At KBW Financial Staffing & Recruiting, we help all of our candidates prepare for an interview.
 

We’ve listed a variety of tips for the most important part of any job search – the interview.  These tips are designed to place you in the best possible position to succeed.  Keep in mind, a little confidence goes a long way.  Overall the most important things to remember about interviews are to: 

• • prepare in advance; and
  • actively listen during the interview.

Eye contact, posture and body language are all important components of a successful presentation.  Yet if you can’t answer or ask questions effectively, you’ll never get the job you want.

The more prepared you are, the more confident you are.  The more confidence you convey, the more likely you are to win the job.

Many of these tips work best in conjunction with one another.  For example, asking what you should expect in the first 60 days should provide ample opportunities for you to make a case how you can make those 60 days much easier for him/her.

Interview Preparation checklist:

	Name, Title and contact number of person you are meeting
	Address
	Notes on organization
	Highlights you want to discuss
	Questions, questions, questions
	Don’t forget your resume

Interview Tips

First impressions count: dress appropriately, be on time and be pleasant.

Everyone you meet in the organization is important. Do not discount your interaction with an administrative assistant while waiting. Their input could help or hinder your process.

Hiring managers are evaluating your:  

1. abilities (can you do the job?)
2. motivation (will you do the job?)
3. personal qualities (will you fit in?)

Practice your Active Listening skills!

•  
  • Active listening is a structured form of listening and responding that focuses the attention on the speaker. The listener must take care to attend to the speaker fully, and then repeats, in the listener’s own words, what he or she thinks the speaker has said. The listener does not have to agree with the speaker--he or she must simply state what they think the speaker said. This enables the speaker to find out whether the listener really understood. If the listener did not, the speaker can explain some more.
  • Paraphrasing, restating and the use of empathy are common approaches to Active Listening.

• Answer all questions positively!

Learn more tips to answering common interview questions.