Long story short, if you\u2019d like to get the job, you better prepare.\u00a0This is how to dress for an interview for women<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and also some style etiquette tips for men<\/strong><\/a>. Looking the part will help to cover up some of your shortcomings in terms of preparation.<\/p>\n No doubt you\u2019re panicking right now. Leaving everything until the last minute is bound to set your alarm bells ringing. But the first thing you should know is that there\u2019s no set amount of time that you need. Unless you\u2019re reading this guide on the bus on the way to your interview, you have more than enough time to memorize some Q&As and practice your self-confident voice.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a rough guide to the kind of preparation you should be doing:<\/p>\n Preparing for an interview isn\u2019t the same as memorizing names and dates for an exam. You don\u2019t have to have perfect recall of facts and figures: you need to be able to talk naturally and confidently about yourself, the job in question, and anything else that might come up. Prepping will help you talk more confidently, which is why it\u2019s so important.<\/p>\n So, without any further ado, let\u2019s take a look at some top interview preparation hints and tips.<\/p>\n Every business is different. If you\u2019ve been in the world of work before, no doubt you\u2019ll know all about it. It\u2019s called work culture: all companies feel <\/em>different to work for. That\u2019s because different businesses have different hiring policies, have different work policies and have different aims and goals. Working for a non-profit is going to feel different to working in a sales call center, for example.<\/p>\n What we mean to say is this: if you don\u2019t do your background research on the business you\u2019re applying to work for, how do you know you\u2019re a good fit? And how can you make a good first impression during your interview? We\u2019ll give you a hint. You can\u2019t. That\u2019s why you have to do your due diligence.<\/p>\n Consider researching the employer in the following ways:<\/p>\n So, what kind of information might you want to find out? There\u2019s plenty. For example, how strict is your new workplace? Do they prefer people who can work without oversight or people who do as they\u2019re told? Do they prefer people who work on their own, or as part of a team? Do they have strict deadlines or not? You can find out all of this, and more, from the sources above.<\/p>\n Something that would give you an edge is to sit through a mock interview. These are proven by scientific studies (like this one in WMJ<\/a><\/strong>) to help you prepare.<\/p>\n Grab a friend or family member to act as an interviewer, and have them interview you. Set the scene as realistically as possible: get them to dress up, and you do the same. Sit at a desk if possible, so that you get the feel of being in an office. This is great prep if you feel nervous about interviews because you get used to having to talk about yourself.<\/p>\n Let them ask whatever they want, but also have them do a little research first. That way, they\u2019ll be able to ask you relevant questions.<\/p>\n Make sure that you cover the following points:<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t have anyone who can put you through a mock interview, you should use flash cards. Write the questions on one side, and turn them over. Shuffle them, and turn them over in a random order. Answer the questions as they come up. This will help you get used to the unpredictable nature of an interview.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also handy because you can use flashcards anytime, anywhere. So even if you\u2019re preparing at the last minute, they can still come in useful.<\/p>\n When it comes to interviews, you might think it would be better to stay up late to prepare as much as possible. That couldn\u2019t be further from the truth. During an interview, you have to be ready and alert. If you don\u2019t get enough sleep, you\u2019ll be anything but. If anything, you should try getting an early night before your interview.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re more of a night owl by nature, consider the following sleep hygiene tips:<\/p>\n A study in Behavioral Sleep Medicine<\/a><\/strong> found that improper sleep hygiene methods cause poor sleep quality (in medical students, at least). So, with plenty of rest under your belt, you\u2019ll be much more likely to perform well in your interview.<\/p>\n Stress is a mind-killer. It can make you do crazy things, like stay up all night crafting the perfect interview responses. But like we said above, sleep is super important. Besides that, though, stress is something you want to avoid before an interview. That\u2019s because the fight-or-flight response is exactly what you don\u2019t need: rather than fight or flight, you need to communicate and collaborate with your interviewer. As you know, they\u2019ll have plenty of questions to ask you.<\/p>\n Interviews are like quizzes. Sometimes you know that certain questions are going to pop up. Before your quiz (or exam), you prepare answers to those questions. Interviews are no different: there are a few questions that almost always rear their ugly heads. A key part of your last-minute prep should be making sure that you know the answers to these questions.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s take a look at some, and describe what kind of answer you should give. In no particular order:<\/p>\n Tell us about yourself<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n No matter what they\u2019re hiring for, every interviewer wants to know more about their candidate. This is a basic way of getting you to show your priorities: what do you think is most important about yourself, and what do you have pride in? Is it your qualifications or your experience?<\/p>\n This is also an excellent opportunity to make yourself stand out from the crowd. If the interviewer looks like a sports-type, maybe mention which football or baseball team you support. If they seem laid back, you could mention what music you like. Briefly mentioning something like this might get you lucky\u2014the interviewer might look back and remember the Dodgers fan, for example. Don\u2019t talk about these things at length, though.<\/p>\n The Right Answer:<\/strong><\/p>\n First off, keep your answer short. They don\u2019t want your life story. Briefly discuss your background, your education, your work history, any small and interesting tidbits about yourself. Anything that makes you memorable is a big plus.<\/p>\n Why should we hire you?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n This is similar to being asked \u2018what are your strengths?\u2019 In this case, though, it\u2019s just as much about the business as it is about you. They want to know how your strengths line up with what they want. You can see what they need in their job description. It might be that they want somebody to take control of a project. Or, maybe, they need a strong team player. Check out what they wrote in their advert for all the info you need.<\/p>\n The Right Answer:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI saw in your job advert that you needed somebody for X. I can bring X, Y, and Z to the table because of my past experience and education. You can see in my resume and references that I have a strong focus on these skills, and I would love to put them to good use here.