1. Dress For Success
One of the biggest things I have learned through job interviews and opportunities, is that regardless of how casual the interview situation seems, your appearance says a lot about you. Think seriously about how many times throughout the day, and I'm speaking to ladies especially, that you take note of another person's outfit. What you like about it, what you don't like about it, even wondering where you can get specific pieces. We as people get our first impressions off of what the person we are interacting with is wearing. A girl in a pencil skirt and heels I would almost immediately perceive as professional and successful, a girl in a flowing skirt I might perceive as a laid back and sunny personality.
When dressing for an interview think about what your clothes are saying about you, and try to dress appropriately. Your interviewer doesn't know about your wonderful secret cookie baking ability or your three years in high school where you had a bad hair cut. All the interviewer knows of you is what they can infer from the outfit in front of them. Make sure it is representing you properly.
There are tons of options for ideas, some blogs are dedicated entirely to this, and Pinterest is loaded with ideas. There are also apps for the iPhone and Android that will mix and match your outfits for you.
2. Be Prepared
Always, and I do mean always, have an up to date version of your resume handy. The last thing you want is to go to print a resume a half hour before the interview and discover there are tons of new skills and job experiences that you haven't listed. For one thing it's going to stress you out right before your interview and it is also going to do you no favors if you're scrambling to remember all the wonderful experiences you wanted to add to your resume.
Think of your resume as a one size fits all self advertisement. You get one page to pack with as much experience and self marketing as possible. My advice would be, when you know you're going to apply for a certain job, tweak your resume so that points of interest to that employer are front and center. For instance, my clerical work at my university isn't of extreme interest to an interviewer for a factory job, but my experiences lifting things and building them in a scene shop might be.
Note: NEVER lie on your resume! Just because you moved something around to bring up more marketable points to that employer does not make it okay to lie on your resume. Do not make up experience, odds are you are going to get caught, and then it's not going to be pretty.
3. Arrive Early
There is an old saying from my marching band director that I'm sure he didn't originate, but he definitely is the one that made it resonate. It is put as follows-
"If you are early, you are on time. If you are on time, you are late. If you are late, don't bother."
Try to make this your personal goal when it comes to arriving for an interview. The general rule of thumb is no more than 15 minutes early, otherwise you'll seem too eager.
4. Relax, But Not Too Much
You need to relax and realize that your interviewer is on your side. Something I have learned from theatre is that people who are trying to employ you want you to succeed, because they want to find somebody wonderful who is going to do the job right. There is no reason that somebody couldn't be you, so smile and remember to talk yourself up. They want you to do well.
However, a word to the wise would definitely be to not get too casual. Regardless of how your interviewer is behaving, you need to remain professional. You are the one who needs to impress the employer, not the other way around.
5. Know Your Stuff
Odds are if you have applied for this job, you are at the very least interested in the field. However, you need to know the company themselves. What are they about, what are their goals, what is their mission statement? Most of these can be found online and they can make you come off so much more prepared, and when it boils down to decision making that could be the key.
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A very famous saying that I am a huge fan of is....
SO next time opportunity comes knocking, be prepared! You never know where it will take you!
Note: Credit for image to lord of visions .com and google images.
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