Interview tips for making a great im­pres­sion

Job in­ter­views are a very demanding situation for most people. And with good reason: ul­ti­mately, an interview decides whether or not you get the job. You should therefore convince your potential employer that you’re the right person for the job. The in­ter­view­er usually decides within the first hour if you’re a suitable candidate or not. However, it’s often not clear, es­pe­cially to newcomers, what employers really pay attention to. Although this question is difficult to answer ac­cur­ately, there are some rules and guidelines you should follow if you want to make a good im­pres­sion.

There are of course certain factors that vary from company to company or that are industry-specific. In some in­dus­tries, a soph­ist­ic­ated ap­pear­ance is more important, while in others, a calm and objective manner is crucial. Often, factors like the person’s current mood can influence the con­ver­sa­tion. Such factors are outside your control, but what you can work on, is your overall per­form­ance at job in­ter­views. The trick is to react con­fid­ently to the factors you can’t control. With our interview tips, you’ll learn how to do your best.

Being well prepared is the most crucial element of an interview. Ad­di­tion­ally, you can kill several birds with one stone: first, you can research in­form­a­tion to make sure that the position really meets your ex­pect­a­tions (ideally, you have done this before your ap­plic­a­tion, but before the interview, it makes sense to conduct a further in-depth ex­am­in­a­tion too). If not, you can reject the company’s in­vit­a­tion to interview at an early stage and con­cen­trate your time and energy on more worth­while offers or ap­plic­a­tions.

If you accept the in­vit­a­tion to interview, you will be much more confident during the interview if you are well prepared. The same principle applies as with important exams. Being well prepared also helps you keep your nerve in a stressful situation.

Ul­ti­mately, good interview pre­par­a­tion involves valuable learning: you’ll learn more about the re­spect­ive industry, the companies involved in that industry, and the current job re­quire­ments.

The following interview tips are a great way to prepare and give you the con­fid­ence that you’ll need. For most ap­plic­ants, that’s already half the battle.

If you are in the middle of the ap­plic­a­tion phase and are sending out a lot of ap­plic­a­tions, you may not always be re­search­ing all the details that have to do with the ad­vert­ised position and the company. Sending out numerous ap­plic­a­tions leaves very little time for hours of research on each in­di­vidu­al job ad. However, as soon as you receive positive feedback from a company and an in­vit­a­tion to interview, you should def­in­itely do more research on the company. Try to answer the following questions while preparing:

• What does the company do? Why is it in­ter­est­ing for me? How well is it po­si­tioned in its industry?
• How does the industry in which the company operates work? Do I already have ex­per­i­ence or points of reference in the company’s field of work?
• What are the typical duties of the job position I’m applying for? How well do I fit the job profile? Which of my previous ex­per­i­ences and knowledge qualify me for the job?

The unique selling points (USPs) of a product should describe the unique char­ac­ter­ist­ics of the product that will impress customers and ul­ti­mately make them choose your product in par­tic­u­lar. And the tactics used in marketing a product, can also be trans­ferred, in a sense, to personal branding in a job ap­plic­a­tion: consider your key qual­i­fic­a­tions that set you apart from other can­did­ates. Then you should think about how you can present these strengths clearly and concisely.

Thanks to the following job interview tips, you can present your strengths con­fid­ently without too much effort. Discover how to convince your pro­spect­ive employer in the area of, for example, soft skills, with the following char­ac­ter­ist­ics:

• “I am a good team player.”
• “I learn new skills quickly.”
• “I have many years of ex­per­i­ence in the industry.”
• “I am an open and sociable person.”

In many in­dus­tries however, the so-called hard skills (i.e. the typical pro­fes­sion­al qual­i­fic­a­tions) are much more decisive for personnel managers. However, as these vary from sector to sector, we cannot provide any general examples here. Before an interview, be sure to consider which hard skills qualify you for the job.

Ad­di­tion­ally, it is also helpful if you have one or two examples that prove your strengths. For example, you may be able to prove that you are a fast learner because of the short amount of time it took you to learn a new language. High­light­ing suc­cess­ful team projects you’ve been involved with in the past is a good way to convince in­ter­view­ers of your team player spirit. It’s important that your remarks don’t just seem like mere claims, but that situ­ations that prove your qual­i­fic­a­tions come to mind im­me­di­ately.

