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10 Ways To Ace Your Dream Job Interview

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Here are Ten creative techniques for acing that interview and increasing your chances of landing that dream job.

Irrespective of the number of interviews that you may have gone through in the past, a job interview can be a stressful situation. The higher the value that we perceive in the job, the higher the interview stress. On the flip side, interview stress is minimal if you are well prepared. Preparation and performance is the key to succeeding in an interview.

 

10 Steps To Acing The Interview

 

1. Have a compelling story:

Asking candidates to tell something about themselves is a common interview question. Due to this reason most people tend to give a very boring answer which goes into where they were born, brought up and educated. It tends to be an average story which does not really bring out the strengths which make you more suitable for the job than the others in the fray.

We all have our strengths and weaknesses. We are not carbon copies and there is always something in us that makes us unique though it may not be obvious to most of us. Your life experiences, achievements, failures and ambitions make you a unique person. Make sure that your story highlights your strengths and downplays your weaknesses. If you mention your failings, don’t forget to explain what you learned from those experiences and how you used them to become a better and more capable person.

 

2. Study That Industry Well:

You are only one among the many shortlisted candidates that the employer is interviewing. The interviewer is looking for traits in you that make you the most suitable for that position. So understand the requirements of the position very carefully and be clear about how your knowledge, experience and skills make you most suited for that job. You have to do some research about the company and the role that you are seeking to play.

 

3. Have A Professional Online Presence:

The older generation probably doesn’t want to hear this but it will pay for you to set up a LinkedIn account,  this is the direction the world is headed in nowadays. A lot of recruitment companies search by name and past experience in LinkedIn to find out more about their potential candidates, and when they do, you will want a professional and well updated LinkedIn profile. You don’t need to include a picture, but at least have all the info there for you to show what you are fully capable of.

Another positive about having a LinkedIn profile is that a head hunter from another company could find you and offer you a position in a dream job you never would have thought of.

 

4. Be punctual, presentable and well-organized:

Arrive on time. Arriving on time does not mean coming an hour early. Walk in 15 minutes before the appointed time. That shows that you value everyone’s time.

While your interviewer is not looking to see if you passed your finishing school in flying colors, you must dress appropriately.

Keep your papers well-organized so that you can find whatever is required quickly without fumbling through your files. Switch off your mobile phone before you go into the room. Be polite, shake hands firmly and make normal eye contact. Speak in a calm positive and assertive tone.

 

5. Manage stress:

Everyone will be nervous during the initial stages of the interview. This small amount of anxiety will actually help you do your best. Remember that stress disappears as you get involved in the job on hand. Being well-prepared helps keep stress in control. Too much stress can affect your ability to think clearly. Once you are in the chair, just give it your best.

Stay focused and calm, listen carefully and show your confidence. Deep breathing and relaxation exercises while you wait can help reduce stress.

 

6. Develop your people skills:

Apart from the skills of a person for the job, the other important factor that the interviewer is looking for is emotional intelligence. It is your ability to identify and understand the emotions of the people involved including yourself and use it to handle the situation wisely. People with high emotional intelligence are able to understand emotions which influence human thinking and behavior. This gives them the ability to forge strong relationships and handle situations, overcome hurdles or solve problems.

 

7. Honesty is the best policy:

Always be honest in your responses. Don’t talk about skills that you don’t have or make claims that are not true. The interviewer will be quick to find that out during the interview because nobody has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.

You will contradict yourself sooner or later and that will simply ruin your chances of getting that job.

 

8. Sell yourself:

Don’t wait for the interviewer to ask the right questions to find out your strengths. Lead them in that direction with your answers. Make a list of USPs (Unique Selling Propositions), your personal strengths that make you the perfect match for the job and make sure you get those points across during the interview.

 

9. Ask the right questions:

Most interviewers will give you the opportunity to ask questions towards the end of the interview. When you get the opportunity, let your questions get across your curiosity about the company and its business. Don’t ask things that are on the company’s website or in the job advertisement. Go beyond those things and ask questions which will help you reassert your suitability for the company and the position.

 

10. Send a thank-you note:

When you finish the interview, don’t forget to thank the interviewers for their time irrespective of how well or badly it has gone. Once you are back from the interview, send a thank-you note to the interviewer. This simple gesture could improve your chances of getting the job if you are one among the best candidates shortlisted for it.

 

Good luck with pursuing your dream job and much Success to you!

Leave a comment and tell us what worked for you in landing your dream job.

 

Article By Joel Brown | Addicted2Success.com

I am the the Founder of Addicted2Success.com and I am so grateful you're here to be part of this awesome community. I love connecting with people who have a passion for Entrepreneurship, Self Development & Achieving Success. I started this website with the intention of educating and inspiring likeminded people to always strive for success no matter what their circumstances. I'm proud to say through my podcast and through this website we have impacted over 200 million lives in the last 10 years.

