How to Make a Good Impression
First impressions matter in just about any human encounter. This goes double for job interviews.
Following are tips to help you favorably impress your next interviewer:
- At the outset of your job search, condition your mind to be optimistic about your future. When you walk into an interview with a positive attitude, your smile will be genuine, betraying no hint of nervousness or doubt.
- Once at an interview, relax and think positively. After all, you’ve already been invited to the interview. Now here’s your chance to show the employer what you have to offer.
- Approach the interview as a conversation, not an interrogation. Again, relax, and connect with the interviewer, speaking clearly and confidently.
- Listen carefully to the interviewer’s questions, and if you are uncertain what the interviewer is asking, rephrase the question in your own words and ask if you grasped the question accurately.
- Try to understand the purpose of each question so you provide the interviewer the information he or she wants to know.
- Show interest in the organization by asking relevant, intelligent questions.
- Give the interviewer a firm handshake at the beginning and end of the interview,
- Thank the interviewer for meeting with you. Ask for his or her business card if you don’t already have it.
- As the final step in making a good first impression, follow up with an e-mail to the interviewer the next day, again expressing your thankfulness for the opportunity.
