1. Interview Toolkit for Success

15. Preparing What to Say The job interview is a stressful situation that can cause fear and anxiety for even the most composed. The best way to alleviate the situation is to prepare as much as possible before hand. Preparing what to say can increase your success rate. By preparing what to say, we become more comfortable with the process simply by the act of repetition. Preparation will help you to think about areas of your day to day life that you may not think about until presented with a situation, such as an interview, that forces you to take stock. By preparing what to say you focus on what you have to offer an employer and clearly defines what you want as well.

19. Preparing Your Skill Stories Definition: A behavioral interview is a job interview focused on discovering how an applicant acted in specific employment-related situations. The logic is that your past performance in the workplace will predict your future performance. The behavioral interview has become increasingly popular due to its effectiveness in finding individuals with the competencies needed to fill positions. Instead of asking how you would behave, the interviewer will ask how you did behave. The interviewer wants to know how you handled a situation, instead of what you might do in a hypothetical situation. Behavioral Based Interview’s

20. Preparing Your Skill Stories The STAR Approach The STAR approach is an effective way to answer Behavioral based interview questions by breaking the answer down into logical sections. It helps the participant put together a story with a beginning, middle, and end. In addition, the STAR Method helps to keep the story on track and allows the participant to effectively demonstrate a particular competency that the interviewer can easily follow.

24. Asking Your Own Questions Of all the questions you could be asked during an interview, one of the most important comes at the end when the interviewer asks: “Do you have any questions?” This is your opportunity to show how well you prepared and can give the interviewer some insight into your true interest in the position. This is also an opportunity for you to clarify some information you received during the interview or found in your research of the company.

31. Asking Your Own Questions Questions to Avoid Thoughtful and insightful interview questions will distinguish you from other job candidates, but as important as it is to ask good questions, avoiding bad questions is even more so. You can completely unravel the positive impression you have made during your job interview by asking inappropriate and ill-informed questions.

34. Asking Your Own Questions Avoid questions about pay: Some employers expect the candidates to bring it up but others regard it inappropriate at this point in the interview process. The general rule is that it is best to wait until you are further along in the job offer process before you bring up the subject of pay. Pay is another difficult issue. Interview questions about what you will earn are usually included in the list of interview questions not to ask! The most important rule when it comes to discussing your potential salary, never give the number first.