Interviews are all about matching the company's needs and your qualifications, skills, experience and accomplishments. Your goal must be to convince the hirer that you are the one that he is looking for.
Make your case convincing
In the interview, focus on the five strengths you have so that the hiring manager will remember you. First select five of your strengths and match them to know whether they can meet the job requirements. Having done that, create an opportunity to bring them up in the interview to show that you are well suited for the job.
Communication specialists say that job seekers should tell the interviewers early in their presentation what they will be saying and repeat the points throughout the interview. "What a wonderful speech!" Many comment usually. But soon they forget what is all about it.
If you are able to make the recruiters remember two of the points you made in your presentation, you have done well. Repetition is very important, because the interviewer may have missed the point the first time. Keep repeating the key points so that they catch them.
Speech model suits well for presentations in interviews. Think of ways to repeat two of your key points. For instance, you are seeking a post that needs strong organizational skills and the interview goes like this:
"Tell us about yourself." Your response should include a statement about your organizational skills. Tell them," My key strength is to keep myself well organized. If you ask my colleagues, they would tell you I am number one planner."
Later during the interview underline this strength in the form of a story that goes like this: "A project I worked on was very complex. I had to put in a lot of effort to plan it. I used Microsoft Project software for tracking and scheduling and I earned kudos from my company."
Suppose the recruiter asks you why you should be hired, your answer must include the information about being organized. You would do well to say, "What I understand from the conversation we had is that you are looking for a person who can bring order to your projects. Knowing my organizational skill, I am confident that I would be an asset for the organization."
By the time you say thank you, you must be able to convince the potential employer that you are the man who can attend to their problems.
Your strong points
The important step to prepare for your interview is to identify your five strengths and matching them with job. Carefully study the job description and identify the key factors needed to do the job. You should read between the lines.
For example, the job description says that you are expected to interact with various departments such as accounting, engineering and manufacturing. You must know what is needed to do this job and what type of a person the company is looking for.
You must understand that the person who takes up the job should have good communication skills, and the ability to interact with diverse group of people and levels. If your strength meets this need, make an effort to convince the interviewer that you have the ability and experience to interact well with different groups.
You must be able to make the interviewer remember the key points you have underscored in the interview just like the speech writer who wants his audience to remember the points he has made. By focusing on the set of strengths you have, you will be able to make a case for yourself that you have the needed skills and experience to interact with divergent groups and people of different levels. And you should be able to make the people you have met remember you for your strengths. If you have done that, you will surely land the job.
