Volume I
How to Improve Your Business Interview Skills
Roberto Lico
Roberto de Paula Lico JĂşnior is a Professor, Professional Coach, International Writer and Business Consultant with a deep knowledge in Management, Overseas Trade and Negotiation.
How to Improve Your Business Interview Skills
It is our first E-book of a three-book series aiming to help you get the most of your business interview!
I - Introduction Most people are not really aware of how important an interview process can be.
A great part of the interviewees believe that luck is one of the most essential factor during the development of an interview process.
That is why we believe that many good candidates fail to achieve a good professional position inside the market place. The main aim of our book is to clarify and inform some important aspects that compose an interview process. Of course we don’t intend to discuss all of the elements, since they can involve a world of information.
But we will highlight the ones that will help our readers to overcome the main difficulties and barriers during an interview process. We can define an interview as a: â–Ş Formal meeting by an appointment at which someone is asked questions in order to find out whether they are suitable for a job, course or study, etc.
Based on the definition mentioned before we are going to discuss an important point in this E-book: â–Ş The Interview Process
II – The Interview Process
Most people are not really aware of how important an interview process can be.
A great part of the interviewees believe that luck is one of the most essential factor during the development of an interview process.
THE INTERVIEWER'S OBJECTIVE: It is to decide whether or not to make you a job offer by evaluating your history, educational background, your strengths and accomplishments, as well as your level of motivation, attitude and personality. In other words, to find out if you're the right person for the job, what is your potential for promotion and whether or not you will fit into the company environment.
THE CANDIDATE’S OBJECTIVE: Your objective is to satisfy the interviewer's objective, as well as learn those things you need to know about the position and the company so that you can make an intelligent decision about the job - and keep focused on "Getting a job offer�.
As each interview is composed of many different steps and procedures with their own characteristics and difficulties, we have decided to divide it in three stages: ▪ Preparation; ▪ Development; ▪ Conclusion.
01 – Preparation: It is very important in any interview process that you take some time to do a little research about the organization and its main characteristics, such its product, clients and its position inside the market place. And as you are gathering information about the company and the job that has been offered you, you can find all the elements to answer the two questions given:
â–Ş How will you know if you want to work there without some research into the company? â–Ş How will they know how serious you are about the job unless you have looked into it?
It is also clear that the research will give you all the data and information to enable you to answer the questions that the interviewer probably will ask you, for example: ▪ What key skills are needed for the job? ▪ How would you be valuable to the company? ▪ What must you know to accept the job if it is offered to you? ▪ What information must you provide to the company at the interview? ▪ What did you learn about the organization and the job? ▪ Why should they hire you? ▪ Why do you want this job?
Is important to say that sometimes this previous research is not enough to answer all your inquiries and doubts. For this reason we advise you to try to meet some of your potential co-workers to learn more about the position as well to clarify some points of your research and knowledge about the position that has been offered you.
02 - Development: At this stage you should have collected all the information necessary to answer questions about the company and especially about your interests related to the job. That is why it is so important to be always prepared. Most of the interviews are conducted by one person, which could be a psychologist specialized in Human Resources or even a head of a department.
Therefore it is important to remember that:
▪ This person doesn’t know you and cannot read your thoughts; ▪ You must look as professional as possible; ▪ You must answer all the questions to specifying your qualities, goals and contributions that you are able to.
Another important point during the development of the interview is the way that you are going to present yourself. And based on that we summarized some important tips.
Presentation:
▪ Find out the standard dress for the organization. ▪ Dress on the conservative side. ▪ Arrive early. ▪ Bring extra resumes, notepad, pen. ▪ Be sure you know how to pronounce your interviewer's name correctly. ▪ Be polite to everyone you meet there. They all count. ▪ Be personable as well as professional.
▪ Do not chew gum, smoke, swear or use slang. ▪ Be aware of body language, vibes, reactions - use your instincts to keep things on course. ▪ Assume all questions are asked for a good reason and answer accordingly. ▪ Do not assume that your interviewer knows how to elicit the information he/she is looking for. ▪ Feel free to ask for clarification before answering a question.
▪ Take some time to formulate your answers before you speak. ▪ Answer all questions honestly, but in the best, most positive light. ▪ Do not bad mouth old employers.
Lico Reis Consultoria & LĂnguas Prof. Roberto Lico We provide a whole range of Business and Legal Online Support about Brazil: Professional Coaching Business Classes and Support Technical Translations On-line Lectures On-line Business Consulting Country Business Profile
LRCL – Business Services Consulting Roberto Lico licoreis@licoreis.com.br
Roberto Lico WhatsApp 12 9 9195 2474 licoreis@licoreis.com.br