Basics of Job Interview

Believe it or not, you need to know the basics of workplace etiquette right from the start—at the job interview. Sure, you’re anxious, but here is a situation in which how you look and everything you say and do—that is, your overall demeanor—may have a critical impact on your future. You have to be on your best behavior. And the person opposite you seems to have all the advantages. Recruiters and interviewers usually take courses to help them develop sophisticated screening methods. The interviewer has the hometurf advantage, and you do not. You are being measured against standards and guidelines that are clear as a bell to the interviewer, but not to you. But you also have some important advantages of your own, including

• The company or organization needs someone, or it wouldn’t be interviewing people.
• The company or organization is hoping you are the person for the job.

These two facts are key. But you also have to be prepared by dressing properly, preparing a list of the points you want to make, and having a pretty good idea of what will happen and how to respond. By doing so, the situation won’t seem nearly as one-sided.