CEBU, Philippines – When in college, you’re used to competition. Right from scholarships to internships, you compete at every step with other students. Although you may think applying for internships and scholarships is just a lesser version of a job hunt, the world of employment is a much more competitive landscape.
Cleaning out your dorm, ridding school supplies with a textbook buy and sell back service, shopping for business attire, and getting student loan bills should be the signs that the party is over and it’s time to pay the tab. One thing that might not dawn on you is thousands of other kids your age are in the same boat and there are a lot less dream jobs than dream seekers.
Job Interview Tips for New Graduates
Landing an interview is never enough. You need to go beyond the usual to impress your potential employer and grab the job. Here are a few job interview tips to help you improve your chances of success:
Prepare to the core. We all know preparation is the key to succeed at any interview. But most fresh graduates don’t prepare enough, which is why they fail. If you want to get the job, then you need to prove it that you’ve done your homework.
Preparation doesn’t simply mean skimming through the company’s Wikipedia page. You need to go out of your way to find out as much as you can about the company, about its culture, the industry trends, and so on. That’s how you demonstrate your worth to the interviewer.
Draft stories. Your interviewer wants to see how your current skills complement the requirements of the job. The best way to prove them is to draft stories about your previous achievements. Why? Because stories are more convincing than factual data.
Make sure your stories are interesting and to the point. Have a good opening line and see to it that you’ve learned them by heart. Be clear and avoid sounding like a robot.
Avoid overselling yourself. You know how they say that you should “be yourself” to make the best impression? It’s an advice that you should stay away from when being interviewed. While it’s good to be enthusiastic, energetic, and positive during your interview – don’t oversell yourself.
The simple reason for this is, employers know that there’s a lot of talent in the market. And candidates can go to any extent to get the job – even exaggerate their skills and experience. So if you’re going to say something, you better back it with solid proof.
Focus on your potential. Like any other candidate, you too are not perfect, which is why you shouldn’t give the interviewer a chance to talk about where you lack. Instead, lay more emphasis on your potential, which clearly shows that you have what it takes to succeed at the job.
If you don’t have real world experience to boast of or if your past achievements aren’t relevant to the job, then you should talk about your quick learning and adapting abilities. It helps you win the confidence of your interviewer to a great extent.
Remember, as a fresh graduate, you might not have highly specialized skills and years of experience under your belt, but you do have some unique to offer. That’s the uniqueness that you need to use to make an impact on your interviewer. (http://www.careerealism.com)