Interview preparation: The Secret Armoury.

Before heading to your interview, you may want to have the perfect preparation and the only way to get it right is to have a checklist which you can check through. This will not only make sure that you have confidence during the interview but also you may increase your chances of getting the job. Today I want to give you a promise that you will be sure to get it right with this method.
The first thing you may want to do is to go through a technical checklist that is developed by human resource experts and capital specialists. If you get invited to any interview, please make sure you go through the following checklist to ensure that you mark everything and take it seriously. If you get it right I assure you, the job is yours. Once you are confident with each item, you are ready to go……….please walk into the interview room with your shoulders high.


Know About the Company

ü  Mission, Philosophy, Values
ü   Industry information
ü   Leadership position in the industry
ü   Organization’s history
ü   Executive / Management Team
ü   Flagship products & services
ü   Competitors
ü   Markets (including opportunities and constraints)
ü   Any particular challenges / issues / accomplishments
ü   Any recent newsworthy items
Hint: Use any contacts inside the company you can develop to get pertinent information

Know About the Job

ü  Job Title and Description
ü   Knowledge, Skills, Abilities required
ü   Experience required
ü   Qualities required to be successful
ü   Ballpark compensation range (do your research!)
ü   Know your subject matter and terminology
ü   Any other details you can get through a contact inside the company, or others, including whether or not this is a new job, filling a vacant position, amount of travel, etc. – to avoid surprises and be able to tailor your points and responses accordingly

Know Yourself

ü   Your strengths
ü   Your weaknesses
ü   Your nature (“qualities”)
ü   How you will improve in areas of challenge
ü   Your career goals
ü   The kind of organization you would thrive in
ü   Amount of travel, overtime, stress, public contact, etc., that “fits” for you

Make Sure to Practice

ü   Basic questions
ü   Tricky and Off-the-Wall questions
ü   Turning negatives into positives
ü   Being brief!
ü   Your 5-minute life story
ü   Attention to both content and body language
ü   Discussing items on your resume

Make Sure to Have

ü   Interview time, date, location, directions – in writing
ü   Interviewer name(s), job title(s), role/responsibilities (if possible)
ü   Estimate of amount of time interview will last
ü   Extra resumes, work product samples
ü   Breathe mints!
ü   Paper and pen for notes
ü   Briefcase or portfolio to hold your resumes and other papers in a neat and professional manner
ü   Agenda or other calendar device to note dates pertaining to “next action’” items (such as when to call back, when you are available for another interview)
ü   Extra time to get to your interview so you aren’t late!
ü   Contingency plans if things run long (transportation, child care, etc.)
Will this help? I think so.
Please, use it

We at HCC wish you good luck in your endeavors.