Having prepared carefully upfront will give you confidence and self-esteem for the interview. All that is important now is to apply your preparations in a way that lets your personality shine and that convinces the employer that you are indeed the right person for the job. For this, it is crucial that you realize that most interviews follow a similar pattern called the WASP structure:

• Welcome: This will usually last about 5 minutes whilst the interviewer greets you, offers you some refreshments, and asks some easy, less job relevant questions to relax you. This is your opportunity to generate some good first impressions
• Acquire: This is the main part of the job interview where the interviewer asks you a wide range of questions to find out about your suitability to both the job and the organization
• Supply: Here you will receive information about the job and have the chance to ask questions. You can also mention aspects of your past experience that are particularly relevant to the job, if you haven’t had the opportunity to talk about them so far. The interviewer may also take you around the organization so that you can see the facilities and potentially meet some of the people you could be working with. This part of the interview process varies from employer to employer
• Plan and Part: Once the interviewer has answered your questions, they will normally discuss the next steps in the interview process, such as how and when you should hear back from them. If they fail to tell you, then ask

Once you are familiar with the structure of the interview and know what to expect, it is vital to understand how you can make a winning impression. Therefore, it is important to recall that researchers believe that employers' impressions are made up of the following:

• Body Language and image (70%)
• Tone of voice (20%)
• What you say (10%)

Therefore, besides giving clear, thought-through answers, it is important to master your body language and image. Body language says a lot about who you are as a person and how you portray yourself. Thus, sit up straight in your chair and listen actively, nodding and maintaining eye contact with your interviewer. This will show your interest in the job! Also, to get a job in a professional surrounding, your appearance should fit in. This means that you must wear appropriate clothing. What to wear depends on where the interview will take place. When in doubt a suit will usually be appropriate. Just make sure it's neither too flashy nor too casual. And be sure your shoes are clean and not too old as a lot of recruiters pay special attention to them.

Second, pay close attention to your tone of voice. Try to avoid skepticism or mentioning negative aspects only. Also, don't make negative comments about past employers or co-workers as this will reflect upon you. Instead, be positive in what you say. This will also make it way easier to convey a motivated and optimistic attitude. Recruiters will carefully watch out for this!

Last but not least, what you say is important to getting the job. Giving relevant and structured answers to the recruiter's questions is crucial. Try to relate your answer to the interviewer and his or her company. And focus on achievements relevant to the position your applying for. Always keep in mind that interview questions should encourage you to think about yourself and give the interviewer clear and revealing information as to your needs, capabilities, experience, personality, and suitability for the job. The following are examples of questions you may be asked during your interview. So try to master them!

Information-giving questions

• “Tell me about yourself” – an opportunity to sum up your employment history to date and reveal a little about your personality, so be yourself
• “What are your biggest accomplishments?” – ideally these should be job-related!
• “How do you handle criticism?” – be positive and say that criticism often leads to improvement
• “How will you cope with a change in environment?” – talk about how you can adapt and learn quickly

Turning negatives into positives

• “What can you do for us that someone else can't?” – try to answer this with a combination of your skills/experience that others are unlikely to have and talk about the personal qualities you possess
• “Describe a problem you faced at work and how you overcame it” – explain how you approached the problem, the result, and how the difficult outcome was avoided. You also need to emphasize the fact that you face challenges with a positive attitude
• “What is your greatest weakness?” – talk about the fact you have identified and that you work on this and aim to turn your weakness into a strength
• “How do you handle stress?” – say that you avoid stressful situations or deal with it by going to the gym, for example
• “Do you prefer working with others or alone?” – reply by saying you can work well in both situations
• “How do you handle rejection?” – the best response is that you learn from it and would use it to your advantage in the future

With negative questions, the employer is interested in the processes, methods, approaches, and attitudes you adopted in solving a problem and what this reveals about your character, attitude, and personality. In the interview, the recruiter will look at how you handle the question, how you respond, and how you approached the problem.

If asked about why you left another job then demonstrate positive body language and maintain eye contact throughout your response, keeping your hands away from your face and neck as this shows that you’re uncomfortable. The employer may be suspicious until you have demonstrated good, positive reason for changing jobs.

When asked why you left or want to leave your employer it’s ok to be honest and say that you need more of a challenge – but make sure you add something like “more challenges is what I feel I will find with your firm. I want an opportunity to apply my skills and make a difference in the company”. From your answer the employer will understand what it is they will gain by hiring you.

Personal questions

• “What interests you most about this job?” – talk about the positive aspects of the job and how it poses a new challenge for you
• “What qualities do you need for this job?” – think about those mentioned in the job description
• “What can you contribute to this company?” – sell yourself, talk about your past achievements and personality
• “Why do you want to work for this company?” – this is when your research comes into play. Mention what you like about the company, bearing in mind its mission statement. Talk about their strengths and demonstrate your knowledge of what they do, and how you think this suits your qualifications and ambitions
• “Why should I hire you?” – concentrate on your best attributes
• “What has been your greatest success? How did you achieve it?” – pick an achievement related to the job you’re applying for
• “What motivates you?” – talk about your love of challenges and opportunities to learn new skills
• “Do you work well under pressure?” – answer positively
• “What are your career goals?” – talk about your future ambitions

In addition to answering questions you should also encourage the interviewer to share information about the company. While you should proactively look for opportunities to ask your own questions already during the interview, you will also almost certainly be given a view minutes at the end of the interview for this purpose. The questions you ask should reflect your keenness to work for the company. Demonstrate your interest by asking questions about the company and your future position, e.g.:
 

• What support and guidance is available?
• What training will be available?
• What will my first assignment be?
• Who will I report to?

 
Last, it is important to find out what will happen next. While the recruiter will most likely tell you this anyway, be prepared to clarify this yourself. Key questions you should raise are:

• Do you need any more information from me?
• When will I hear from you?
• How will I be informed?
• Are there any more follow-up interviews planned?

And of course, keep in mind the following dos and don'ts at all times during the interview!

Dos

• Treat everyone with respect – even the receptionist can be asked for their impression of candidates
• If you have a lunch date then be as professional as you would within an office environment
• Respect the company culture – no matter what sort of rapport you have with the interviewer, you should remember that this is an interview so remain polite and professional and let the interviewer take the lead
• Always greet the interviewer by his/her last name and try to pronounce it correctly
• Wait until you are offered a chair before you sit down
• Ensure that you don't smell of any strong odors, e.g., alcohol, garlic, or even perfume
• Make sure that you are sitting comfortably and in a position where you can address all of the interviewers
• Remain calm and don't rush your answers
• Maintain eye contact
• Mirror the interviewers techniques, if they laugh, laugh with them
• If there is no water then ask for a glass as you will be doing a lot of talking. It’s also good to take a sip if you want a few seconds to think about an answer to a question
• Remain positive even if you realize during the interview that this isn’t the job for you – all contact with employers is useful!
• Listen carefully
• Ask the interviewer if there is time to show them some examples of past successes
• Thank the interviewer/s for their time

Don’ts

• Be late. This creates a very bad first impression of you and will show the employer that you don’t take the interview seriously, and that you’re unprofessional. You should arrive 10-15 minutes before the time of your interview
• Forget to smile
• Raise salary discussions in your first interview – this is usually addressed during a follow-up interview
• Complain about your current or former employer during the interview
• Play with your hair, clothing, items in your pockets, etc. as this makes you look nervous
• Lie! If you don’t know the answer to a factual question then say so