When choosing which USPs to bring to their attention, you should choose the ones that best suit the job profile. It’s of little use em­phas­ising your foreign language skills when in­ter­na­tion­al com­mu­nic­a­tion does not play a role in the company.

A question that always appears in in­ter­views: “Why are you in­ter­ested in this job?” The answer should reveal more than just financial interest, but also a genuine interest in the job and the company itself. The question of interest is not only a tool used by personnel managers and re­cruit­ers to find out more about the applicant’s mo­tiv­a­tion, but also a way to check an applicant’s ex­pect­a­tions of a position. After all, the job should suit you. Answer the following questions before your interview:

• What exactly interests me about this job?
• What motivated me to apply to this job?
• What do I expect from the working en­vir­on­ment?
• What do I expect from my employer?
• Why do I think my skills could benefit the company?

With such questions, the decision makers in such companies aim to find out whether the applicant really wants the job and is in­ter­ested in it or if they just want it for the income. This par­tic­u­larly applies to ap­plic­ants that have only become aware of the job through job placement. If the in­ter­view­er picks up on half-hearted interest in the position, your ap­plic­a­tion will begin to fall through the cracks. On the other hand, you shouldn’t lie to yourself and feign interest in a position you don’t want – this never results in a good working en­vir­on­ment. Con­cen­trate on companies that actually interest you.

In most cases, there are more ap­plic­ants than there are open positions. Re­cruit­ers and HR managers must therefore figure out pro­ced­ures that filter out un­suit­able can­did­ates as early as possible. Otherwise, the re­cruit­ing process is long and ex­haust­ing. Ask yourself, why the employer might reject a candidate, and if your profile points to some of those reasons (if these reasons were obvious, you wouldn’t have been invited for an interview).

If there are in­di­vidu­al points that speak more against your attitude, then you increase your chances by identi­fy­ing your weak­nesses and thinking of a suitable defence. The term “defence” is not always ap­pro­pri­ate, because ideally you do not react too de­fens­ively (as this might make you appear insecure), but show that you are aware of the weakness mentioned and are already working to improve on the area in question. Depending on the area of weakness and the ac­cu­mu­la­tion of your weak­nesses, this can be more or less con­vin­cing. But everything is better than admitting existing weak­nesses without the intention of working on them. Below are two examples of how to respond well to questions about specific weak­nesses:

The in­ter­view­er may have already dis­covered many of your weak­nesses from your CV or your profile. However, since you’ve been invited to interview, you must have made a positive im­pres­sion with your ap­plic­a­tion. Try not to prove this im­pres­sion wrong in the interview by over­em­phas­ising your weak­nesses in com­par­is­on to your strengths. Con­cen­trate on the positive aspects of your CV and try to transform your negative traits into positive ones. Many in­ter­view­ers ask spe­cific­ally for weak­nesses in order to get an im­pres­sion of how confident you appear in your jus­ti­fic­a­tion. If you succeed well at this, you prove your ability to com­mu­nic­ate at the same time. If you appear too hesitant, many personnel experts will regard this as an in­dic­a­tion that your weakness is so pro­nounced that you yourself have dif­fi­culty jus­ti­fy­ing it.

Every interview is different, yet there are certain questions and topics that play a role in most in­ter­views. You will often be asked similar questions at in­ter­views. For this reason, it makes sense to deal with the common cat­egor­ies and questions. However, you should not memorise general answers that you will then present at each interview. Instead, your answers should vary depending on the industry, the company, or the character of the in­ter­view­er.

In the following table you will find some questions that you may be asked during the interview:

In­ter­view­ers attach great im­port­ance to the fact that the con­ver­sa­tion does not only run in one direction. Ideally, you have your own questions to ask, from which you can learn and convey your interest in the company. Technical questions point to a certain level of expertise on your part. If the in­ter­view­er asks you if you have any questions, it might be dis­cour­aging if you decline. At worst, it indicates dis­in­terest or lack of ima­gin­a­tion. It is therefore advisable to prepare a list of questions in advance. Here are a few sample questions you can ask at your interview:

• What does the ideal candidate look like for you?
• What motivated you to invite me to the interview?
• What is the next step in the ap­plic­a­tion process?
• How would you describe the working at­mo­sphere in your company?
• What further training op­por­tun­it­ies are required?
• Do you use program X or procedure Y?
• Is knowledge of language X an advantage?

