Experience and skills matter to the hiring personnel and your potential employer, but how well you perform on an interview sets your fate whether you’ll step inside the company or not. There are no hard and fast rules or formulas to make an interviewer say yes to your application since situations vary among the companies. Then there’s the mood of a person, the competition and the management. However, these tips can increase your chance of passing an interview.
 

Assemble and bring all the needed papers

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Collect the papers ahead of time to avoid last-minute scrambling. It’s likely you’ll forget a credential or paper by the time you just assemble everything on the day or hours before your interview. What if you left your diploma or took your cousin’s resume instead?

Things you’ll need:

• 1 to 2 pages of a resume (5 copies)
• Diplomas 
• Transcript of records
• Water-proof envelope
• Identification cards
• Work portfolio
• Pen
• Thank you card

Research the company

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Researching the company shows that you did your homework and you’re interested in their culture and the job. You’ll also save money and effort by knowing that the company is Ok for your expectations. It’s likely that HR personnel will ask you questions about the organisational background. So days before your showtime, spend some analysis on the company. 

These are company details that might be asked during your interview. Your interviewer might not ask all of these but usually, asks one or two of these questions.

• Products and services - What they do.
• Mission - What are the reasons for their founding and their values.
• Trends - Things about a recent product, services and promotions.
• Company competitors - These are other companies with similar products and services.
• Unique selling position - What makes the company and its product or services different from others.

Show confidence

You might have anxiety but you still can strengthen your faith in yourself that you can pass an interview and get that contract. Confidence boils down on these three things:

• Correct body language
• Smart dress
• Preparedness (Time, Document, answers to questions)

Arrive on time

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Punctuality shows your enthusiasm and seriousness to the interviewer and the company. Employers have busy schedules and have other candidates next in line. To arrive on time, always set the time 30 minutes or 1 hour early. You may never know what lies ahead during your travel. Life is full of surprises and there could be traffic jams, last-minute changes, accidents and bad weather. 

What if you’re late 

If you’re late in a situation you can’t control (accidents and bad weather), you can mitigate such happenings.

• Call - Call ahead of time and let the hiring personnel know your Estimated Time of Arrival and you can’t make it on time and if it doesn’t work out, ask for a reschedule.
• Provide an acceptable reason - Lame excuses such as crazy traffic, a hangover from parties, and your cat scratching your door won’t cut it. Good reasons include such as family emergency, accidents and weather conditions.
• Regain your composure - Everyone makes a mistake. Show to the interviewer that you’re adaptable by asking for rescheduling that is both Ok for you and the employer.

Dress well

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Dressing well exudes preparedness and confidence. You don’t have to wear tuxedos or formal attire to show up. The dress code depends on the company industry.

Exude correct body language

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Your body language refers to the non-verbal signals that can be interpreted depending on the country’s culture. Here are some of the postures you should avoid:

• Avoiding eye contact
• Crossing arms
• Doodling (writing random objects)
• Drumming your fingers on the table
• Excessive nodding
• Fidgeting a pen or any object
• Mismatching facial expression with feeling (expressing passion with a sad face)
• Not smiling
• Placing hands on the back
• Pointing to an interviewer
• Pursing lips
• Resting your chin on your arms or hands.
• Sitting in a cross-legged position
• Slumping in a seat
• Staring or ogling
• Too strong handshake
• Weak handshake

Correct body language

• Sitting straight in a slight angle
• Shaking someone’s hand in a firm way
• Using hand gestures to express a point
• Maintaining eye contact - You can do this by not staring or ogling that can make the interviewer uncomfortable. Shift your gaze in an inverted triangle by changing from one point to another and stopping for each point for 10 seconds. This isn’t an absolute rule as you can also shift your gaze or eyes away into a side position to convey that you’re thinking
• Nodding to express understanding - Slightly nod in an upward direction and then coming back to a downward position. This is complemented with verbal words such as Ok, yes, and all right.

Prepare for Questions

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You can research interview questions and rehearse them when you do a mockup interview.

• Tell me about yourself

Give your concise employment history and educational background and how it relates to your past and present role.

• Why should we hire you?

Your answer lies on these three points: You can do the job, bring results and that you can fit within the culture and team.

• What are your strengths?

Tell about your specific qualities and illustrate them with your life stories.

• What are your weaknesses?

Tell honestly something that you’re struggling with and that you’re doing something to improve it.

• Why do you have an employment gap? You could reason that -

- You took care of your aging parents and children.

- You upskilled by studying online or enrolling in a physical school.

- You run a business.

- You took a freelance job.

• When you can start?

This depends on your current situation. If you’re unemployed, then you can say as soon as possible. If you’re employed, then you can say that you need a month or a couple of weeks to finish your job in your current employer.

Ask for feedback

Asking for feedback gives you an opportunity to know when the company will show results instead of waiting for nothing. Although it doesn’t always work, asking for the result can increase your chances of getting a job. HR personnel can be busy and may not attend to all resumes. So asking for feedback can help you stand out from the crowd.

Depending on the job or the organisation, you might get feedback on the same day or in another week, a month and after a holiday. Not all employers use the same hiring process. Most interviewers will say when they will give feedback and how they will tell you (call, email or text).

But if they didn’t give a hint of knowing the result, you can:

1. Say thank you - Thank the hiring personnel and that you’re looking forward to hearing for feedback without a demanding tone.

            “I really love to put my skills into good use and thank you for giving me an opportunity. May I ask when I’ll know the result?

2. Identify the contact person - This is important as it saves you and the company some time. Ask the company about their method of contact and also, tell them about yours. 

 “Who should I stay in touch with?”

3. Know when you can get in touch - If they missed the deadline, then you can always follow up unless the interviewer told after the interview that if you haven’t received a response, then your application is most likely rejected.

    “If I don’t hear from you from [deadline], when is the best time to follow up?