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The Number 1 Thing to Do in an Interview

by Veronica Blatt

Today’s guest blogger is Paulette Steele with Real Resumes located in Queensland, Australia. Real Resumes is educating people from beginning to end on getting a job.  Short videos cover all aspects including: where to look for a job, writing effective resumes, researching and preparing for the interview, and most importantly, mastering the interview itself. Paulette has 15 years of recruitment experience and a vast career in various industries.

What’s the number one thing to do in an interview? It’s so simple and effective!

We talk about doing sufficient research about the company, preparing for an interview with answers for the most likely questions and of course being ready with your questions. However, none of this is going to work if you don’t do one thing. Smile!

I happened to call by a friend’s office the other day and we were talking about the trouble he was having finding the right person for a vacancy he had in his company. Then as we were in the midst of the discussion, his receptionist came into his office and said there was someone at the front desk looking for a job and gave him a resume. What a coincidence!

I was impressed that this lady came by with her resume. I tell a lot of people, especially those starting out, that this is a good way to find a job. So many companies don’t advertise their jobs and almost count on people to be referred to them or come to their office looking for work. So, that was a big tick for her as it can be a scary thing to do.

Next, my friend thought well if she is here, let’s interview her for the position. So, the interview started and that’s where it began to come undone.

My friend tried to make this lady smile and even when he asked her about why she wanted to work in the industry, and she replied with how passionate she was about the industry, there was no smile. How can you say you’re passionate about working somewhere, when no emotion is shown, even if it’s simply a smile?

OK, so she was probably nervous, as suddenly she was being interviewed, however because she did not smile even once, she blew her chance to work there.

No matter what the situation, you need to smile and make eye contact when you first meet the hiring manager or recruiter and certainly at the end of the interview particularly if you are interested in the job opportunity.

All the researching and preparation you do for the job interview is a waste of time if you don’t simply smile.

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Tags: interviewing | Posted in: Job Seekers

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