I am guessing you are a fresh graduate trying to get some interview calls to finally land your first job. Or you have been to a few interviews but are unable to impress the hiring manager. Whatever your situation may be, the points discussed further in this post will help you land your first job within a few weeks.
Here are 5 things to do before an interview to impress a hiring manager. Few of the points below may cliched, but trust me, these are the only things a hiring manager looks for before hiring an employee.
1) Have a strong online presence
Websites like LinkedIn and AngelList provide an amazing platform for both the candidate and the hiring manager to test each other before deciding to invest further. This saves time, energy and money. In fact, I know plenty of people who got an interview via their LinkedIn profile. You don’t need to go overboard with your profile. List the attributes and professional skills that you own. Hiring managers love to visit the candidate’s social media profile and make a judgment of the kind of person they are.
2) Be punctual
By being late for the interview, you have already lost half of the battle. After that, every decision the hiring manager makes will be influenced by you being late for the interview. This is the worst way to approach an interview. To impress your hiring manager, reach the interview location at least 15 minutes before the actual interview time. You don’t know what might come up on your way to the interview.
3) Think about all the reasons why you want to join
“Why would you like to join our organization?” is one of the interview questions that you are going to be asked no matter what industry you are planning to work in. A hiring manager wants to make sure you are joining their organization for the right reasons. Your reason could be anything. Wanting more money, a new challenge, change of career, etc are all good reasons to join a new company. By being honest and proving a prepared answer to this question, you will impress your hiring manager.
4) Dress appropriately
There is no fixed dress code when it comes to dressing for a job interview. The type of clothes you wear for a job interview should be based on what you know about the company and its employees. For instance, wearing a suit for an interview in a startup company won’t be appropriate. You can get away with it but if you want to impress a hiring manager in a startup company, you better wear something like a semi-formal shirt and trousers.