What to do if your job interview did not go well?

 Recently, a young person emailed me and told me that the interview he had the day before yesterday for the job he wanted went pretty poorly,.

Please go to my  blog post about interviews  which I hope will help people looking for work be prepared for some of the questions that might be asked by potential employers.

I cannot stress enough the importance of being extremely well prepared for the job interview. Getting an interview means that you have 50% of getting that job you really want. Potential employers give job applicants the interview to cement their belief that this will be the right person for the job advertised.

So please note the following when you are preparing for your job interviews:

1. Research on the company to which your are applying for

You must do good research on the company for which your are applying. Knowing the company's history, organization structure, their company culture and products will help you ti understand the company more. The interviewers will be impressed by the hard work you have put into learning about their company. 

Some very common questions are:

- Tell us something about yourself - which means your experience as related to the job, not your life history

-  Why are you applying for this job?

-  What do you know about our company?

-  What do you know about our products/ services /  programs?

2. Be aware that we live in a global village

As our societies are getting more global becoming one big global village, you need to become familiar with the cultures and some of their pop culture if you are applying to a foreign company or for a position overseas.

Besides learning about the company as much as possible, you need to be familiar with and be able to name some of the following:

- Famous books or authors of that particular culture/ country

- Name of the president, political leader of that country / name of the CEO of that company

- Some high profile politicians, popular celebrities such as singers or movie stars

- Some famous tourist sites about that country

If you are asked about similar questions, you will be able to talk about it with some information at hand as you have already done the research.This also shows that you are a well read and very kin applicant.

Many people do possess the required qualifications and experiences, but you will need to stand head and shoulders above others and distinguish yourself from among the many equally qualified applicants competing for the same positions.

3. The Inevitable questions at the end

 Towards the end of the interview, applicant usually will be asked this question:

" Do you have any questions for us?"

Unless you have a very relevant/ good question for the interviewers, please do not think that you have to ask any irrelevant questions. If you have no questions, you are letting a good opportunity to slip away to make an impression on the interviewer team. 

A good possible answer can be: No, I don't have any questions as you have explained everything to me clearly. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the opportunity for this interview...." Then you can just summarize your strengths in a few sentences and then thank the interviews.

4. Trust in God for His grace and mercy!

A few years ago, a lady was about to go to her interview for a promotion. She called and asked for advice We went over some questions and she went to the interview which she felt was a disaster.

 God has many lessons for us to learn. If your interview went really well, then you will be extremely proud of yourself, thinking that you deserve the job and that you have done it on your own. 

But that lady friend of mine knew  that the interview went was a disaster, if it's in God's will to give u this job, He will perform a miracle and  stir the interviewers' heart. Don't be discouraged. I

I remember someone said:" If you want to succeed, double your failure rate" 

5. Keep trying hard and accumulating good interview experience which will help you in the future to obtain your desired job.

 As the interview experience is still fresh on your mind, have a notebook reserved for your interviews and write down what you need to do in your future interviews So that you will not learn from your mistakes.

In my younger days going through those interviews for promotions in my career,  that was what I did and eventually I became very confident and at ease at any interview situation. 

If God is going to give someone a responsible job, it will be a hardworking and humble person who is willing to learn from his/her mistakes.

R.T.
Director - TECA
Toronto Education & 
Communications Associates
Toronto, Ontario