Of course, new questions may arise during the interview, but be careful not to interrupt your in­ter­view­er too often. Depending on the in­ter­view­er’s character, you may also formulate these questions less formally if you have the feeling that the personal chemistry is right. However, you should not be too brash and should not put the in­ter­view­er in an un­pleas­ant situation. Questions like “Do you like working here?” or “Are you paid fairly?” are usually con­sidered taboo. If during the interview you’ve already appeared to lack tact, you usually won’t get a second chance to prove you will have tact in the job itself.

One of our best interview tips is to prepare for your interview with a dialogue game. For example, ask one of your friends to play the role of the in­ter­view­er and practice. This way, you can train yourself to react con­fid­ently to questions asked without having to think too long about the answers.

Such exercises also show you whether your pre­par­a­tion is suf­fi­cient or whether you need to invest a little more time and effort. A practice interview helps you es­pe­cially if your coun­ter­part can radiate a certain authority. Ideally, this person has already suc­cess­fully conducted an interview and can draw on the ex­per­i­ence. Ask your circle of ac­quaint­ances who could fulfil this role well. It is even better if an ad­di­tion­al third person observes the con­ver­sa­tion from a neutral point of view and shares their ob­ser­va­tion results with you. An exchange of roles can also be useful to get to know the in­ter­view­er’s side.

Being well prepared will also serve to boost your con­fid­ence during the interview. And as for how to do well in the interview itself, we have even more tips.

Studies have shown that people often decide whether they like you or not in the first five minutes of a con­ver­sa­tion. When it comes to job in­ter­views, this also rings true. If you make a good im­pres­sion in the first five minutes, this can take some of the pressure off. Pay attention to the following to ensure a good start to your interview:

• Enter the room with positive energy and en­thu­si­asm. A genuine smile can have a huge impact, and so too can an upright and confident posture.
• Express your gratitude for the op­por­tun­ity that is present­ing itself. Shake the hands of all your in­ter­view­ers with an ap­pro­pri­ate amount of pressure – not too much and not too little!
• A positive remark at the beginning of the interview can’t hurt: “Your office is lovely,” “I am excited to be here,” etc. Try not to ex­ag­ger­ate and just be genuine.

In a con­ver­sa­tion between people, it is not just the wording that is important, but also the nonverbal com­mu­nic­a­tion – the body language. Our bodies always com­mu­nic­ate something and people can interpret certain body language in a positive or negative way. The following interview tips will help you with a con­vin­cing body language during an interview.

• Maintain eye contact! This is one of the most important elements of conveying your interest to your in­ter­view­ers. Try not to spend too much time looking at the desk or floor in front of you. Don’t let your gaze circle around your in­ter­view­er – this may make you appear bored or tired.

• Sit upright and straight, but not too stiff. If you are too reclined on your chair, you may appear dis­respect­ful. Your seat posture expresses a certain something about you. An overly relaxed position and a nervous rest­less­ness (e.g. constant crossing of the legs) can have a negative effect.
• Arms and hands should remain above the desk. Don’t rest your head on your hand as you will look extremely dis­in­ter­ested. Use your hands while talking to emphasise something you’re saying. Try to avoid moving them too quickly as this will make you appear nervous and unsettled.
• Consider what you will wear for the interview in advance. Find out if there is a certain dress code. It’s unlikely that you will look too smart at an interview. Avoid wearing too much makeup or too many ac­cessor­ies that could make you look too showy.
• Avoid wearing strong perfume or deodorant – you don’t want to be re­membered for your over­bear­ing smell as opposed to the important things you said during the interview.

Many ap­plic­ants auto­mat­ic­ally assume a kind of victim role whereby they justify them­selves. However, this is exactly the wrong strategy, as it quickly gives the im­pres­sion that you are not convinced of your own qual­i­fic­a­tions. Remember: it is not only your potential employer that is offering you something, you are also offering them your valuable work.

Always sell yourself as expensive as you really are. Make it clear to the in­ter­view­er that this ap­plic­a­tion is mutual: you are trying to present yourself to the company as a suitable applicant, while the company should also be con­vin­cing as an employer. Therefore, do not act as a pe­ti­tion­er. In any case, a healthy working re­la­tion­ship will only develop if both sides benefit from each other. Consider this before and during the interview.

