews. All other college

or universities have career centre’s as well, so you should

check them out. I mention Humber because I am a proud

Humber Alumni. “Humber Hawks Rock”. http://mainst.biz

Getting thereIf possible, scout out the location ahead of time so

you know exactly where you’re going and how long it

takes to get there. Err on the side of being early

rather than late. Showing up a little early may show

you’re eager. Showing up a little late may disqualify

you from the process.

Accidents sometimes happen — and, of course, they

can happen on the way to an interview. It’s important

to have your recruiter’s phone number programmed

into your phone. If something does happen, call the

recruiter immediately so that he or she can inform the

interviewer and reschedule the appointment.

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During and after

During the interview, always be confident. But,

remember, there’s such a thing as too much confidence

or over confidence. If you become boastful, you might

disengage the interviewer. Also, begin the interview

with a serious tone. If the interviewer becomes more

personable, you can too.Take the interviewer’s

business card at the end of the meeting. This will

provide you with an email and physical address to send

thank you notes.

Try to send the email thank you right away, and the

written note within a day or two. Written thank you

notes are really rare, so by sending one, you’ll stand

out.At the end of the interview, be sure to ask about

next steps. You don’t want to leave the office without

asking who is going to reach out to you next, and when

that conversation is expected to happen.Every

interviewer I’ve met has his or her horror stories —

extreme lateness, rude attitude or overall

unprofessionalism. Your goal is to never be an

interviewer’s horror story. Strive to be a success story! http://mainst.bizhttp://mainst.biz

THANK YOU

Source

H T T P : / / M A I N S T . B I Z / B L O G / 7 3 7 /

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