Interviews can be one of the most difficult exercises in your working life. You could be more qualified for the job than the other candidates, but fail because you do not know how to sell yourself properly.
In Interviews, you do not have to be perfect but you must be better than others.
The first step is being confident. The first 60 seconds are the most important of the 10 minutes of the interview. In this timeframe, the recruiter in front of you will form their initial opinion about you, be it good or bad.
If you miss this 60 second opportunity,you may be able to redeem the situation with brilliant responses to questions, but your task is immediately made more difficult. A good tip is to use hand gestures to exemplify your answers and this will help you to catch the audience’s attention.
Usually people remember the first 60 seconds and then the last few seconds of the interview. If you think you missed something in the middle of the interview, the chances of the recruiter noticing this are very low.
To make the best impression in your interview, make sure you are on time. Display confidence, show interest to the company and think about what questions the recruiter may ask you, depending on what is written on your LinkedIn and CV. Analyse your CV, line by line and ask yourself what questions could be asked and how you will answer them. When the interview has concluded, look in the recruiter’s eyes with interest and shake their hand with respect and enthusiasm.
If you’re not going into your interview fully prepared and with the correct body language and mindset, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
A survey by Robert Half found that 33% of the recruiters are convinced after 10 minutes of an interview and for a further 25% it’s 30 minutes. 17% conduct one interview before making their decision whereas 14% of recruiters need two interviews prior to making a hiring decision.