The start of an unforgettable journey at Imagine Communication

One of the most important day of my life, I wake up my stomach tied up in knots, so many questions running through my head: What to wear? What to say? What will they think of me? Meeting for the first time with your future employer can be one of the most stressful day of your life as the first impression you make is essential to whether you may or may not be selected from thousands of candidates applying for the same job as you. Sometimes when getting stressed people tend be tongue tied and tensed, and as this was my first interview I did not know how I would react when placed under such conditions. I followed some simple steps before and during my interview to ensure that I would give off the best impression to my possible future employers.

My preparations before the interview:

1.       It is better to be over-dressed that under-dressed, so I chose my most professional ensemble for this important day.

2.       Be prepared – Days before my interview I searched for and memorized every piece of information I could find on the internet or in articles concerning the company I was applying to. Employers always appreciate it when they feel that you are familiar with the background or success of the company and it also increases your chances of being employed.

3.       Follow the news – Showing your future employers that you keep in touch with the daily national and international news is vital as in the field of Public Relations a lot of media monitoring skills are required.

4.       Practice some French – pains me to say this but in Mauritius if you want to work in the PR field writing in French is an essential skill as most of the press here is in French. I was quite rusty in French after several years of only writing in English so some practice in grammar and vocabulary was badly needed. This really helped as I had to translate a full article from English to French for the interview.

On the day of the interview:

1.       I was ten minutes early to my interview which is essential to make a first good impression as punctuality is an appreciated quality amongst employers.  

2.       I confidently introduced myself to the employers, sat up straight in my chair, took a deep breath and mentally settled down to answer the questions to come calmly and properly.

3.       I tried my best to remain calm during the whole interview to give off the best impression possible.

4.       I forced myself to speak in a fluent manner, that is articulating and talking at a regular pace as when I am stressed I tend to blurt out answers without articulating my words.

5.       Tell the interviewer frankly when I did not know the answer to their question is also essential. It is better to admit that you do not know the answer than to answer and be completely out of context.

6.       Finally, after the tedious task of being interviewed, I confidently shook the hand of the person who’d interviewed me, thanked her for her time and attention.

So I guess all of you are wondering how my interview went after following all these tips and I would say that it went really well for me. I even got a few smiles out of my interviewers with my confident and amicable attitude. I also got the unofficial answer that I was accepted for the internship on the same day of my interview and the official one a few days after by email. All I can say is that my success was sweet and well deserved!

Cheers,

Sophie.