\u201d<\/p>\n What are your weaknesses? <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n If anything, this is even more important than talking about your strengths. It\u2019s a measure of your honesty and your introspection. The interviewer wants to know that you can honestly appraise yourself, and be brave\u2014yes, brave\u2014enough to talk about it in an interview. After all, everyone wants to give a good impression, so it is quite brave to talk openly about something you\u2019re not so good at.<\/p>\n Think of your interview about what you\u2019re not good at. It could be multi-tasking, for example. It could be time management. It could be moving on from projects and starting new ones. It could be a motivation. The exact weakness isn\u2019t too significant; what they want to hear is how you\u2019re tackling it.<\/p>\n So, for example, you might have taken a course that will help you with your weakness. Or, you might be taking mindfulness yoga classes to help you keep calm and balanced. They want to know that you\u2019re confident enough to identify and address any weakness you have.<\/p>\n The Right Answer: <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never been great with time management. But at my last workplace, I took internal training to help me improve how I schedule my day. This helped me deliver better patient care.\u201d<\/p>\n Why are you interested in this job? <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Put yourself in your employer\u2019s shoes. They want to know that they\u2019re going to hire somebody who\u2019s dedicated, and cares about their job. Ultimately, even somebody who\u2019s not quite as skilled\u2014but puts real effort and care into their job\u2014is going to win out over somebody who has all the qualifications in the world but couldn\u2019t care less about doing a good job.<\/p>\n To address that concern, your interviewer is probably going to ask why you applied for the job. Think back to when you first applied: what caught your eye? Was it the opportunity to work in an incredible workplace? Was it that you wanted to take a step up in your career? Or was it that you\u2019ve always wanted to work for XYZ Inc. since you were in school?<\/p>\n Either way, give a reasonably honest answer that shows your dedication. We say reasonably honest because you shouldn\u2019t ever mention salary at this point\u2014even if it is genuinely one of the reasons you thought to apply. Talking about the great salary makes you look like more of a mercenary than somebody who\u2019s dedicated.<\/p>\n The Right Answer: <\/strong>\u201cWhen I saw your job advert online, I immediately knew I had to apply. First of all, I\u2019ve closely followed XYZ Inc. since I was younger, and the idea of working here was what encouraged me to get into healthcare. Not only that, but the career advancement and training on offer here were appealing. All in all, I felt that this was an opportunity that was too good to turn down.\u201d<\/p>\n Do you have any questions?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Last but not least, a classic: do you <\/em>have any questions? Anybody who\u2019s genuinely interested in a job will have plenty. There are all sorts that you can ask:<\/p>\n Whatever you choose to ask, the best questions are those that you honestly want the answers to.<\/p>\n The Right Answer:<\/strong> Anything but \u201cHow much will I be earning?\u201d<\/p>\n There will come a point where you talk about what you\u2019ve achieved. When you do, use the STAR technique. This is where you structure your answers like this:<\/p>\n Using the STAR technique helps you in two ways. First, it stops you from rambling, if that\u2019s a problem for you. Second, it structures your answer to give the interviewer exactly what they way. They want to know what you <\/em>did, how you <\/em>did it and what you achieved. <\/em>It\u2019s no good saying \u201cI did this! I did that!\u201d without also talking about what your actions accomplished.<\/p>\n Preparation isn\u2019t just about questions, though. It\u2019s about being physically prepared too.<\/p>\n Before you close the door behind you tomorrow morning, take a look at our lists below. Everyone has blank spots in their memory; something that\u2019ll make you facepalm in frustration when you remember what you\u2019ve forgotten. To avoid embarrassing blank spots, use our checklist.<\/p>\n First of all, make sure you\u2019re bringing everything with you that you need for the interview. Double check the invitation. What did they say you had to bring?<\/p>\n Make sure you always take with you:<\/p>\n You\u2019re going to need a rucksack or a bag to keep everything in. You\u2019re also probably not going to need <\/em>everything you brought; the resume is a great example. But sometimes they come in handy, and it\u2019s best to be prepared.<\/p>\n Aside from things you\u2019ve got to bring, there are also a few things you should do <\/em>before your interview:<\/p>\n Aside from the five tips we told you about above, there\u2019s very little else you need to remember. All that you need to do now is ace the interview. No pressure. And here’s how to tell if your interview went really well<\/strong><\/a> or your interview went poorly<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n [\/su_list]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Don\u2019t feel prepared for your interview? With the right preparation, you\u2019ll be fine. All you have to do is break the problem down into chunks. What do you need to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phlebotomyexaminer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2558"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phlebotomyexaminer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phlebotomyexaminer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phlebotomyexaminer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phlebotomyexaminer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/phlebotomyexaminer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phlebotomyexaminer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phlebotomyexaminer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phlebotomyexaminer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phlebotomyexaminer.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How Long Should You Prepare for an Interview?<\/h3>\n
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Top 5 Interview Preparation Tips<\/h2>\n
1) Research the Organization<\/h3>\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/phlebotomyexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/healthcare-interview-tips.jpg\")
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2) Have a Mock Interview<\/h3>\n
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3) Plenty of Rest<\/h3>\n
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![\"questions](\"https:\/\/phlebotomyexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/healthcare-interview-questions-and-answers.jpg\")
<\/p>\n4) Relax<\/h3>\n
Preparing for Interview Questions and Answers<\/h2>\n
![\"interview](\"https:\/\/phlebotomyexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/interview-tips-for-a-healthcare-assistant-job.jpg\")
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Use the STAR Technique<\/h3>\n
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Interview Preparation Checklist<\/h3>\n
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