How to present yourself well at a job interview?

A candidate who receives an invitation to a recruitment meeting may have reasons to be happy. His CV was noticed among many others and became a ticket to the next stage of recruitment. From now on, the key to success will be the recruitment interview. The rules that can help you get your dream job are explained by the LeasingTeam expert.

Job searching, especially for professionally active people, can be an activity that consumes most of their free time. It is therefore not surprising that many people compare looking for a new place of employment to working overtime. Adapting your CV to specific ads and sending them is very time-consuming. However, in most cases, it is thanks to the CV responding to the advertisement that the candidate is invited to a recruitment interview.

Presenting one’s knowledge and experience in the best possible way usually requires good preparation from the participant of the recruitment process, not only in terms of industry knowledge, but also universal rules applicable during the meeting. Following them does not guarantee that you will get your dream job, but it can help convince the recruiter to consider a person’s candidacy. Here are a few rules that, according to the LeasingTeam expert, can positively affect the outcome of the process when permanent recruitment is carried out.

How to do well at an interview?

Before you sit in front of the committee, think about what type of positions you are looking for and whether the future position requires the competencies you have. At the interview, be sure to prepare a list of your successes. When asked about your greatest professional achievement, be sure to cite examples of behaviors that have benefited the company, such as customer satisfaction or a situation in which you were able to develop a new solution.

Question Prediction

It is worth practicing the most common questions in order to ask about the details of the offer at a given moment, and not to think about your own CV. Be sure to prepare an answer in advance about why you want to change jobs and what your weaknesses are. Remember to emphasize your desire for professional development on this occasion. Recruiters in recruitment processes appreciate when a candidate is able to talk about their experience in a specific way.

Finances and goals

The key element is to determine financial expectations. Few candidates can determine a specific amount, so it is worth checking the market rates to negotiate a satisfactory salary. Also, consider whether you like to do tasks on your own or prefer to collaborate with other employees, as valuable employees can work together in both models. Such a self-analysis will allow you to make a good impression and prove that you can perform tasks effectively, which will significantly facilitate the hiring of a new employee.

The most common mistakes in a job interview and how to avoid them – how to make a good impression on a recruiter?

Now that we’ve listed the most important aspects that need to be worked through before an interview, now we need to talk about the most common mistakes that make the interview doomed to failure.

1. Don’t let the recruiter notice your lack of preparation. You need to check the basic information about the company and the position you are trying to apply for. You need to approach the job interview with a positive attitude and knowledge of the company that may hire you. Recruiters at the interview check whether you know what type of positions you are looking for and whether you understand what the future position requires in everyday practice.
2. An inappropriate approach to the interlocutor can cross you out at the start. Remember that a dream job is involved. Talk respectfully, because it is up to the interviewer to decide whether you will receive a job offer. Even if you can write a great resume, you can alienate the recruiter with your lack of culture. Don’t avoid eye contact – a positive impression and confidence are very important to perform as a professional at an interview.
3. Don’t start the conversation with a question about earnings. You need to be sensitive in this matter. It all depends on how the recruitment meeting goes. However, when a specific question is asked about money, you should know your financial expectations. Few candidates can precisely determine their rate, so talk openly about your financial expectations only at the right time to negotiate a satisfactory salary.
4. Asking follow-up questions is crucial, but always answer according to the topic. Avoid “yes” or “no” answers – this will not satisfy the recruiter. Communicativeness is a requirement, especially when valuable employees are able to cooperate with other employees. When answering the most common questions about your experience, be sure to provide examples of behavior, such as how you managed to develop a new solution or ensure customer satisfaction. Don’t memorize your answers – what kind of candidate you are is the best indicator of your naturalness and what your career goals are.
5. During the interview, do not speak negatively about your previous employer. During the interview, be sure to prepare a substantive justification of why you want to change jobs. You can respond by emphasizing your desire for professional development and your willingness to pursue new, creative tasks. At the interview, prove that you can perform tasks with passion, and the employer is looking for a person who will bring a new quality to the team, not one who is desperately looking for a job and complains about the past. Only thorough preparation will save you additional effort and build a good impression that will crown the process of hiring a new employee successfully.
6. How to dress for a job interview? Dress neatly. It doesn’t matter if it’s IT staff recruitmentor work in the administrative department. Aesthetic clothing is a “must have”. Remember how important the first impression is. A crumpled and washed t-shirt will not present you from the best side.

