JOG the Web: Tips for Acing an Interview

Written By Joseph Cantwell

06/21/2024

Here’s How You Can ACE Your Next Job Interview!

Our main goal at Jobs for Ohio’s Graduates is to help our participants through their academic goals and work readiness. We go through a variety of topics to help them succeed in this transition from school to work. One of these topics is preparing for the interviewing process. For our participants, and any other young adult preparing for an interview, here are some tips for crushing your next interview.

  • Strong Introductions: Make sure to shake hands with everyone in the interview if it is in person and introduce yourself. By making that first impression, you stay in the minds of your prospective employer longer. When introducing yourself, make sure to state your name and thank the interviewer(s) for their time and for meeting with you.

  • Standing until you are invited to sit: Typically, when entering a face-to-face interview, you are in an office or conference room where you will be sitting during the interview. After shaking hands and introducing yourself, wait until the interviewer is seated or sitting and invites you to sit. This is generally a sign of respect to your future employer.

  • Confidence: When discussing questions that may be challenging, such as “what is your greatest weakness?”, make sure you respond with calm confidence. This is a good way to convey to future employers that you will be sound in your decisions made on the job. Especially in trade positions, it is important to show that when you are handling a task that it will be completed with detailed accuracy.

  • Eye Contact: Eye contact is a great way to convey confidence. When asked a question, make sure to look at the interviewer. It is both respectful and a way to re-center yourself from question to question. When making eye contact, make sure to give your eyes a break from time to time too though. It’s natural to look back at your resume or portfolio of work. Just make sure to keep looking back at the interviewer throughout their point and when delivering your response to their questions. 

  • Highlight your strongest attributes relating to the job: When interviewing for a position, make sure to highlight why YOU are the best candidate for the job. It could be training in the job itself, prior experience, volunteer hours with the agency, or any number of other qualifiers. These are the things that make you more appealing as an employee, so don’t be afraid to highlight your skills!

We hope these tips help you feel more comfortable in your next interview. We especially hope that they can translate into a second interview, a skills test, or even the position itself! If you are a young adult who is not a JOG student and would like to learn more about our career preparation training, please click the button below to learn more!

 
Joseph Cantwell
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