The Best Interview Practices to Make an Impression

Interview practices are the steps you take and things you do before the interview, how you conduct yourself during the interview, and the methods you use to follow up after the interview. These extra efforts can help you make a good first impression for the hiring manager and reveal you to be a prepared candidate for the role you seek. Adequately preparing for an interview entails everything from choosing an outfit to ensuring you have thoughtful follow-up questions for the interviewer. Each step you take in preparing and the details you consider will communicate your qualifications for the job.

Learn More: What to Wear to a Job Interview: Tips and Ideas

Before the interview even begins, you will want to take some extra precautions to verify your preparedness. These extra steps will help you maximize the time you spend with the hiring manager or interviewer and highlight your complete skill set. Consider using these best interview practices before the interview:

• Verify the time, place, and type of interview: A couple of days in advance, call ahead to make sure you have the correct date and time. Sometimes, interviews need to be rescheduled because of conflicting arrangements. Make sure that you understand the interview process and whether it will be a telephone interview, an in-person experience, or a type of video conference. If it is not in-person, you can prepare by ensuring your phone is fully charged and your laptop is connected with a dependable internet connection.

Learn More: How To Ace Your Virtual Interview

• Identify the interviewer if possible: When calling to verify the time and place of the interview, consider asking for the name of the person conducting the interview. This will help you address them respectfully and begin the interview on a positive note. If a name is not provided for you, you can also refer to the company website to identify the hiring manager who might be conducting your interview.
• Research the company: Familiarize yourself with the company’s vision, mission, and goals. This information can often be found on the company website and on advertising material. Consider looking up any company-run social media pages as well. This can provide valuable insight into the overall values the company maintains. Any outside media outlets, such as new releases or newspaper articles, can also tell you events the company takes part in or non-profit organizations they contribute to. For example, if the company takes part in an annual fun-run you can reasonably conclude that they value healthy living. Additionally, contributions to the local humane society show an interest in animal welfare and community outreach.
• Review the official job description: Revisit the official job description for the position you seek. Determine keywords within the job description to help you focus your answers for the interview.
• Identify your strengths: Align the keywords and primary job responsibilities with some of your strengths. This will help you better communicate the attributes you have that make you a good candidate for the job.
• Have copies of your resume printed: Some interview questions may focus on the information on your resume. Having it available to yourself and the interviewer can make for a better interviewing experience and help the interviewer ask stronger questions related to your unique skill set.
• Practice some common interview questions. There are some typical interview questions that you should prepare to answer. If you begin by taking some quick notes and formulating possible answers, you can give a comprehensive response during the interview. Consider using the STAR interview technique to help you provide a valuable answer. STAR is an acronym that stands for situation, task, action, and results. This technique works well for behavioral questions where you need to describe a situation, detail the task or obstacle you faced, indicate the actions you took to overcome the challenge, and relay the results of your actions.

Learn More: How to Use the STAR Method

• Ask a friend for help. Conduct mock interviews with a friend and ask them for some feedback. Any constructive criticism can help you focus your efforts to provide a more productive interview.
• Prepare some questions. To keep the interaction fluid, many interviewers will allow you to ask questions as well. Having thoughtful and smart questions for the interviewer communicates your genuine interest in the position and your desire to be part of the organization.

Learn More: Questions To Ask An Interviewer

Making a good first impression with the interviewer is crucial to continuing through the interview process and even being called back for the next round of interviews. How you present yourself at and during the interview will help the hiring manager understand your qualifications and how you may fit in with the company culture. Think about using some of these interviewing best practices and techniques during your interview to present well for the interviewer:

• Dress appropriately: Observe the general attire that employees use at the company and try to mirror the same styles. This will help you communicate you are a good culture fit.
• Express friendliness: Make eye contact with others to show confidence and use an upbeat and professional tone. This will help you convey a welcoming attitude towards others.
• Be genuine: Be respectful to everyone you encounter and when you are asked questions during the interview, give responses that are unique and show your individual characteristics. This will help you stand out during the interview and can humanize the experience as well.
• Focus on your body language: The interviewer will be observing you for your full abilities. Your verbal and non-verbal communication skills will be on display. Exuding confidence and comfort using appropriate body language will help to validate your confidence in your skills and abilities as a candidate.
• Arrive early: As a professional courtesy, and to be sure you are calm and prepared, arrive a few minutes early. This will help you clear your thoughts before entering the interview room.
• Remain positive: Some questions may ask why you are seeking new employment. Even if it is due to a bad experience at your previous company, refrain from speaking ill of others. Always bring back your response to why you are best suited for the role and how you can help the company progress. This will show your professionalism.
• Stay on topic: Having good verbal communication skills and being able to stay on topic is a desirable characteristic of any employee in all industries. Be direct in your language and within your response to highlight your strong verbal communication skills. It will establish you as a confident employee with a strong foundation.

Learn More: How to Show Culture Fit in an Interview

After the interview, consider these final tips to help you gain some clarity from the experience and follow up with the hiring manager:

• Ask about what to expect next: One way to help close out the interview is to ask about what you should expect next. This will communicate to the hiring manager your continued interest in the position. It may provide you with a timeline for when to expect a reply and how to progress in your job search.
• Express gratitude: Thank the hiring manager for the time they spent meeting with you and for the opportunity to interview. Smile and politely mention something unique you enjoyed about the interview or the process. Interviews are valuable experiences that can lead to more job opportunities and help you prepare for the next time you sit in the hiring chair.
• Send a follow-up email or letter: Soon after the interview, consider sending a personalized email or letter to serve as a formal thank you. Consider differentiating yourself by including some details from your interview to help make you stand out from the other candidates. This minor act will keep you in the mind of the hiring manager and is a thoughtful professional courtesy to someone who may be a future colleague.

The above interview practices can help make sure your next interview goes smoothly and professionally. Be sure to prepare well in advance.

Discover real interview questions asked for thousands of job titles