|
Unless you’re applying for the position of a fashion
designer, elegant yet unobtrusive attire is the winning
choice.
Try to be calm, positive, and open in your
communication. After all, it’s not just them assessing
you, but also you assessing them, finding out whether
these are people you’d like to work with.
As for what to best avoid – try not to bitch about your
previous employers. Even if your previous boss used to
start every day by screaming his lungs out at you, it is
far more advisable to say you quit because you were
“seeking a working environment that would more suit your
personality” or just stating personal reasons than
launching into a ten-minute abusive speech about what a
bastard he was. It may make the potential employer think
you might be a conflicting personality.
As far as interviews go, you may
have possibly come across many recommendations as to
body language. You will not get any here. The most
important thing about a job interview is communication.
You are trying to find out more about the ethos and
culture of the company – whether you would fit in and
like to work there, and you’re trying to represent
yourself – prove them that you are the right choice for
them. But that you can only achieve through true
communication – and that is impossible when you focus
80% of your attention on whether you’re holding your
palms (earlobes, nostrils etc.) in the right angle and
whether you show both lower and upper teeth when you
smile, thus indicating you are honest. Trust yourself a
little! Simply be positive, natural, alert and really
there with the interviewer, giving full attention to the
talk you’re just having. Strangely enough, that should
do the trick.
There’s no point in acting to fit
the company. If your nature is very formal and official,
you wouldn’t fit into a hyper-relaxed, back-slapping
company culture anyway – and vice versa, and it’s quite
important to clear this up for yourself at the
beginning. You may be pressured by circumstances and
wanting to land this job no matter what. But think one
year ahead – grinding your teeth in silent and growing
annoyance at the jovial jokes of your no longer new boss
– or feeling utterly stifled and choked by the
conservatism of your colleagues who still insist on
calling you Mr Jones and expecting you to fill out form
137/11A whenever you wish to borrow a pen from them.
Even if you fail this interview, the next one could
introduce you to just the right company for you!
And general recommendations? Finding and getting a good
job you would enjoy is not hard. You can definitely make
it. Just trust yourself, count with the fact that job
actually means work, that work is not all that different
from play and that the more you play and seek your own
opportunities in your new job, the better you will be
appreciated, and the better you will fare in life.
|
