Learning to ride a bike, going on a date, and staying up all night the day before your first job interview. They are situations in life that everyone has experienced or will experience. It's hard to know how to deal with them without knowing the taste of asphalt or rejection. Failure is part of life and it is a possible option, yes, but it is also possible to emerge victorious and pedal at full speed in celebration, like someone who is hired for their dream position.
There is no secret formula to face job interviews in the most effective way possible, since the situation varies depending on the job, the company, the interviewer and the interviewee, the environment, space and place... There are many factors to take into account. account. Although it is clear that there are general guidelines and some basic advice that may help to listen to.
As a guide, it is important to forget from our memory all those traditional recommendations that have been repeated, like an echo, over the years. The only salvageable aspects of this are the dress code and body language, but in reverse. “You have to pay attention to body language but without becoming obsessed. We must understand that it is a stressful situation, it is normal for the interviewee to be nervous. You don't have to blame a great professional for a bad interview. We must have professional ethics,” comments Jordi Damià, CEO of the human resources group Setesca.
The dress code is important, without going crazy, “you have to know where you are coming from, you can't show up in your pajamas,” adds Damià. Although he himself points out the need to pay attention to other things, such as having a complete profile. “There are three branches that you have to know how to cover: the first is to be well positioned on Linkedin, it is not only valid with the physical curriculum vitae (CV), you have to cover the digital aspect as well. The second is based on adapting the CV to the different jobs to which it is applied; it cannot be reused for different offers. Finally, the interview, you have to know how to live up to it, and that is what you train for,” concludes Jordi Damià.
Training the interview is a good strategy when it comes to eliminating tension and looking more prepared. Experts recommend practicing at home, recording yourself simulating a real interview and then watching it and correcting mistakes. They emphasize listening well to what is asked and speaking enough, without being hateful, and giving precise answers to the questions asked. Sometimes more is less.
Another crucial aspect is knowing how to look inside yourself and be able to answer the most important question, what do I have to offer the company? César Truan, director of Synergie Executive, a senior management selection and hiring company, deciphers the mystery with three words: "Value proposition." “It is like a cover letter, it must be built by a description of skills, details of accumulated experience, a list of achievements and results, arguing the cultural fit with the company, and finally, demonstrating the potential one has.”
It doesn't end there. The candidate must be aware of the position in which he finds himself, he is not the only option for the hiring company. “There is a lot of competition and you have to be able to decipher and show where you can stand out,” says Truan.
Also point out the importance of doing homework at home. “Being well informed about the company you are applying to is key,” says Truan. A prior search on its identity, projects it works on or its staff is information normally available on the company's website and that can be useful.
Finally, both experts agree on carrying out this process in a relaxed environment, where it is easy for everyone and both interviewee and interviewer feel completely comfortable. They reject online or remote interviews, “we are digitizing the selection processes too much. Dealing with people means doing things in person, not everything can be digitalized. We will never present any candidate to a company that we have not met before,” Truan concludes.