How to effectively present your skills and experience?

The most important thing is authenticity. If you are passionate about what you do, then presenting your skills and experience will not be a major problem. However, talking openly about yourself is half the battle. You can talk about what you have achieved and what results you have achieved with your previous employers. The most important thing is to be able to prove it. Show the results of your work, which will certainly make you a more convincing candidate. As for telling about yourself, be concise and don’t tell complex stories. Focus on specifics.

How to answer questions about weaknesses?

The first stage of recruitment is designed to extract as much information as possible from candidates. That is why recruiters very often ask uncomfortable interview questions about your flaws. What is the reason for this? In this way, your honesty, self-awareness and willingness to develop are tested during the recruitment meeting. This specific question shows what kind of candidate you are and whether you can objectively evaluate your actions in your professional life.

When talking about your flaws, avoid evasive answers and the words “sometimes” or “from time to time.” Don’t underestimate your weaknesses; You have to be authentic and honest. At the interview, be sure to prepare an argument that will prove that you are working on your deficits. Remember that the recruiter checks if your attitude matches what the future position requires of a new team member.

What to base your statements on to make a good impression? It’s best to focus on the position you’re applying for. Not knowing a particular software or system doesn’t have to stop you, as long as you can demonstrate an emphasis on your desire for professional development. Very often, the employer is looking for a person who can be trained so that he or she can perform a specific job more efficiently. For example, if you like to do tasks on your own, but the position involves working in a group, you can answer that you are working on exchanging experiences with other employees more effectively.

At the time of answering, it is worth mentioning the features that are double-edged. Are you a perfectionist? Mention this, but be sure to cite examples of behaviors where this trait helps you keep your customer happy, even though you’re too self-critical of yourself. Recruitment is not only an assessment of your knowledge, but also of whether you have career goals. By being honest about your flaws, you really indirectly answer the question about your maturity. At the interview, prove that you can work out a new solution even in the face of your own limitations.

Remember that thorough preparation for this part of the recruitment interview will make you not come across as a person who is desperately looking for a job, but as a conscious professional who knows his value. This will give you a chance to get a satisfactory salary and eventually get you a job offer. The right attitude will allow you to do much better at the interview than candidates who are afraid to admit mistakes. When the next question comes, e.g. about your greatest professional achievement, you will be able to compare it with the rest of your statement, creating a coherent and authentic image. The next step may be to ask questions about the feedback culture in the company, which will only confirm that valuable employees can work together to continuously improve their skills.

Gather the most important information about the employer

A candidate who wants to be perceived by the recruiter as an inquisitive and motivated person should learn as much as possible about the company they are going to for a meeting. The duration of the company’s existence on the market, the scope of activity, the products offered or the services provided are just some of the issues that the person conducting the meeting can ask the candidate about. Questions that test knowledge about the company are most often aimed at verifying the real motivation of the participant in the recruitment process to work in a given company.

Candidates invited to job interviews very often send up to several dozen CVs a week. As a result, there are people who come to the meeting unprepared, not even knowing what the company does. In this way, they very often ruin their chances of receiving a job offer – comments Jakub Dysarz, Junior Project Manager at LeasingTeam.

The effort put into collecting information about a given employer will definitely pay off. The candidate will not only present himself to the recruiter as a person really interested in taking up a job in a given company and further developing his career within its structures, but also consciously choose a future employer.

Take care of your appearance

A recruitment interview is a formal meeting, during which, according to the principle “As they see you, so they write you”, the candidate should take care of their external appearance, including, above all, appropriate clothing. The choice of clothing appropriate for the occasion may be influenced by the m.in level of the position for which the candidate is applying. If it is a managerial position, it is worth wearing a more elegant outfit. Men can appear at the interview in a classic suit, while ladies can appear in a suit, business suit or dress.

In the case of specialist positions, e.g. engineering positions, such formalized clothing is no longer required. Often, simple, fabric trousers, a shirt or a sweater are enough. The whole outfit should be clean, fitted, neat. Ladies should avoid too large necklines and short skirts or dresses, and their makeup should be delicate and natural. You should also keep moderation in jewelry. Before entering the interview, it is also worth checking the cleanliness of the shoes.

