Before Your Interview... Practice, Practice, Practice.

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by Amin Huffington

Dreamfedjob - Turning unemployed into employed.

You can make all the lists you want, but there’s no substitute for rehearsing how you’ll handle an interview. Ask your parent, sibling or friend to be the interviewer, and give him or her a list of questions to throw at you, especially the hard ones (see some examples below).

There are ways to handle each of these. If you know what they are before you’re in the “hot seat,” you’ll be more confident going into the interview. You will also benefit from having thought about the answers, and you may be able to apply them to questions that you didn’t anticipate.

If you get a question that you can’t answer, simply say you don’t know. Then say the question is something to which you would like to give more thought and that you are willing to learn what it takes. Again, an employer will respect someone who is honest and open about his or her limitations.

Here are some sample interview questions:

• What were your responsibilities at your last job (or at school, if this is your first job)?
• What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them?
• Which was most/least rewarding?
• What was the biggest accomplishment/failure in this position?
• What was it like working for your supervisor? What were his or her strengths and shortcomings?
• Why are you leaving your job?
• What have you been doing since your last job?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?
• Why should we hire you?
• Why do you want to work here?
• What motivates you?
• How do you prioritize tasks?
• Do you prefer to work by yourself or within a group?
• Describe your ideal job.
• Describe your ideal work environment.
• Discuss a situation where you had to resolve a conflict.
• Discuss a situation where you had to demonstrate teamwork/leadership skills.
• Describe a situation where you failed.
• Describe a situation where you set a goal and met it.

Body language is another thing to be aware of. If you have a video or web camera, use it for the practice; otherwise a mirror will do, or get feedback from your parent, sibling or friend. Hand and arm movements shouldn’t be too large. Don’t fiddle, shake your leg or tap your fingers. This is unprofessional and may distract your potential employer. Your posture should be relaxed, but alert. Don’t slouch; if you look bored in the interview, then the interviewer will assume that you’d be bored in the job, too. Communicate interest and energy. Be yourself. Your potential employer knows that you’re nervous, but try not to make it so obvious that it becomes a distraction.
Sample interview questions:

• Job Interview Questions

• XInterview

Dreamfedjob is a blog that highlights the newfangled ways we are custom-blending careers in the private and civil service, and shares tips for doing it better. Professionally written resumes now available through dreamfedjob.com.  For inquiries email us at  resumes@dreamfedjob.com