By Tyng Kam, Stride Career Prep Success Coach
Attending a job interview can be an uncomfortable experience for most people. There are ways to improve your comfort level, and here a few tips.
Do your research
Every article you read about preparing for a job interview starts with this advice. It’s the one most important thing you need to do to land a job offer. You want to find out everything you can about your potential employer. Stalk their social media channels to your advantage.
LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and the company’s website provide you with all the information you’ll need to be prepared for a job interview. While the company website offers you information about their business and organizational culture, their social media postings give you insights into their recent activities that you can use as a conversational starter. For example, the company Facebook page recently posted a recent employee team-building event at your favorite escape room in town. It’s a good piece of information to bring up during the interview that you love team activities and challenge at an escape room.
Turn your anxiety into excitement
Most people feel nervous riding up to the job interview. An effective way to handle anxiety is to reframe negative energy into excited energy. Because excitement and anxiety produce many of the same neurological responses, the difference is in how we interpret these emotions. Switching between the two can be a matter of thinking positively or negatively. Recent research from Harvard Business School professor, Allison Brooke indicates that you can convince yourself that you’re feeling excited just by repeating “I am excited” to yourself. So, don’t try to calm yourself down at your next job interview. Instead, turn the energy into excitement to help you perform better.
Let your personality shine
By the time you’re invited to the job interview, you have proven that you qualify for the job. It’s time to show your personality and make yourself relatable. If the interviewer asks you about how you like to spend your free time, it’s a great opportunity to share some personal information about your interests and hobbies.
You can strategically select hobbies that matches your qualities to the position you’re interviewing for. For example, if you enjoy competitive sports, it’s always a great hobby to bring up during a job interview for any sales-related position.
To get started on your new job search, check out our Stride Career Services hub here. Check back often as we’ll be adding new content, templates, and programs regularly!
And, if you are already a Career Prep student, did you know you can get up to 5 free 1:1 coaching sessions with a Stride Career Prep Success Coach? Visit here to learn more.