Be punctual

Being late for an interview can have a negative impact on the outcome of the recruitment process for a candidate. Firstly, it may be perceived by the recruiter as a sign of disrespect. Secondly, being late for a meeting can reduce the duration of the interview, which works to the detriment of the candidate himself. Recruiters very often arrange even several recruitment meetings a day, so they are not able to devote more time to late people. As a result, candidates who arrived later for the meeting have less time to convince the recruiter that they are the best candidates for a given position than punctual people. To avoid being late, the person taking part in the recruitment process should check how long it will take them to get to the employer’s headquarters and allow additional time for unexpected situations, such as traffic jams.

If, for reasons beyond their control, the candidate cannot arrive at the meeting on time, they should contact the recruiter as soon as possible and notify them of the expected time of the delay. Similarly, if a candidate knows much in advance that they will not be able to attend the interview or has simply changed their mind and is no longer interested in the offer, they should inform the person they were supposed to meet. Perhaps his candidacy will be interesting enough for the recruiter to propose a different date for the meeting.

Recruiters understand that candidates sometimes change their minds, so the information about resignation from participation in the recruitment process will certainly be perceived better by them than absence from the meeting – believes Jakub Dysarzfrom LeasingTeam.

Turn off your phone

There’s nothing more distracting than a sudden, unexpected call from a ringing phone during an interview. The ringing of the phone may interrupt the candidate from answering one of the key questions for the recruitment process and negatively affect his concentration. Therefore, to avoid additional stress, the candidate should turn off the sound and vibration on their phone before the meeting.

Nervously searching for the phone in your purse and trying to silence it, or worse, answering the phone during an interview, are situations that sometimes happen to candidates. Unfortunately, this type of behavior can leave a negative impression and affect the recruiter’s final decision to choose a candidate for a given position. It is worth bearing this in mind – says the LeasingTeam expert.

Be of good cheer

A smile, a confident handshake and tone of voice, calmness and composure can help a candidate present themselves better during an interview and win over the recruiter. With a positive attitude, you can also overcome the stress that usually accompanies interview participants.

The recruiter knows perfectly well what emotions accompany most candidates during an interview. If, due to nervousness, the person taking part in the recruitment gets lost during the answer and asks for the opportunity to give it again, they should not be afraid that this will negatively affect the recruiter’s opinion about it. Anyone can make a mistake – says Jakub Dysarz.

Don’t be afraid to answer the hard questions

The purpose of the recruitment interview is not only to verify the information contained in the CV, but also, m.in, to check the candidate’s motivation, his or her fit for the company and the expectations of the immediate superior. Recruiters ask questions about the reasons for leaving their job, coping with stress, or the candidate’s positive or negative qualities. For some people, they may turn out to be troublesome. Therefore, you should think carefully about the answers to avoid, for example, negative comments about your current employer.

When recruiting people with little experience, recruiters often ask about their interests. However, it turns out that due to stress, some candidates may find it difficult to even answer questions about the last book or movie they have watched. Therefore, it is worth for the candidate to think about what questions about interests may be asked and how they should answer them.

Prepare a list of questions for the recruiter

An interview is sometimes the only opportunity for a candidate to learn more about working for a company. Therefore, it is worth thinking carefully about what information he would like to get from the recruiter. Career path, the possibility of remote work, additional benefits, exact responsibilities in a given position are just some of the issues worth clarifying.

Asking questions is a sign of interest in the company and shows that the candidate has also prepared for the meeting. The information obtained, in the event of receiving an offer, will allow the participant in the recruitment process to make an informed decision and avoid disappointment with the responsibilities of the new position. Thus, the risk of his resignation from work, e.g. after a probationary period, will also be reduced, thanks to which the employer will not have to bear the costs of the next recruitment – comments Jakub Dysarz.

Following the above rules does not guarantee that you will receive a job offer, but it can certainly help you present yourself professionally during a recruitment meeting. It is possible that the good impression made by the candidate will pay off in the future and the next recruitment process, to which he will be invited by the recruiter, will end with winning the dream job.