People Share The One Job Interview Tip That Actually Helped Them Land The Position

A Redditor shared two main points based on his experiences from his recruitment days.

When readers found his contribution helpful, he updated his points by adding a few more examples.

An Expert Weighs In

"I could write a lot on this from my recruitment days, but I'll just keep it to two main points."

1. "Answer their questions. Lots of people will start answering the question but never really finish because they go off on a tangent halfway through. It's frustrating as an interviewer to have to ask someone to get back on point, but it's also a little embarrassing for the candidate and it can throw you off your rhythm. I want to know the information because it's important. It also shows you listened to what was being asked of you and you delivered what was required."
2. "At the end of the interview, ask if they have any concerns about your resume, your interview answers or your application in general. It's a great way to see if there is anything they perhaps misunderstood or you didn't explain well enough. I've asked this in every interview and in all but one it's given me some immediate feedback and the ability to allay any concerns they might have. For example, I once had someone say I interviewed great but they were concerned I lived too far away, something that didn't come up in the interview. I was able to then say I would be relocating."

"Edit: as requested, a couple more things."

3. "Do interview prep before you go. You should be able to predict most of the questions, but just writing down what your strengths are and thinking about them will increase your confidence. Make notes on the company and role from the job description; how does that match up with your skills and experience? This crossover is important because it's usually why they will hire you."

4. "Take a notepad, for example the one you used for your interview notes. Make sure you ask if it's okay that you have your notes out, or if you can take notes during the interview. You won't always be able to do this because of a strict NDA, but that's why you ask. Good things to write down include the person's name since it can be easy to forget, especially if more than one person is interviewing you."

5. "Ask what the next steps are and when you might be hearing from them. Use your instincts when it comes to follow up. If you interviewed at retail and it went well, check in with the manager in a week and let them know you enjoyed your interview and you'll be available to start very soon if they pick you. But if you interview at a large company that specifically doesn't take phone calls then don't harass them. If I'm in HR you email me asking when you will hear, chances are I'm chasing the hiring manager for an answer too."

6. "Do not be scared of failure. If you perform poorly, you'll know it straight away and my best advice is just to take the rest of the day off and forget it. Then when you're feeling better try to figure out why it went poorly; bad preparation etc. I find a big one is the stress of getting somewhere new, where to park, who to ask for when I get there etc. Then work on these for the next interview."

"If you did well and didn't get it, there was probably someone better. Don't take it personally. I've had to call great people and say no, and by and large the younger people took it rough and the older people took it on the chin."

"On a personal note, I actually really enjoy interviews now. It's you on your own talking about yourself, who doesn't like doing that? If you dread it, it will probably not go as well as if you look forward to it. You have a captive audience listening to you telling them how great you are. How many times do you get that opportunity?"

– Dan_Ashcroft

Some points were expanded on while new suggestions were made.

Turn The Tables

"Start asking them questions - reverse interview always helps your position."

– extremekc

Follow-Up

"I always come with a long list of questions. My favorite being, 'What is the company culture like at CompanyX?' Then when I write my thank you letter after the interview, I make sure to include a reference to something they said when answering my questions to make the letter more personal."

– LostLlama 

Manner Of Speaking

"I've noticed that if you treat it like a conversation with people you're going to work with, it tends to go a lot better than if you're thinking of it answering questions from people who might drag you out of unemployment."

– TrjnRabbit

Become The Interviewer

"Wait until they ask if you have any questions, and then HAVE QUESTIONS PREPARED! It makes it seem like you're either a know-it-all or not very thoughtful if you have no questions. Have at least one in mind, even if it's something like 'How long have you been at this location?' or some other question that was not answered on the website or through others."

– rowanstar 

A Good Grip

"Make sure you know how to shake peoples hands!"

– tocs4

Awkward

"Though it sucks when the person whose hand you're shaking doesn't know how to shake hands. I had a job interview yesterday and the woman who interviewed me missed my hand initially and had the limpest handshake I've ever experienced, it felt like I was just holding her hand up."

– sl4y4 

Breaking The Ice

"When they ask about your weaknesses tell them you are terrible at interviews. I have always gotten laughs when I have said it and after that I find the interview easier because everyone seems to be in a better mood."

– VSahota 

About Former Employers

"Don't say bad things about your last employer. You next employer can assume that you will do the same for him."

– Chrys 

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Confidence

"The goal in any job interview is to make the interviewer feel like THEY are losing something if they don't offer you the job. I have interviewed so many people in my life that think that being humble and projecting how badly they want the job is the way to go. It isn't. You aren't trying to get a job, you are trying to convince another human being that it would be stupid of them to let you walk out the door and not come back."

– captain_bandit

Showing the interviewer you care by putting in the following basic efforts could make you stand out from the rest.

Show Them It's Your Dream Job

"Prepare. If your dream job is something corporate then it is very easy to take an hour or two and read some articles about the company, look over their annual reports. Pick out a few tidbits of information, not super random ones that you would have to say 'I was looking over your annual report and...' because then that sounds like you're boasting (I'm kind of assuming this would be closer to an entry level job than an executive job, the exec job you would need to do mad research and would want to reference that ish). Basically you want to be able to reference a few of the company's key initiatives/policies/strategies as touch points throughout the interview."

"You need to do more than stick your reference into one answer or ask a canned question. You need to be able to create a cohesive story that not only shows you're capable of thinking critically but also demonstrates either how you embody a characteristic of the company/position or that you understand the impact of the company's strategy/business model on the larger market. (Etc. That is by no means an exhaustive list of examples). If you can do that then you'll be much more successful convincing/tricking/demonstrating your abilities."

"Assuming it's genuinely your dream job this part shouldn't be that hard, but you need to actually care about the conversation/questions. You shouldn't care about whether or not it was a good answer, you should care about your talking points and the talking points that are in the question/are teased out in the ensuing answer. Caring is much, much better than having a canned answer."

– shutupdirt14

The Basic 3

"Wear a suit."
"Be on time."
"Don't cry."

– madsplatter

Overall, having the confidence to show you are dependable, easy to work with, and right for the job are essential.

Anyone can be technically prepared to show how knowledgeable they are of the company they want to work for by taking the time to educate themselves.

But at the end of the day, they want to see your personality as well.

Because with artificial intelligence already taking jobs away from people, no one wants to work with a robot.