Employers hire people not paper. So while a good résumé will get you an interview, it takes a good interview (or two) to get you the job offer. It is no longer enough to dress up
and head into an interview ready to wing it. Today, it takes preparation and practice to learn to sell yourself in an interview.
Giving well thought out answers that demonstrate your skills is certainly important. Being relaxed and sounding confident are equally important. In fact, the way you present yourself accounts for more than half
of the overall impression you make. Things like appearance, tone of voice, friendliness and body language are an important part of your message.
Current Interviewing Trends
Many organizations use a style of interviewing known as behaviour-based interviewing. This chapter will show you how simple it is to be ready for this type of interview. You just offer examples or short stories
from your work experience to demonstrate your abilities. You'll see how adding the right amount of detail and including the results you achieved in your examples will improve your interview performance.
Be aware that it is quite acceptable for a potential employer to ask you to demonstrate your skills. For example, you may be asked to draft a press release or letter, do some word processing or reconcile a
bank statement. You could also be asked to take a short math test or English quiz. This practical approach in interviewing can help the employer to more accurately assess your skill levels. Follow this chapter carefully and work on
preparing the answers to some typical interview questions listed at the end of the chapter.
