When I first started looking for jobs, I was quite timid, nervous and unsure of my skills. After years of experience, internally, I feel the same. However, I learned to do better research ahead of time, and I expanded my English vocabulary to sound more knowledgable. In addition, I often prepare a script for the interview. Then I practice it in front of a mirror or record myself with the use of a video camera.
Feeling nervous is a good sign. The feeling reminds us that we care. Being slightly on edge will also force us to be more prepared to minimise the uncertainty.
Occasionally, we can get too nervous. If we get to the point that it compromises our progress, we could start devoting more of our time to talk to someone who could coach us or practice a job interview roleplay. I believe that learning relaxation techniques and cognitive behavioural methods in dealing with anxiety can also pay great dividends.
Be aware that some employers will exploit us if they sense a certain level of insecurity. Some might try to manipulate us and put us in a position to make haste decisions that might not benefit us in the long term. So we need to be on our toes and minimise that from happening by recognising our emotional biases. I found that experiencing all of that is the best gateway for learning.
In some ways, I am lucky because I have some experience of sitting as an interviewee and an interviewer. Both positions helped me to understand the challenges of acquiring adequate candidates for a role.
At the beginning of March 2020, I went for a holiday with my partner to visit her parents in Poland. During our visit, my company went into administration, so I lost my primary source of income. Shortly after the first set of bad news, we learned that we were going to stay in the country for some time; the Polish government closed the borders to prevent Covid-19 outbreak.
I kept calm and sent applications weekly. Initially, I landed a couple of remote interviews. I was successful with initial tests and interviews, but in the end, I didn't secure any desireable position. Then it all went quiet.
I kept my hopes because I reached a phase in my life that I stopped being overly self-critical after getting rejections. I filled my schedule with activities to learn new things, read, exercise and walk our dog in the nearby forests.
Having the time to ponder on things and a few years of work experience, I summarised the minimum we can do to increase our chances at landing a new job opportunity. I hope they might be helpful to anyone out there. These are as follows:
1. Dress in a confident, appealing manner
The way we dress shows our seriousness to become a professional and represent the group that we are going to work with. Like other complex living organisms walking this planet, we first process visual and olfactory (smell) inputs before we hear the other side. These first impressions that our brains capture, build into a set of models that characterise other people. All of it might change throughout our conversations, but the way our brains work means that the visual and smell factors are processed first and can bias us towards these cues. The bias can become more significant when interviewers come about to discriminate between equally good candidates.
2. Ask a knowledgeable friend to check your resume or have it typed professionally
Having someone else giving you advice teaches you to welcome feedback from outside. When they become very critical, agree with them and tell them that you will work on improving things and finally thank them for the input. Expect that some people will have no tact when making comments, but if they are honest, that is all you need. How to determine if they are honest? Ask them plainly: "How can I take your criticism seriously?"
On the other hand if you know a bunch of good friends that are too nice to give you unbiased feedback, this might be as bad as not having one. So always befriend people that might sometimes be blunt but frank.
Another option is to pay to get professional service, of course, if you can afford it. It might remove the uncomfortable feeling of being judged by your friends or work colleagues.
The last tip, don't be afraid of getting what you want and trim your resume accordingly to the job you want or gets you closer to what you want.
3. Give the prospective employer one or more compliments during the interview
Be subtle and honest. Bombarding the other person with empty superlatives is quite distractive and sometimes can even build a feeling of distrust. A person who conducts dozens of interviews learns to spot these gems.
I prepare a lot of questions for my interviewers before having my appointment and try to turn interviews into two-way conversations. That way, I also keep some control, and that, in turn, makes me more confident. When they answer my questions, I usually thank them and compliment for their insight and that I have learned something new from this conversation. That usually builds some rapport with the other person(s). I don't do this for the intent of getting a job; I do it for the intent of learning something new from the interaction.
This might not work all the time, but it gives us a greater chance of success, and that is all we need.
4. Express an interest in the company and encourage the interviewer to talk about themselves
Research the company and the person that you are going to work or talk to before the interview. It is your responsibility not because you want a job to pay the bills, because you are going to do it five or more days a week, commit and take responsibility to it at least 37 hours a week which is a significant chunk of your life. Then you will worry about your bills. If you dedicate your time to do something that you are not comfortable to do in the long term and you don't say a word about it then don't blame the employer.
If you can't find sufficient information on the person online, then prepare questions for them to find more about their background and interests. Try to keep your questions as close and relevant to the job you are getting.
This way you can always learn something more about the person that you are going to work with. When you get a chance to ask the interviewer your questions, get a sense if you will be able to get along with them. That will have a long term impact on your performance.
Still, I believe it is essential to work with people of contrasting believes and skills as long as they are not too far from our value set, or at least can get on with our job.
The first few jobs or people we work with might not be ideal. But we can pick up things along the journey and might even pick up experiences that we never considered we had an interest or ability. Further, we don't necessarily need to like people that we work with but need to agree on a set of approaches to deliver common goals.
5. When the prospective employer tells you about their work, say something positive and show enthusiasm
People generally like when others agree with them and if you genuinely are interested in what they do then say it. Sometimes we get wrapped up in normal procedures or get stressed with various tasks, so we all need some appreciation from time to time. We are all living beings and life can be sometimes touched, so paying a little respect to others. That can have an impact.
6. If the interviewer makes a critical or negative comment, agree with and use a disarming method
Remember we have different perceptions - that is a various set of experiences managed by our intelligence. When we agree with others, we are letting the other person lose momentum with further attacks. We can usually say that we can always improve because we are human beings.
If they expect perfection and you have not made a decent impression to what they are looking for then it is not your fault. Please don't attempt to feel guilty for missing their expectations. If you don't get a job because of that, well, keep improving and keep going. It is all you can do and don't let that ruin your enthusiasm. It is fine to feel sour for a couple of days but then stand up and carry on.
During my still relatively short time on this earth I worked as a farmer, cleaner, children and pets minder, a porter, a chef, a driver, a tutor, a scientist and as a technology professional. Some jobs I have done in the past were not my dream jobs. I never found it easy to climb the ladder of experience. Nonetheless, each opportunity helped me access better one and shaped my character.
When I performed manual jobs that didn't interest me, I committed to my duties, but I told my employers that I would not do these jobs for the rest of my life. They were fine with that as long as I gave them enough notice and did my tasks well.
Ninety-eight per cent of the time I had good references and that is sometimes we most need from the workplace - a confirmation that we are reliable. Some employers, unfortunately, will not be great people and will try to exploit us, but we should learn our rights and don't get threatened, or disheartened. Sometimes we need to learn to walk away if we can see no compromise.
Thanks for attention and good luck.