You can find thousands of interview tips on the internet and in interview preparation guides, many of them about preparing for interview. The effectiveness of these interview tips would depend on many factors. Let's look at some points regarding the effectiveness of the interview tips.
- Which Interview Tips
When we ask ourselves how effective are the interview tips while preparing for an interview the first question that comes to mind is which interview tips exactly are we talking about? First of all, the interview preparation is different for the actual interview. Let's focus on only those tips that are concerned with the preparing for the interview.
The pattern and format of interviews vary greatly and some tips which are suitable for one may not be equally suitable for an interview with a different format. The tips related to the preparation phase of the interview are usually concerned with one of the following aspects. Let's discuss them one by one and consider the effectiveness of each of them in turn.
- Tips Regarding Research
Research is the part where you find out abut the company, job and the interview pattern. The research gives you a general idea of what exactly you are dealing with, what kind of questions you are likely to face, what would be the pattern of the interview etc. Without proper research your interview preparation would lack direction and would not be as effective as it could and should be.
Tips regarding the research phase will give you an important guideline for what to research and how. This would be very useful and effective for your interview preparation.
- Tips About Resume
Interview tips regarding your resume are primarily concerned with how best to prepare your resume in order to impress the employers. These can be very effective; but remember that the tips are usually general purpose, keep them in mind but remember the facts that you have gathered in the research phase and prepare your resume accordingly. Do not follow the instructions blindly and use your own initiative while keeping the tips in mind.
- Tips About Preparing for Questions
There are some questions like those regarding your strengths and weaknesses that are commonly asked during the interview. You should prepare the answers to them. The tips about preparing the answers of expected questions are relevant but you should not rely on these only and should review your text books and consider the questions that can be asked regarding your experience as well. Also don't rely on readymade answers in cases of personal and behavioral questions.
- Tips About Questions
You should ask questions during the interview and the interview tips regarding questions would give you a good idea about what and when to ask. The tips can be helpful to you in preparing right questions especially if they are specifically about the type of job interview you'll be facing. But again, remember that all interviews are unique in some ways, therefore use your own judgment when asking the questions. Pay attention to what the interviewer is saying and choose your moment. Let the interviewer take the lead in the interview.
- Tips About Attire
You can find many tips regarding how to dress for the interview what to wear etc. The point to remember is that those attires may not be suited for your particular job interview and situation. When making decision abut your interview attire you should focus more on the information gathered in the research phase and what seems right to you.
When all is said and done, interview tips, especially those concerned with interview preparation, are quite effective in guiding your preparation efforts; with two major qualifiers.
First, the tips will provide some guidelines only; you have to do the actual work yourself. Even the best interview tips in the world can't help you if you don't actually do what they sat. In short, for an interview tip to be effective you have to follow it first.
The second thing is that these tips are generic and are not written for your individual situation. You should consider them and keep them in mind but also keep your mind open and consider how relevant they actually are to your situation and if there are some better ways to do the same thing. You should always be ready to improvise new things and tailor the existing tips based on your unique situations.
