What Everyone Ought to Know about Interviews
No doubt, interviewing can be stressful. You’re competing for a job, and everything about you counts.
The stakes are high and your ability to perform in the meeting will determine your future.
In other words, interviewing brings both great opportunity and steep consequences. Keep these stats in mind when you’re looking for your next job.
Some are humorous, others will help you prepare, and many will give you a better idea of what’s really happening in the interview room.
15 Simple Interview Facts
1. Corporate psychopaths are some of the best interviewers around. (The Mask of Sanity, Harvey Cleckley)
2. Interviews first surfaced in the 1920s when more college graduates were available.
3. Thomas Edison invented the interview. His interview questions were challenging and spanned a range of topics including geography, chemistry, food production, and literature.
4. There’s a 48% chance you will be Googled prior to an interview, according to a Career Builder survey including 5,158 job seekers and 2,775 hiring managers.
5. Interviews are won and lost based on first impressions. Clothing should never be underestimated.
Almost 70% of hiring managers confess that when everything else is equal, clothing can be a determining factor.
6. A study in the Journal of Business Research suggests that if you wear a recognizable brand that the interviewer is familiar with, they are more likely to hire you.
7. The #1 interview ice-breaker is “Tell me about yourself.”
8. Psychological research indicates that jobs are won and lost in the first 30 seconds of an interview.
9. Employers look for thank you notes after an interview: 24% of employers agree thank you notes are very important while almost 60% feel they are important. (Career Builder, June 2013 survey).
10. How well you interview affects your lifetime earnings by 10%-33%.
11. Most candidates underestimate the time investment needed to research hiring companies, services, products, and employees before interviewing.
12. Asking better questions will help you come across as the smarter hiring choice.
13. If you are highly motivated to work for a particular company, you are more likely to prevail through the interview process and land a job offer.
14. One way to significantly increase your odds of winning an offer is to ask for the job at the end of the interview.
15. Initial phone interviews ranges from 20 minutes to 60 minutes with the average call lasting 28 minutes.
Land The Job You Want: Acting Class Not Required
You don’t have to interview like a rehearsed actress to win the job offer. But you do need to convey your skills, enthusiasm, and ability to solve problems to the hiring team.
With a little planning, a can-do attitude, and strong skills, you’ll be prepared to put your best foot forward and interview with confidence. Use these facts to prepare, tighten up your interview skills, and land that dream job!
