When you interview for a job, you’re being judged on a number of criteria. There’s more than just your resume and work history being unpacked by the interviewer. They’re watching your behavior, judging your demeanor, and your clothing. In essence, you’re being viewed from every angle based on your compatibility with the company you’re interviewing for.
Making a good first impression on an interviewer is critical for your success. When you’re heading in for a job interview, you want to make sure that you’re in tip-top form and on you’re a-game. What does that entail? Read on for our tips in how you can make a good impression the easy way, without needing a degree in acting!
The Clothes Make the Candidate
The hardest “easy” thing for a job interview is coming equipped with your best clothing. Often, it can be expensive to buy nice, stylish new clothes, so some people don’t wear the best attire for an interview. After all, you need to earn money to have nice threads, right? This is why having at least one formal outfit is such a good investment: it’s a life-saver in an interview.
If you’re dressed well, pressed and proper, when you arrive for an interview, the interviewer will take note of this. Professionals look the part, and professionals are clean and effortlessly squared. Just looking the part can make the right impression on a reviewer, whether or not they consciously take note of your neatly-tied tie or your perfectly pressed dress.
Take it Easy
Shifting nervously, stumbling over words, stammering when answering questions: these have got to go. Take it easy, be cool, and get ice in your veins. A professional is cool, calm, and collected.
Even if you, personally, aren’t these things, wear them like a costume when you’re in a job interview. Watch movies or TV shows with characters who are cool and smooth under pressure and try to replicate that in your interview.
Be easy, conversational, and agreeable. A professional can crack jokes and make people smile even during tense situations.
Stay Engaged
When the interviewer asks you questions, answer honestly and stay engaged. When they ask if you have any questions for them, ask questions that you really want to know answers to. Being engaged with the business, and having thoughtful insights into your potential future job, will tell the interviewer all they need to know about you.
What’s more, it’ll make a great first impression. At the end of the day, a first impression is priceless, and you only get one chance to make it.
