How To Land Your Dream Career – What to do Before the Interview

Prior to any interview, the biggest thing you need to do is prepare.  Research the company, their competition, read current articles on the company, read through as much information as you can about the specific opportunity you are interviewing for and talk to others who are familiar with the position or industry.  Prepare a list of questions that will show your sincere interest in the opportunity and will reflect the effort you have put into your career search.

In regards to your resume, the biggest thing you must keep in mind is that every one of your past experiences needs to translate into a reason why you will be perfect for the opportunity for which you are interviewing.  Explain how your past community involvement, leadership positions, internships and work experience will allow you to excel in this position.  You need to be able to intelligently explain why serving as president of your fraternity developed your leadership traits, and gave you a high level of confidence, great organizational skills, and the perseverance to be successful in difficult situations.  Be able to explain how volunteering in the community while being a full time student gave you the ability to balance a variety of responsibilities while being successful at each of them.  Make sure that each of your past experiences is a huge part of who you are and who you will be.  Be proud of your past successes and find reasons why each of those experiences will factor into your future successes.

Keep in mind that those who interview you may meet with 5-10 different people each day.  You need to separate yourself from the others and impress the person interviewing you.  Being prepared with detailed questions about the opportunity, organization and industry will make your discussion a lot more interesting than the conversations had with other interviewees.