{"id":75911,"date":"2014-07-03T08:00:47","date_gmt":"2014-07-03T13:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=75911"},"modified":"2014-07-03T10:25:06","modified_gmt":"2014-07-03T15:25:06","slug":"acing-the-job-interview-part-1-of-4-pre-interview-prep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=75911","title":{"rendered":"Acing the job interview: Pre-Interview Prep"},"content":{"rendered":"

Angie Solis, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Missouri\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Acing the job interview \u2013 Part 1 of 4: Pre-Interview Prep<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"AngieSolis\"<\/a>Recently, searching for a job has brought me to really work on perfecting my interview skills. There is\u00a0a lot of content online that may be maddening to search through and decipher. The whole interview\u00a0process can be stressful, confusing, scary and frustrating. But, the more you prepare the better chance\u00a0you have of getting the job. This is the first in a 4 part series on my best tips for acing that big interview\u00a0to land your next job!<\/p>\n

First things first, is this the job for you? Analyzing the job<\/strong> will help you to understand who employers\u00a0are looking for and if your qualifications match the job. About.com says that you need to know what\u00a0the company is seeking in a candidate.<\/a> Start by making a list of skills and qualities listed in the job\u00a0description and see how you measure up to those skills. Prepare to explain how you can show that your\u00a0skill set falls in line with what the company requires and highlight this when needed. Prepary.com<\/a> has a\u00a0great description on how to analyze a job description so you know what you are applying for and how to\u00a0make your past experience work for you.<\/p>\n

Now you know when a job is right, next you need to research, research, research! Research the\u00a0company<\/strong> you\u2019re applying to, as this is often a vital and important element to acing the job interview\u00a0that many applicants may forget or not fulfill completely. Not sure where to start? Well you\u2019re not\u00a0alone. In my own experience this was the hardest part of preparing for an interview because I wasn\u2019t\u00a0sure what I should be looking for.<\/p>\n

Start your research by visiting the company’s website to view the Company’s Mission. You will also want\u00a0to check out their recent achievements. Take the time to understand their products\/services as well.\u00a0While many of us are applying to libraries you still want to be familiar with programs and services they\u00a0offer. Find out if they have any goals or new projects in the works. If the company\/organization website\u00a0doesn’t have all this information, use a search engine to find some of these answers. This can also\u00a0help you to find if there are any recent news stories or articles about the organization. Check with job\u00a0specific discussion boards and social Media sites. If applying to a library check the city\/county or school\u00a0website for more information.<\/p>\n

LinkedIn<\/a> lists 10 things to learn about your possible next employer that includes: When and why the\u00a0organization was founded. Who is your prospective boss? What is his or her background? How long\u00a0has s\/he been in this role? and What kinds of community\/diversity\/socially responsible\/earth-aware\u00a0initiatives does the company champion? You’ll learn about these things on the firm’s own website.<\/p>\n

So now that you\u2019ve analyzed the job till it has no secrets and researched the company until you know\u00a0them as well as a sibling, it\u2019s time to prepare for the interview. The best way to prepare is to practice\u00a0interviewing<\/strong>. Practice with a friend, practice with the mirror, just plain practice. Start by attempting\u00a0to anticipate questions from the interviewer. Get an inside look by checking Glassdoor<\/a> for an Interview\u00a0Edge. HiringLibrarians.com also has an interview questions repository<\/a> that provides actual questions\u00a0that have been compiled into a handy dandy list. Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses and\u00a0practice how you will articulate them. Dreading certain questions? Write them down along with their\u00a0answers so that you\u2019ll be prepared for anything and alleviate some anxiety. Once you know that you\u00a0have an interview, if it hasn\u2019t already been communicated, find out what kind of interview you are going\u00a0to. The type of interview can make all the difference and you don\u2019t want to be surprised when you get\u00a0there.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve gone through the most challenging elements of the interview, practice answering the\u00a0questions out loud so that you can have an easier time remembering the responses. This will also help\u00a0you to be more at ease because you won\u2019t be answering them for the first time. Being prepared and\u00a0practiced will help you to be more confident in your interview, making it more likely that you\u2019ve aced it!<\/p>\n

Find all the links mentioned here plus more on my Pinterest board, You\u2019re Hired!<\/a><\/p>\n

I hope some of these tips or links have helped you to begin your interview prep. Tune in next time to\u00a0find out how to be the best you leading up to and the day of the interview.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Angie Solis, Head Editor,\u00a0INALJ Missouri\u00a0 Acing the job interview \u2013 Part 1 of 4: Pre-Interview Prep Recently, searching for a job has brought me to really work on perfecting my interview skills. There is\u00a0a lot of content online that may be maddening to search through and decipher. The whole interview\u00a0process can be stressful, confusing, scary…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":57256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[5949,69,3592,3640,4514,5929,4590,111],"class_list":["post-75911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-angie-solis","tag-article","tag-blog","tag-inalj-missouri","tag-interview-tips","tag-job-interview","tag-preparing-for-interviews","tag-tips"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/AngieSolis.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-jKn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=75911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/57256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=75911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=75911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=75911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}