Interview tips
These interview tips were motivated by a discussion we had with a job seeker earlier via Sobiaonline
The article was updated on August 5, 2024 to reflect current trends.
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This is the conversation I had with a job seeker via our support platform.
From Issahaku – Welcome to Saobiaonline, At what stage are you in your job search ?
Response from job seeker: hahahaha… So far 3 interviews non was positive. its not a nice feeling at all
From Issahaku: Sorry to hear that. But that is progress anyway.
From Issahaku: So in your perspective what caused your rejection?
From Job seeker: I was jittery… spoke too quickly …..
From Issahaku: Its ok to be nervous sometimes but with this tough competition at the moment, you would have to work on that so that it would not repeat itself and affect your future chances… Adam continued with some tips which is elaborated in this post.
From Site Job seeker: hmm.. the recent one was via skype and I did not impress. anyway thanks for the tips i will look through the package and see what I can afford…I know its not the CV cause i get the call
We have provided you below some proven interview performance tips that can help you ace your interviews to get the job you want. Please read on:
Interview Tips #1: Prepare Ahead of Time:
You need to always prepare ahead of the interview and conduct research into the job and agency at hand.
The more you are prepared the higher your confidence level.
The first step to your preparation is conducting a detailed search into the company. To accomplish this, you can use social medial particularly Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
If the company has a corporate website you would get more details about the corporate objectives and values of the organisation in their “about” section.
You then have to tie the loose ends by looking at the relationship between the broader corporate objectives and the job at hand.
Your research should be also able to identify the main problem the employer is trying to solve which calls for that job vacancy.
Once you identify this, you would have to demonstrate how you are the perfect fit in solving that problem.
In essence, this research will help you to clarify your selling points and the reason why you want that job and not any other job.
If you are able to do all these things before the interview due date, trust me, you would command a lot of confidence which will aid you to perform well.
As part of your preparation, you would have to identify common interview questions related to the role and then rehearse your responses.
Interview Tips #2: Be Mindful of Your Responses
All what you need to do as an interviewee is limit your responses to the questions posed by interviewers.
If you try to talk too much there is high probability that you might ramble which may end up talking you out of the job.
Similarly, be calm and speak gently with an even tone.
When you are using examples always try to relate examples where there have been real accomplishments and examples that directly relate to the job.
Interview Tips #3: Make use of the STAR interview Technique
Most recruiters now go in for smart, highly accomplished, and practical minded employees which has resulted in the usage of scenario models and behavioral questions to assess competency of candidates.
Most candidates find it difficult to relate to these type of questions which often results in poor interview performance especially among international agencies.
The STAR interview technique allows candidates to provide concrete and concise proof that you have the right competencies to handle the job at hand. STAR stands for situation, task, action and result.
Thus, for every question you are asked quickly think about:
A Situation: What was the context in which you performed a particular activity?
Task: What was your responsibility or what were you tasked to do?
Action: Demonstrate exactly what you did including measures you put in place to address the task assigned?
Result: What exactly did you achieve?
One secret about this technique is that, it works as you do not need to have the answers at your finger tips.
You should be able to identify a situation, the task that you were assigned and with that you will be able to address the interview question well.
Tips #4: Document Your Past Accomplishments
One of the challenging situations we encounter in designing peoples CVs is documentation.
In Ghana, most employees do not document their past accomplishments which affects how they communicate their worth to prospective employers.
If you happen to be in this category, you can retrieve your past accomplishments by reviewing your reports and as well your performance appraisals, and recommendations.
Documenting your past accomplishments will enable you to provide compelling evidence of what you have accomplished in the past using numbers, percentages and qualitative variables.
Tips #5: Listen, Communicate Effectively
If you are going to give a good answer, you need to listen to the question being asked.
Doing so will enable you to give a powerful and structured answer to the question.
You also need to communicate clearly by using simple sentences and avoiding usage of non-industry jargon.
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