Four tips on how to make a lasting impression in a job interview

Most interviewers already have an idea where you place in the candidacy

Finding a job can be difficult and the odds are far in favour of the competition. You’ve made it past the gauntlet of the human resources screening.

The next phase is the interview. Most interviewers already have an idea where you place in the candidacy. Here is what you must do to impress.

Dress for success: Dressing is the first impression that your interviewer will get of you and how you’re dressed can deeply reflect on you as a potential candidate.

From the moment that you walk through the door, your interviewer is sizing you up.

Build a rapport: This could possibly be the most critical part of the interview. Your potential employer has your resume in their hand. They can see what your technical attributes are. At this point, you’ve passed the qualifications on paper.

The purpose of the face-to-face interview is to establish your candidacy as an employee. This includes how you handle situations and how you’ll get along.

Be calm and relaxed but don’t be aloof. You will be asked a ton of questions. Ask questions back, even if you already know the answer. By being engaging, you will build a repertoire with your interviewer.

This will weigh heavy in their interviewer’s mind and will likely have you moved up to the next level of consideration based on this alone.

Don’t talk too much: You’ve established the repertoire with your interviewer but this is their show. There’s an old military saying that goes something like: Loose lips sink ships.

It’s easy to get into a habit of putting your cards all on the table in order to show your worth. In all honesty, this provides a shock to the interviewer and could be detrimental.

The interviewer wants to maintain control of the situation and if you begin to dominate the conversation, you can easily find yourself on the “we’ll call you” list.

Save the conversation for the right opportunities when they ask for questions.

Create a presentation: An interview is much like a marketing presentation.

Don’t go overboard but be creative with it. Include facts and figures and put a little bit of personality behind it.

Treat the interviewer like a customer or client while finding that balance where you are able to present effectively without being an annoyance.