Many ap­plic­ants tend to be too passive during an interview. This often happens because they think it is polite to wait for what the in­ter­view­er does and says and then answer ac­cord­ingly. In the worst case, these ap­plic­ants are only reacting and might appear too passive. Make sure the com­mu­nic­a­tion works as a two-way system.

Remember that your main argument, your unique selling points, should ab­so­lutely be included in this con­ver­sa­tion. Whenever you have the chance to in­cor­por­ate these into con­ver­sa­tion, do so. Your list of questions will also help you set the pace of your interview from time to time. This is exactly how you can do well in an interview and show your ini­ti­at­ive and self-con­fid­ence.

In­ter­view­ers can also make mistakes – whether con­sciously or un­con­sciously. For example, some questions are in fact not allowed to arise in job in­ter­views, yet still do. However, you are not, by any means, obliged to answer these. Such questions include those about your origin, re­la­tion­ship status, sexual ori­ent­a­tion, or desire to have children. Women, in par­tic­u­lar, should pay attention to any questions asked about their desire to have children or pregnancy.

Ad­di­tion­ally, since these questions are in­ad­miss­ible, you are not obliged to answer them truth­fully. If you still want a job with a company that asks such in­ad­miss­ible questions, you can simply answer the way your in­ter­view­er probably wants to hear: “At the moment I am con­cen­trat­ing entirely on my career” or “Children are not currently an issue for me.” Questions about sick leave are not only in­ap­pro­pri­ate, but in many cases pro­hib­ited by law. So you don’t have to answer these questions truth­fully either. You do not have to fear any legal con­sequences if you answer such questions un­truth­fully.

The final im­pres­sion is also the one that remains. You should put in the same amount of effort to the end of the con­ver­sa­tion as you have done at the beginning. Once again, express your gratitude for the op­por­tun­ity and make your desire to get the job clear. This will signal that you will most likely accept the job if you are offered it. And generally companies are in­ter­ested in filling the position as quickly as possible. Add that you are looking forward to hearing from the company. Finally, leave a good im­pres­sion, because this last im­pres­sion could be what sets you apart from a com­par­ably qualified com­pet­it­or.

As soon as you have stepped out the door of the company, you have made it – but your efforts should not end there. Es­pe­cially if several ap­plic­a­tions are still open or if a single ap­plic­a­tion process takes place in several steps, it is important to correctly process the previous interview.

If you draw the right con­clu­sions from the interview, you can better prepare for the next one. You should ask yourself the following questions:

• How satisfied am I overall with the interview? Do I rate it as a success or not?
• At which points in the interview was I uncertain and which ones did I master con­fid­ently?
• Did I receive all the in­form­a­tion I wanted?
• Did I make my main arguments or unique selling points clear?
• How would I evaluate the personal chemistry between myself and the in­ter­view­er?
• What kind of im­pres­sion did I get from the job itself and the company? Do I really want to work there?

Write down the important findings from above to help you prepare for your next interview.

Even if the interview went very well, you still do not have a job guarantee. Sometimes the employer may opt for a different candidate due to factors that are unknown to you or factors that you cannot change. When you are in the middle of a job ap­plic­a­tion phase, you should of course treat yourself to a break every now and then, but do make sure to retain the tempo and make sure to take the momentum of your pre­vi­ously mastered interview with you into the next one. If you rely too much on having a job safely in your pocket, you may lose valuable time if you are declined.

Job ap­plic­a­tion phases can take a toll on our self-con­fid­ence, es­pe­cially if the declines ac­cu­mu­late. However, this does not always indicate that your qual­i­fic­a­tions were too low – es­pe­cially not in the case of coveted positions for which numerous other in­ter­ested parties are applying. If you had a weak interview but still want the job, there is no harm in ap­proach­ing the potential employer again. In order to find out the areas you could still improve on, it can also be useful to ask your in­ter­view­er per­son­ally for feedback. As you know, asking questions doesn’t cost a thing, and often in­ter­view­ers are willing to describe their im­pres­sions of the ap­plic­a­tion process.

Always remember that if you don’t try, you can only lose. So don’t give up, but instead, try to con­tinu­ously improve yourself. Because stamina will not only help you in the job itself, but also in your search for the right job.