Be positive about the negative

6. Look presentable

What you say is only part of the success. An extremely important thing is the image you project – remember, you’ll never get a second chance to make the first impression. First of all, you must be well-groomed, with freshly washed hair, clean-shaven face, clean nails, good (but not extravagant) hair style. Your clothes are also very important – dress smartly and elegantly, but don’t overdo them. If you are a man, wear a suit, but not a black one if the interview is before 7 p.m. If you are a woman, don’t flaunt your femininity, but accentuate it nicely. A jacket and a skirt (not a mini) and a blouse which does not show too much cleavage are always a good choice. Use some make up, but remember that the best makeup is an invisible one.

7. Highlight the benefits

Remember to say how the company would benefit from employing you. Stress your positive sides; especially the ones that you think would be useful for the enterprise. The interviewer will be very interested to hear what you can do for them. Try to concentrate on your abilities to tackle new situations, emphasize your communication skills, interpersonal abilities, analytical thinking talents, and try other skills that you may possess and you think may be relevant to the post.

8. Emphasize the positive

Remember that every coin has two sides, try to concentrate on the better one. Be frank, but don’t apologize, for example, for lack of experience or weaknesses. For instance, if you are asked about experience, while your experience is not very great, there is one good thing about it: you do not have to “unlearn” bad habits or different standards used by other companies. Thus, many employers will like the idea of a tabula rasa, of imprinting their own standards without having to get rid of the old ones.

You will be asked questions like: What is your worst feature of character? or What mistakes did you make in your previous job? Nobody is perfect, so don’t try to dodge or avoid the issue. Just answer it plain and simple.

Think of something positive, like My worst feature is perfectionism, I always try to get the job done well. If asked about a mistake in the past, tell them what you learned from that mistake and what you will do to avoid making such mistakes in the future.