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Technology’s evolution has impacted everything, and business is no exception. Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner. Entrepreneurs unable to do so are being wiped out of the market.

There is no doubt that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) have taken over the business world. These technological advancements are impacting decision-making, success percentages, and other entrepreneurial aspects.

Adapting to these developments is integral to business success. Let’s explore how you can accomplish these milestones.

Embed the strength of AI and ML.

AI has modified business operations in major ways. For instance, companies have employed bots for customer support. These bots go through an effective learning process via Machine Learning before being able to answer like humans.  

Bots can also perform detailed data analytics and make business moves with high success percentages.

ML is used more for the analysis of data chunks and generating successful predictions. This simply means that business owners do not have to worry about large-scale financial losses. 

In terms of deployment and usage, a reputed company like Netflix employs machine learning for decision-making.

Blockchain is increasing the count of business opportunities

Tampering of financial transactions is quite common and causes severe monetary damage to customers. With the rise of digital payments, this risk has increased. 

Blockchain is used to elevate your experience for monetary transfers. It combats penetrating events to extract confidential customer information. 

Most business sectors are using block chain but finance and supply chain management sections have a higher count. These two corporate sections have several monetary deposits and withdrawals taking place. 

In terms of percentage, approximately 72% and 5% of finance and supply chain firms have implemented block chain successfully.

Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning and Individual Development

You invest in learning some of the very important skills, including digital marketing, financial management, and how to gain customers as an entrepreneur.

You need to set up your knowledge base about doing business on Coursera and Udemy with the basics that are necessary for the business, building further by networking with experts through webinars.

Besides, Agile methodology will introduce elasticity to your company: this review and feedback system with further correction regularly will allow for enhancing efficiency and promptly reacting to the market.

Developing key skills to achieve goals

Running a business successfully is not only about having niche/domain knowledge. Business owners need to have communication / soft skills as well in addition to niche information.

Here are some key technical/domain-related areas that business owners should have a strong grip on.

Data Storage on Cloud: These days, companies do not store their data on physical servers. Therefore business owners should know how data is stored/edited/removed/updated via AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other platforms.

Data Analysis/Interpretation Qualities: These days, data is as precious as gold. Business owners with data analysis abilities make correct predictions. As a result, their ventures grow in volume.

Development/Coding Knowledge

Programming knowledge gives business owners an edge whether the application is developed in-house or outsourced. It assists in getting updates deployed and handling application underperformance without getting professional support every time.

Hacking proof framework

There is no benefit of having an advanced automated system if can be penetrated. Successful business owners have above-average knowledge of cyber security and hacking attempts. They are able to choose top-notch anti-hacking software without much of an ambiguity.

Communication Abilities/Soft Skills

Here are some key communication qualities that business owners should have:

Communication/Conversation: Business owners should use to-the-point sentences in both written and oral communication.

Issue Resolution Abilities: Business owners should be able to drill down to problems and solve them. This is done successfully only if an entrepreneur has in-depth business domain knowledge.

Agile Implementations

It is mandatory for business owners to have knowledge of iterative/agile models. With such a competitive environment, it is impossible for business owners to succeed without adopting an agile framework.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

A productive business venture starts with a clear vision. The first factor making a business successful is the idea behind it. It helps with endless growth and combating competition successfully. Katherine Philips once mentioned that business goals are inevitable if goals are set concretely.

  • Goals should be based on smart achievements instead of complexity. Focus on the value that each one of them adds. 
  • Business objectives should not be vague. Key indicators should be constructed to measure the success/failure of each milestone.
  • Be realistic when setting goals. Do not aim at impossible milestones since they can be demotivating.
  • Milestones/goals need to be time-bound. Set a completion deadline for each one of them. 
  • Business goals should not be alien. Owners can think out of the box but not be obsolete / unrelated.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

Business owners cannot succeed without having a network. Some tips help in this case. Attend conferences and professional gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs.
Here are some other related points business owners should pay attention to.

  • Attend meetings and conferences to stay updated with trends and meet business owners who already have well-set ventures. This helps in enhancing the learning curve of new / growing entrepreneurs.
  • Being a part of business communities/groups is very productive. When one shares opinions and discusses decision-making tactics, it helps in preventing errors and enhancing success rate.
  • Even the most experienced business owners have mentors as learning never stops. Take part in mentorship programs so there is an assurance that you are following the correct roadmap.

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There is absolutely no doubt that business dimensions have evolved with technological advancements. Successful entrepreneurs have grabbed these changes in due course of time and continue to evolve. On the other hand, people following old paths and conventional steps fade out of competition. In a nutshell, keep an eye on the processes and practices you follow as these factors decide success rate.

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