Real Job Seekers Share Interview Tips That Work

It’s not all about you

“The interview is not about the candidate, it’s about the job. No matter how great you are as a person or employee, the interviewer is trying to fill a position. Hence, talk about the job as much as possible. Ask what a perfect candidate would be like. Only occasionally talk about yourself and only to show how you suit their requirements.” – Dave Field

Can you take the heat?

“I’ve found that saying that I can take constructive criticism has a big impact on employers. They need to know that you are not going to fold under scrutiny. Especially with the younger generation, where we have been coddled quite a bit with excessive praise and self-esteem boasters, you need to show you are resilient.” – Liz Cauley, teacher

Make a list

List five things you’ve accomplished during your previous job and concentrate on those items during your interview. “Each time I prepared for an interview, I was reminded of five things that I had accomplished under my last employer. That gave me a boost of confidence when going to the interview. It helped me to decide how I wanted to frame the answers that I gave to the interviewer.” – Sue Chehrenegar

Know the job description

“Reviewing the job description will help you customize your answers by addressing the specific needs of the organization and requirements of the position to your skill set. Many people have no idea what the job entails or how their skill set makes them better qualified.” – Cristina Castro, director of marketing and communications

Keep your answers to questions short and to the point

“Don’t volunteer extra information. In my case, I talked about my children. We discussed that I had been a stay-at-home mom. Even though I had impressive writing credentials, he told me that I wasn’t a ‘corporate person.’ (His exact words.) Of course, I never learned if this was why a job offer wasn’t forthcoming but I’m 99.9 percent sure I said too much.” – Marilyn Pincus, author and ghostwriter

Speak as if you have the job

“Steal a page from the presidential candidates and talk if as if you already have the job. Say ‘I will,” not ‘I would.’ ‘I can,’ not ‘I could.’ This will remove doubt instead of inject it. Bosses like someone confident and proactive.” – Joel Schwartzberg, director of new media