JOBS RESOURCES
Research the company and
the industry
Businesses care about hiring employees who
can hit the ground running these days. While
their expectations may be unrealistic, you need
to go along with them. Researching the company before an interview isn’t a new idea. In the
past, though, you merely did this to wow the
interviewer. Today, you need to do your research
because businesses want to see workers take
initiative, find information and drive themselves.
When they see the word self-starter on resumes,
they want it to mean something.
Researching the company and industry isn’t
just about swotting up on a bunch of information. You need to have thoughts and opinions.
What kind of products are selling and why? What
kind of marketing mistakes have been made?
While doing your homework gives you an
edge in the interview itself, it can do more. If
you read up on the LinkedIn profiles of every
important person in the company, for instance,
you’ll have something to talk about other than
just the job.
Research your own resume
Interviewers often ask job candidates to
walk them through their resume. It might seem
that this step needs no preparation – it is your
resume, after all. Articulating your resume,
though, is harder than it sounds. You need to
take great anecdotes from your school career to
help show how capable you are. You need to be
able to amplify on your resume.
Trumpet your team spirit
Success at the workplace, these days, is often
about quickly learning the ropes and easily falling
in with the team. Often, interviewers ask candidates if they can name any specific instances
when they were good as part of a group or if they
ever needed to quickly learn something for a job.
They expect specific examples. It’s usually a good
idea to take along examples from school or college.
Interviewers nearly always ask candidates
about why they chose their college major. Most
people simply answer truthfully – that they like
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