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I purchased the interview series some while back but still am horrible with interviews.  My nerves shatter and even though I am educated with the right degrees and certifications I freeze at interviews.  I lose my confidence and I am at a loss for words.  With that said, how do you prepare, really prepare for interviews?

JustHere's picture

Practice, over and over.  Record yourself on video to answer each question under 2 minutes, get a book with 1000+ questions.  Your industry will dictate the type of interview you will have.  For me in management, most are behavioral, so you need to have stories, quite a few to share.  Be confident, but not arrogant.  Smile and be relaxed. You sort of have to not care, or at least not be desperate.

mrreliable's picture

Role play. Find friends or family members who will play the role of interviewer. They must take it seriously and not play around with it. Make it as realistic as possible. Sit in a room other than the interview area and tell them to make you wait somewhere between 30 seconds and 5 minutes. Have them greet you, then take you into the interview area, then ask you questions. It's O.K. to give them some questions to ask, but have them bring some up on their own, not to try to stump you, but to keep you on your toes. When it's over, ask them to be brutally honest with you about how you did and what you could do to improve. Writing out a survey or questionairre for them to fill out would be good. Do this as many times as you can. Maybe have each interviewer give you two or three different styles of personality, chatty, non-reactor, hyper, slow talker.

You'll find that role playing with someone you know well can be twice as awkward as the real thing with a stranger. If you can get through role playing, the real interview will be a breeze. 

Sibshops's picture

The best way to prepare for interviews is to, well, go on interviews. Always say yes to every interview opportunity, even if you don't like the position, at all. If you get the offer, you can always turn it down. If they don't like you, you get the practice so that the next interview is easier. And who knows, the best thing that can happen is that you get the offer and it is better than expected. Sometimes the best preparation is experience.

Desiretosucceed's picture

Thank you so much.  I was thinking of purchasing the DISC profile.  Thoughts?