Crack Your Next Job Interview: Hacks You Need

Whether you’re a fresher, experienced or intermediary professional, you’ll always remember every job interview you’ve sat through. The job interview is the most crucial part of every individual’s career. It is the start point of a successful career and endpoint of a job search, which decides the fate of ‘make it or break it'. It is imperative to be thoroughly prepared. Competition is roaring high with everyone in the rat race of proving to be the best. So, it is crucial that you need to put an equal amount of research into the company and interviewer, as you put into researching and shortlisting suitable jobs and prospect positions for yourselves. Every job interview serves as a new learning experience with key takeaways for you or the employer. Every interview is equivalent to a brand meeting, you are the brand and your interviewer is like your ideal client or ideal market.

To crack any job interview, on one hand, where you need to showcase your skills and essentially sell yourself with confidence, grace, enthusiasm and the right attitude, on the other hand covering your weakness is also equally important. In every job interview, you encounter new people, you experience new opportunities, challenges and learnings but before you enter any interview you need to be sold on yourself. You need to have absolute faith and belief in yourself to make a lasting impression and influence on your interviewer and prospect employer. This can be especially challenging when you’re interviewing for a job, you’re passionate about deeply. Along with the key to smart planning, you also need to have smart execution to crack any job interview. The way you present yourself, the question you ask in the interview, the answers you give in the interview, your introduction at the job interview along with the grace and confidence are all a part of your smart execution as opposed to the competing candidates. Smart Execution is your edge. It’s what sets you apart from others.

Here are 5 top hacks by JK Tech which you should know to crack an interview:

• Revolutionize with Research: Research equals knowing. Research before even applying to any company for a job interview. Learn about the company’s objectives, goals, visions, aims, & missions. Research is a crucial key because such valuable knowledge helps you to align your career objective with that of the company. Additionally, Research on the interviewer, his or her experiences, tenure at the company, positions, achievements, role, interests, work-life, etc. For such research, the prospect interviewer’s LinkedIn Page, Business Social Media Pages, Blogs, Company website should be sufficient and ideal. Research about the work environment, corporate culture, perks, incentives, achievements, average salaries, revenue, etc. gives you a keen insight into the company and extra prep for the interview for any foreseeable interview questions.
 
• Go Through the Job Description: Job description for any role is the key to better preparation. Don’t forget to ask for a job description and do a close walk-through. The skills are important, but the role plays an equally important role. You might need to tweak your resume slightly to match the job description and prepare yourself well around each of the required areas.
 
• Resume Review: Your resume is the first-hand information and impression the interviewer will form about you. Hence, a crisp resume with relevant and apt information is always advised. An ideal resume must use a minimalistic design to highlight all your skills, experiences, and strengths along with credible achievements and multiple contact details. To take it up a notch, many candidates also mention the links to their social media as a point of contact and review.
 
• Impress with Information: Do your homework before the job interview. The opportunity of a job interview comes with serious job interview questions which are responded with certain tailor-made job interview answers. It is ideal for any candidate to brush up on their basics, be clear on the position you applying for, remember the scope of work, duties, and responsibilities of the position. When it comes to leaving strong impressions, be prepared to include your skills, talents, accomplishments, etc into your answers. Always remember live scenarios and examples make a huge difference to the mind of the interviewer and connecting the dots with the requirement, so always well prepare beforehand with these. You are sure to impress as well as inform on your potential and capabilities.
 
• Be Q&A Ready: Think of this as the cheat sheet to warm up to the interviewer. Every interviewer is sure to ask whether you have any questions for them, which leads to a crucial part in job interview questions and answers. At this point, it is your moment to shine out with smart questions to showcase your research and preparedness. We suggest asking away with as many questions. Asking questions shows your curiosity, interest, and eagerness to know about the company, industry, projects or about the interviewer. Asking questions is also a way for the interviewer to express his opinions, thoughts, ideas, and interests which gives you the edge to learn and understand efficiently.
  
  Here are some sample questions you can ask:
  • What is your favorite part of your job?
  • What are the company’s core missions and visions?
  • What does success mean to you and how do you measure it?
  • What kind of employee engagement activities does the company hold?
 
• Inspire with Presentation: The notion of the first impression is the last impression is crucial in any job interview. Hence, it is very important to present yourself well. In any job interview from attire to attitude, each detail is noticed, judged and considered. Your attire and attitude should brim with confidence and poise. This is ideal for smart execution as well, and hence dressing appropriately and for the job, your applying is a must. To be prepared and impress, you can even check if the company has a dress-up policy and dress according to that. Along with attire, your self-introduction is key, opening with a statement always leaves gets you a positive impact. Break the ice with some interesting remarks.
  
  Another aspect to remember about the presentation is your body language, be comfortable in yourself, be honest in your answers and always remember not to be too serious and stress if you don’t know any answers. Show you are open to learning with research and improvement. Observe the environment and assess the styles and outlook of the interviewer. Along with being aware and knowledgeable, try to lighten the mood if it works. A little humor never hurts. The goal at the end of the interview is to leave a lasting impression and leave a little room to get to know you more with the second or third interview round.

Finding and landing your dream job is one of the most important yet intimidating tasks of your life. Before applying for your dream job, get clarity on your career goals and be prepared in advance. The road to success lies in your confidence, wisdom, optimism, and passion for your career.