The Interview Itself

  • Since the main purpose of the interview is to gauge your responses to the interviewer’s questions make sure you properly understood the question. If it is not totally clear, ask them to either repeat the question or clarify it. The worst thing to do is to answer incorrectly because you misunderstood the question. If you do so or not content with your answer, there is room to redeem yourself. You might want to say that you would like to rephrase your answer.
  • Take the time you need during the interview. You might regret answering too quickly. You might have been able to answer more coherently and concisely if taken a little more time to formulate your answer in your head .
  • You want to come across as an honest person during the job interview. Be honest in your answers but make sure not to be too negative. Try and take a positive approach to your answers. You will come across much better.
  • Be enthusiastic during the job interview. Someone who speaks in a monotonous tone and not excited by what he or she is talking about will quickly be forgotten. Do not forget, many of these interviewers see many potential recruits a day, especially if they are doing on campus recruiting. An enthusiastic person will be the one, if he or she has the necessary qualifications, that will remain in the interviewer’s head long after the day is over when the decision has to be made as to who makes it to second and third rounds.
  • Do not fiddle with your pen or display any sort of nervous tick. Unfortunately the interviewer will catch it right away and may become annoyed. Knee shaking, nail biting, pen twirling are no-no’s during the interview.
  • Try and develop a rapport with the interviewer. Not all interviews are regimented question and answer periods. There is room for discussion and dialogue. You might feel comfortable right off the bat with your interviewer. You might even slip in some humour. Do not overdo it on the humour- the last thing you want is to offend someone or make them uncomfortable.
  • When the job interview is concluded, do not forget to thank the interviewer for his/her time and that you are looking forward to hearing from them.
  • When leaving the office- jot down some notes about the interview- what was discussed, the names of the individuals in the room. It is a good idea to have a log book. This is in order to keep track of what occurred in each interview since you will be going through a lot of similar ones.
  • Send a thank you note to each company right away. You may want to include your interest once again in the position and the company and how you would best fit the job.

Second and Third Round Interviews:

Although many of the information and questions posed to you in first round interviews may be posed to you once again in these final rounds, you are meeting with several people now. These are most probably individuals who are managers in the department you are seeking work rather than Human resources personnel. Specifics will be asked in these cases. There is also the possibility that the interview might not be held in a confined office, but during a dinner or a lunch. Here are some simple rules to follow if you are not sure of proper etiquette in this situation:

  • Brush up on your table manners beforehand. When ordering, either let the interviewers recommend something or make sure you pick something in the average price range. If your interviewer is ordering chicken at $15 you do not want to be ordering the lobster at $38.
  • You probably will be on your best behaviour since you will be nervous; you will be conscious of every bite you take.
  • Only order an appetizer if you see that that is what everyone else is doing. The same can be said with dessert
  • There are some foods to stay away from since they can be hard to eat. Try and stay away from anything where you may want to use your fingers- ribs, chicken fingers. It can get pretty messy. The last thing you want is spillage on the tablecloth or on your suit.
  • You will find that this job interview will more conversation oriented than question drilling. It is a more comfortable setting so you will definitely be more at ease. This is not to say that you should start mouthing off. You are still being tested and you want this impression to be as positive as if you were in the interviewer’s office.