Interviews are by far my favorite part of the Application process.

There is such a misconception around them: everyone who feels interviewed are scared of being judged. Consequently, they often do not react or talk the way they would usually do.

People often forget that the interview is a two way thing: you need to understand if the management and company is right for you just as much as the management needs to understand if you will be a good fit.

TYPES OF INTERVIEWS

With that says, let’s distinguish to types of interviews:

• phone interview
• the face to face interview (including Skype ones)

PHONE

The phone interview is my least favorite. I am incapable of reading the other person as I cannot see the way their face is reacting to what I am saying. I need to focus a lot on the tone of voice to see the variations of it when they respond to certain things I say.

However a lot of people prefer the phone interview because it takes away the pressure of being seen and it allows people to have notes of paper in front of them that they can read.

This is a huge advantage however please beware of your voice when you read out your responses. Some people become monotone when reading or express themselves to fluently, too perfectly, without a human hesitation. So make sure to vary the tone of voice when you read and also stop sometimes to fake “searching your words” so that it comes across more natural and human.

Most importantly: smile. It makes a difference!

NOTES

But the real question is: what should you put in your notes?

Start with the absolute basic questions and answers:

• tell me about yourself
• why did you choose this role
• why did you choose this company
• what is your biggest strength
• what is your biggest weakness

That same preparation needs to be done for face to face interviews but this time you won’t be able to cheat therefore you need to practice your responses over and over until they start getting more natural when you say them.

Although face to face interviews can be daunting, they have a tremendous impact compared to phone calls. The recruiter can see your face and the enthusiasm you convey. You can come across like a breath of fresh air and communicate so much more energy and passion through your facial expressions rather than just the voice.

I cannot recommend enough trusting the fact that you are worthy of this job and that you should totally relax. The employer will understand if you are nervous but they definitely prefer the confident candidates. This doesn’t mean arrogant.

If you are afraid of not being able to put a sentence together, please rehearse the most common questions. Especially the ones I listed before. If you need more, you can download My Answers To Top Interview Questions (coming soon).

PREPARATION

What I also do is go through their main requirements and characteristics they are looking for. Check out this blog post if you haven’t already. I write a story about how I have experienced that characteristic and clearly am a good fit.

For instance, if the job description keeps repeating “leadership” a lot, or “team work”, I would try and think of what kind of issues or experience a leader would encounter and then have a story about those issues. This way, when the recruiter asks me the following questions, I will have a story clearly indicating that I know what being a leader entails:

• Tell me about a time someone in your team was not contributing. How did you solve that problem?
• Tell me about a time where your contribution in a team was valuable to the team.
• Tell me about a time where you had an issue with a person in your team.

Think about the good and ugly scenarios of your professional life and then turn it so that it looks like you know how to adapt to any sticky situation.

FINAL QUESTIONS

Finally, about 80% of people are clueless of how important the question section is. When the interview comes to an end, a lot of students do not ask questions when they are given the opportunity to ask them.

Asking the interviewers questions is a golden opportunity to take back a bit of power and understand more about the company.

Do not waste your questions on answers you already know. Ask them questions, from human to human. Ask them about their experiences the same way they asked you. Put them on the spot.

It makes a hell of a difference.

If you are successful, you either have the job, or have to go through one more step: the Assessment center.

HOW CAN WE CAN HELP EACH OTHER (ONLINE OPPORTUNITY)

If you are struggling to find experience and are interested in Copywriting, Marketing or Entrepreneurship then we are looking for people to become editors of this website. I will form you and teach you everything I know. If you want to get involved with this blog then please do not hesitate to contact me via this Contact Form or via my Instagram account. This is a unique opportunity. Again, you can contact me for more details on how this may help you!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR YOU

Over the years I have created many guides and checklist that aim to help you save time. Here are a list of them just in case you might miss out on a few:

1. My 1st E-Book: a resource that has help me become a boss at Time Management. Moreover, it has also helped me create more time for what I love and get to my goals faster. It is lengthy, however it is arguably the best Time Management piece of research out there.
2. The Time Management Actionable Sheets: a summary of my E-Book. These sheets have conserved the absolute essential actions you need to take to make the most out of your time. Do not skip any steps!
3. My Before & After CV Transformation: a resource that has collected my CVs for the past 7 years to help you not only craft a great CV, but to also show you that everyone can start mediocre and grow exponentially.
4. How To Land a Job Faster Guide: a resource that aims to give you all of the tips and recommendations I have used during my career. This will help you avoid some common mistakes students do when starting off with their job applications.

MY OBJECTIVE IS AND WILL FOREVER BE TO HELP YOU

To conclude, the aim of this website is to help you have the best fresh start at University and with your career. There is nothing that gives me more happiness and joy but to hear your positive feedback on how helpful my content has been. Contact me if you have any feedback for me!

BEST OF LUCK WITH IT ALL!!!!

Much affection,

Francesca Michaud