Interviewing in the 21st Century

You’ve most likely stumbled upon this page while preparing for your big interview. You’re wondering what you should wear? What materials should you bring? What questions should you be prepared to answer? No worries, we are here to help ease your stress.

What to Bring

Once you have your directions, you should bring a resume. Even if you have already submitted one, it’s better to have an extra just in case they want to review it with you. Another key piece we would recommend would be reference letters. You hardly see these anymore but that alone can set you apart from your competition.

You almost always need 2 forms of identification. The first one can be your driver’s license or state-issued identification. The second one can be anything from voter registration, valid passport, birth certificate, or social security card. It’s always a great idea to have these ready to go in case they want to hire you on the spot and need proof of your identity.

Dress the part

One of the most important things you can do to prepare for your interview is to decide what is appropriate. A key phrase that helps make my decision when dressing for an interview is “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” If you go into an interview wearing work-appropriate clothing, the interviewer will most likely set you aside from the candidates coming in sweatpants and denim.

Do a little pampering to yourself the night before- ladies, clean up those nails. It is one way that this employer can tell how well you take care of yourself. Men with facial hair, make sure it’s cleaned up and not out of control. This shows the person you are interviewing with that you care about your appearance. This stuff rarely goes unnoticed in face-to-face interviews.

Be on Time

Once you have established a time and location, do yourself a favor and get directions to the place you are interviewing. Decide which route you will take and time out the best path to get you there on time if not 10 minutes early. Punctuality is very important to the interviewer, you may be their 1st interview out of 10 applicants of the day. If you are late, you set off the entire timeline for the day or may get your time cut short by not arriving on time.

If you are interviewing in an area like the Midwest where snow can appear overnight and make driving conditions uncomfortable, leave on the early side to be prepared. It’s better to be early than late.

Interview Process

This is where people struggle with prepping for an interview. There is just so much that can be asked by the interviewer and everyone is terrified of not doing their best. To prepare for the questions you might be asked, we would recommend you do some research on the company you are interviewing with and learn more about them. This way you have some background knowledge of who you are interviewing with and what they do.

Almost any interview you go into these days will ask what your strengths and weaknesses are. I hate to break it to you, but typing and Microsoft Office programs are not skills employers are looking for in this process. In this day and age, it’s a requirement so don’t add this in there. Instead, think of ways this company can benefit from having you. Do you have a strong work ethic? Do you have good people skills? How are your communication or organization skills?

Some other key things to keep in mind while going through this are to keep calm and not be fidgety when you are in the “hot” seat. Stay interested in the conversation, and do your best to not zone out. Do your best to not interrupt too and never speak negatively about your previous employers.

Get Your Mind Ready

We know how stressful this process can be. To give it your best bet, we recommend going in with a clear mindset, your only focus should be on this job you are applying for and how you can benefit the company hiring you. Personal issues and other sorts of things need to take a backseat when it comes to interview time. Practice what you want to talk about with the employer, even if it is just practicing in the mirror a few times. Most importantly, get some rest before coming in.