5 Ways to Prepare for Your Very First Job Interview Effectively

A few months from now, there will be a lot of fresh graduates.

In your first interview, the stakes are high. This job will set you on your career path and will be the stepping stone to your success.

Recently, I posted on my social media page about how to overcome the fear of public speaking. If you look closely, job interviews are not so different. And in this article, I'll share the best practices that you should remember for you to ace your very first job interview.

Some may ask, what is it like to be in an actual interview?

At first, you would feel nervous. You would feel your heart thumping, and it would be hard to concentrate, especially with so many other candidates out there. You would find yourself going back and forth in the washroom.

If you want to ace your first interview, you have to overcome being so tense. Focusing too much on what you can't do or dwelling on what you can see on other candidates would not help you calm yourself.

Remember, confidence can be gained by stepping your best foot forward. And one thing to do is to prepare for that very big day.

Here are the tips on preparing yourself for that very big day of yours and gaining the confidence you need.

1) Know the Company

A classic mistake most fresh grads make is that they fail to know about the company they are trying to be a part of. A rule of thumb is to research the company and prepare your own set of questions to ask your interviewers. Not only will this show you as an eager candidate but also someone who spent time getting to know about their prospective future employers. This goes a long way in setting you apart from the rest of the candidates. It may seem like a simple thing to do, but let me tell you this, most young professionals have failed to do this part because of laziness or what we all know as the "Bahala Na!" mentality.

2) Sincerity With Your Answers

There is no standard, 'right,' answer to any question. Remember, the human resource person sitting across from you has ample experience, knowledge, and perspective to decide what kind of candidate they want on their team. You should avoid rehearsing lines and giving generic answers to seemingly common questions. This is your time to talk about your strengths, how you are the right fit for the job, and what you can offer to the table if they hire you. 

Be sincere. Be humble. Be confident as you can get. 

It's better to fail rather than having to put a different persona just because you wanted to get in. Either way, you will not last long if that would be the case because of the original personality that you hid during the interview.

Remember, a No would always mean a Yes to a better opportunity that would ideally suit you.

3) Tackling Competency

Competency-based questions are designed to check your knowledge, skills, and attitude and see if you would be a perfect fit for a company. You may have to face questions like how you can handle stress or a high-pressure work pace. You may need to give examples of how you handle such situations and what component (of any of the three above) you used to resolve the problem or challenge. This set of questions is intended to gauge if you can handle the daily stress of the position you're applying for. And like what I have mentioned on no. 2, be genuine with your answers.

4) Unique Strengths

There are plenty of other candidates out there, probably with the same qualifications as you. They are probably even from your college or school. What makes you different from them, and why should this employer employ you and not them? 

Identify your strengths. Is it your resilience? Is it your logical thinking? Maybe it is your ability to think outside of the box or your creativity? Write it down and be prepared to give examples of where you have shown these strengths in real-life situations. You'll be surprised when you discover a hidden trait that you usually don't notice.

5) Don't be O.A. (Overselling Yourself, Mind the Balance)

The art of a successful interview is knowing where to strike a balance. Be confident, but don't be arrogant. Be vocal about your views but not annoying. Be smart, not egoistic. Sell your potential and your talent, but don't overdo it. If you're a fresh graduate, you may not have enough related experience, so your advantage should be your people skills.

Interviews for fresh graduates are always difficult, but the more prepared, focused, and determined you are, the better your chances of securing your application. At the end of the day, it all depends on how badly you want the job and why you believe you are the right fit.

The best practice would be to write down things you know about yourself, including your strengths as well as your weaknesses. Think about stories, experiences, or situations where you were able to utilize the best of your skills and change the case for the better. The more you know yourself, the better you will ace the interview!

Bonus Tip!

Whenever you need to tell a story for scenario-based questions, always answer by using the STAR approach.

The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question by discussing the specific situation, task, action, and result of what you are describing.

Situation: Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish. You must describe a specific event or situation, not a generalized description of what you have done in the past. Be sure to give enough detail for the interviewer to understand. This situation can be from a previous job, from a volunteer experience, or any relevant event.

Task: What goal were you working toward?

Action: Describe the actions you took to address the situation with an appropriate amount of detail and keep the focus on YOU. What specific steps did you take and what was your particular contribution? Be careful that you don't describe what the team or group did when talking about a project, but what you actually did. Use the word "I," not "we" when describing actions.

Result: Describe the outcome of your actions and don't be shy about taking credit for your behavior. What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you learn? Make sure your answer contains multiple positive results.

Make sure that you follow all parts of the STAR method. Be as specific as possible at all times, without rambling or including too much information. Oftentimes, students have to be prompted to include their results, so try to incorporate that without being asked. Also, eliminate any examples that do not paint you in a positive light. However, keep in mind that some models that have a negative result (such as "lost the game") can highlight your strengths in the face of adversity.

I'm sure that reading this article as a fresh graduate would help you gain direction and confidence. Now you know where to start, take action!