Speaker 1: There are several mistakes that you could
do during your first interview that can cost you the job pretty easily, and if you don't
avoid these mistakes, you could lose an awesome opportunity even if you have an awesome CV
and even if you're more qualified than other candidates. Can you imagine? Oh, and I'm not
talking about obvious mistakes that you've heard in the past such as not arriving late
at your interview. No, no. In this video, I'm going to show you seven first interview
tips that you should keep in mind, including some mistakes to avoid, especially one that
I've made a couple years ago that cost me the job even if I knew the manager interviewing
me. So let's start with tip number one, not checking Glassdoor Reviews. Tell me, do you
buy products online without checking reviews? Probably not. So why are you going to company
interviews without checking what other employees think about this company?
Speaker 1: Yes, not all reviews are accurate, but simply
reading them can give you a great sense of the company culture, the benefits, the growth
opportunities and much more relevant information to see if this company and the role is right
for you. Bonus point, if you come across something weird, let's say that you find a lot of reviews
saying all the same things, saying for example that they don't do enough work activities,
well, you can bring that up in the interview asking the interviewer for example about the
work culture or about the team bonding activities they do at work just to make sure that the
reviews are accurate. For that, simply go on glassdoor.com, type the name of the company
and your location and your set and while you're on the computer make sure you avoid mistake
number two, not looking at the interviewer's LinkedIn profile.
Speaker 1: Ninety-nine percent of the time you'll have
the name of your interviewer way in advance and if you want to stand out from other candidates
and have a conversation that the interviewer will remember for a long time, you have to
go deep into conversation. That is not possible if you don't know anything about them prior
to the interview. Where did they study? How long have they been at the company? Where
were they before? All of these are relevant information that you should know because you
may want to bring that up in the interview. For example, at the end of my interview six
months ago, I asked the interviewer what made him change from Deloitte, his previous company,
to this actual one. He said, and I quote, "Wow, you did your research I see. Good question."
And then boom, he rambled about his story and we connected deeply just because of that
one question.
Speaker 1: Successful interviews are the ones where you
talk about broad subjects, about things that are not necessarily related to the company
or the interview questions and this is impossible if you don't know anything about the interviewer
prior to the interview. So head to LinkedIn and search for your interviewer and look for
interesting stuff about them. I know you want to leave your computer but not yet. Avoid
mistake number three, not knowing about the company. All right, know this, no one ever
got a job by giving general answers. The best candidates and the best interviews are the
ones where you adapt your answers to this specific company using information about them
you found online. So research their company website on Google News, their social media
accounts, their LinkedIn page. Look for information about their culture, their goals, what are
they working on, what services do they give, what products are they trying to promote?
Speaker 1: Who are their customers, who is the CEO, where
do they operate and many other examples. For example, my friend that got an interview a
couple of weeks ago with WestJet and he got the question, what do you know about WestJet?
Telling that you're an airline company is not enough if you want to pass through the
second round. Now you can step aside from your computer and goat to your interview.
When you get there though, don't forget about tip number four, not treating everyone with
respect. I have to include this one because it happened so many times. So many candidates
arrive at the interview and don't give enough attention to receptionist, janitors and other
people who are not part of the management. Just recently I was browsing on LinkedIn when
I read a post about someone who got rejected because she didn't even take the time to say
hi to the receptionist and totally ignored her when she got there.
Speaker 1: Now, how did they found out about it? HR managers
just ask the receptionist, how was the candidate when they got there? You have to know something.
As soon as you step inside the company building your interview starts. Everyone can be looking
at you and assessing your behavior. So please be a good human being not just because you
need the job, but just because everyone should act like that. Good. Now, when you get inside
the interview room, make sure to keep in mind tip number five, don't act too desperate.
When I say that I don't mean begging the interviewer for the job. That's too obvious. There are
other things that you may be doing that come across like needy. If we talk about psychology,
people like the chase, they don't like it when something is too easy to get. That's
why candidates who have multiple offers and are confident are always wanted.
Speaker 1: We as humans like it when something is difficult
to get. That's why you need to find a balance between showing that you want the job, but
also if you don't get it, you don't care. You have other opportunities and you'll move
on with your life. Here are three things that you should keep in mind to not come across
as needy. Number one, your body language. Make sure your attire looks professional,
sit well and give a firm handshake. Number two, don't oversell yourself and say you'll
do anything to land the job. That's what I was talking about at the beginning of this
video when I made a mistake that cost me the job even if I knew the manager interviewing
me. I wasn't really interested in the position I was interviewing for. I just wanted to get
inside the company and then move up the ladder.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean? That's why I said that
I would do anything to get this job and I would do any job possible. I said that during
the interview and I didn't get the job. And finally, number three, don't act too available.
Don't say things like you can start whenever they want. If they offer you the job, don't
take it right away. Tell them that you will think about it for a day or two. Don't jump
on the opportunity right away in front of them. And before talking about the final mistake
that people make unconsciously, I want to tackle the sixth first interview tip that
is a bit touchy, not being flexible enough. You've probably had an image of what the job
will look like based on your research online and based on the job description, but the
reality, you'll probably learn new things during the interview, some good things and
some bad things.
Speaker 1: That's why you need to have a clear idea of
what you really want in a job. Select maybe three to five traits in a job that you just
can't negotiate about. Maybe you really need to work from home. Maybe you want to travel.
Maybe you really want to work on a specific project. Because you will need to be flexible,
you will never find a job with 100% of everything that you wanted. You will always find some
drawbacks. It would be awful to miss an opportunity just because you didn't clarify what you really
wanted in a job in your head just before the interview. So know what you want and be flexible
about the rest. Now it's the end of the interview. Are you done? For most people, yes, and that's
the mistake that I want you to avoid. Avoid mistake number seven, not sending a thank
you email.
Speaker 1: Even in 2020, stats say that most candidates
don't send a thank you email after an interview. Know what this means? This is another great
opportunity for you to stand out from other candidates and thank you emails are super
important because it shows that you're serious about the opportunity, that you enjoyed your
time there and the discussion you had with the interviewer, but most importantly that
you respect their time because they took time out of their schedule, their busy schedule
to meet with you. So when you acknowledge that, interviewer are super happy about it.
It can even change a maybe to a yes just because you sent a thank you email, so think about
it. Here's a simple script you could use to send a thank you email not less than 24 hours
after your interview. "Hi, first name of recruiter. I hope you are doing great.
Speaker 1: I really enjoyed speaking with you yesterday
and wanted to emphasize just how excited I am about the opportunity to work at company
A. I especially enjoyed listening to," and now you insert some exciting information about
the company you just learned during the interview, "And how I could provide value to the growing
department with my," and then you had mention some skills that match the job. "Is there
anything else I can forward to make your hiring decision easier? Best regards," and then you
sign your name.
Speaker 1: If you got any value from this video, subscribe
to your Primal Career. Just click the big subscribe button just below this video. Now
I want to hear from you. What tip are you going to implement first? Are you going to
check reviews on Glassdoor? Are you going to look for the interviewer profile online
or are you going to send a thank you email after the interview? Let me know in the comment
section. If you want more information about everything that we just talked about, including
how to be confident in interviews, how to send an efficient thank you email or how to
prepare for an interview, just before you go, I have linked some awesome videos in the
description just below or in the right corner here I think. I'll talk to you soon. Ciao.