How to Communicate Effectively in an Interview

The Perfect Resume team are here to help! Our career coaches have hired hundreds of people throughout their careers and have some horror stories to tell! This blog includes a few tips so your next interview doesn't become a horror story! 

Firstly, there are two types of jobs that you will have applied for:

1. A job that simply puts money in your pocket. Chances are, you wont stay in the workplace for very long or you will treat this job as a stepping stone into a position you actually want. 
2. The position that will set you up for a rewarding and fulfilling career. 

The first type of job is much easier to interview for. Chances are, you wont be as nervous and you'll be able to answer most of the questions is a pretty simple manner. The second type of job will most likely give you a dose of performance anxiety. To combat this, you really do need to get yourself mentally prepared. 

What to do before you apply for the position in the first place

Before you apply for the role and submit your resume, spend a bit of time looking into the company and figuring out whether it will be a good step for your career. To get what you want, you may need to side step into a similar role in a bigger company, so there is more of a chance to have an internal promotion. Or, of you are taking the first step into a new career, you may need to start in a lower position so you can become exposed to the new industry. This means having a slight pay cut while you learn the ropes. 

Remember, making the decision to start a new job is a 2-5 year commitment. If you leave within 2-years consistently, you will start to open yourself up for job-hopping recruiter biases. So, before you jump ship to the competitor or apply for a new job, check out the company profile, websites, annual reports, media releases, news articles, even research articles to get a feel about the company and whether it is the right step for you. 

Before you attend the interview

Gather your friends or family members and ask them to engage in a mock interview with you. Treat it like a real interview. You want to make sure that you have a full run through of:

• Wearing the appropriate attire and practicing the hairstyle, make up, and personal hygiene elements.  
• Having the correct attitude, body language and professional communication style
• Perfecting your elevator pitch
• Being able to provide quality-driven answers by reflecting on the key skills and attributes that you have acquired to date, such as knowledge through your qualifications, actual work experiences, volunteer activities etc. 
• Confidently responding to questions using the STAR techniques.

Example questions that you can get your friends or family members to ask you

Teamwork 

• Describe a time when you had to arrive at a compromise with your team, or had to help others arrive at a compromise. 
• Describe a situation when you were a member of a team that struggles or failed to accomplish its goal. What were the reasons for this?

Communication

• Tell me about a time when you persuaded people to do something your way and the outcome
• Describe a time when you have used your communication skills to resolve a dispute

Time Management

• Tell me about a time when you missed a deadline. What were the consequences?
• Tell me about a time when your study or work schedule suddenly changed. How did this affect your other commitments? and how did you manage the situation?

Initiative and Leadership

• When have you used initiative to solve a problem without being asked? 
• Describe a time where a problem arose and your supervisor was not available? What happened?

Problem-solving

• Tell me about a time when you have had to decide between two options and how you made a decision. 
• Describe a time when you used the wrong solution to a problem. What did you do about it? 

Relationship Building

• Tell me about a time when you have had to build a relationship with someone you've never met.
• Give me an example of a time when you had to deal with a difficult person. What happened?

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Capabilities

• Were you able to utilise the discipline specific knowledge and skills gained throughout your degree in either a work setting or placement? If so, how?
• Can you explain the step by step process to conduct the specific procedure and also outline how you ensure that you do the process safely? 

If you have never had an interview before and not quite sure of what to expect or your interview skills are a little rusty, The Perfect Resume and ZYGAVERSE have collaborated to bring you one of the best interview hacking courses on the planet! The Hidden Art to Interview Hacking course contains 2 action packed hours of content, including helpful tips and tricks to not only make a good first impression, but also ensure that you stand out from your competition and get selected for the job.

Using the techniques in this course is GUARANTEED to increase your employability and enhance your perceived value to employers. Throughout the course, you will be guided in a creative, entertaining and informative way to learn proven, scientific backed techniques to help you promote yourself effectively to interviewers. For example, you will get to learn how hidden behaviours, expressions and body language can be the difference between getting hired or rejected from your interview!

What you are about to learn can be used in all future social interactions by helping you influence evolutionary biology and psychology to your advantage. On completion, you will have a framework to hack your next interview, using targeted social psychology, interpersonal communication and neuroscience techniques, such as: 

• Projecting confidence through your appearance and dressing for success
• Incorporating colour psychology and personality into your interview
• The Law of Attractiveness and how you can use it for positive impressions
• Analysing your handshake to connect with the hiring manager in a dignified manner
• Making the interview your time to shine by incorporating social proof
• Projecting trustworthiness, likeability and leveraging emotional transference
• Commanding the room, using positive, negative, open and closed body language and nonverbal communication, including mirroring, eye contact and facial mimicry.

The course also discusses the following scientific frameworks:

• The Neurophysiological Process 
• Multiple Source Effect
• Mechanism of Action
• Self Disclosure
• Projection of Liking
• Complimentary Compliments
• The Power of the Posture
• Emotional Contagion
• The Happiness Epidemic

Master the techniques above to affect others consciously and subconsciously. Hear from the people that did the course...

“When you come to a new country it is hard to learn about the culture differences. With this course it is much easier, everything they teach, I can’t find anywhere else!”
- Aswitha W

“I interviewed for a few companies and never got through the last step. This course sounded too good to be true, but I did it and now I have a job so it must work lol”
- Samantha J

“Learning about how to change someone’s perspective about you is extremely valuable. I think, if you can make someone like you, there is a higher chance they will hire you and do business with you" - James B

Are you ready to learn the best tips and tricks as we deep dive into the social behaviours of humans? Click here to enrol.