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.
