Communicate Effectively for Your First Job Interview

Communicate Effectively for Your First Job Interview Preparing for your very first job interview, it’s necessary to follow the interview etiquette. Even if you have an impressive resume, without good written and verbal communication skills, you may be losing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. This article gives some tips on the right way to communicate with a prospective employer. Interview Basics Everyone faces interview jitters, whether going for the first or tenth time. The tension levels are surely more for the first time candidate. Appearing for the job interview, first time candidates usually follow the general principles, including dressing right, being punctual and answering questions correctly. These are the basic instructions required by a fresher attending a job interview. These are usually followed when the candidate is appearing in person. Competitive times and tough job market, employers assess the suitability of a candidate on various other parameters. Jobs at the entry level are available in multiple industries, and to get the desirable profile, candidates have to know about other important parameters in the industry of their choice. Good correspondence etiquette is one of them. Before a face-to-face job interview, the employer contacts the candidate over the phone. Many a time, a fresher is asked questions in a telephone interview before being invited for the final interview. To ensure effective communication, a candidate is required to follow certain phone interview etiquette. Telephone Interview Etiquette Given below are the rules to follow in a telephone interview: A candidate should be prepared at all times. Keeping a record of names of companies applied to is helpful, as it allows easy recall. Write the names of companies and job profiles in a notebook and keep the list handy.  Most interviewers would ask candidates a question like this at the beginning of the phone call Is it a good time to talk? Only if the candidate is in disturbance free surroundings, should he continue. Else, politely say no and offer to call back on reaching a silent zone. Do not delay the call. A Candidate searching for jobs should keep the caller tune and voice mail message professional. No personal messages or rock music for caller tunes. Try to maintain the same level of formal tone during the telephone interview, similar to that in a face-to-face interview For the fresher, every call for the job matters. Interview whether face-to-face or telephone, should never be underestimated, and the candidate should always present themselves in their best in any interview environment. E-mail Etiquette Freshers should maintain a tone of formality in their emails, too. Applying for various jobs, the email ID, as well as the content of emails, should be professional. For example, an email ID like pinky123@xyz is fine for personal communication. It is advisable, though, to create an impersonal and discreet ID for sending application correspondence for fresher jobs. Many candidates apply for jobs and forget to attach their resume. Before clicking the send button, check the attachments and subject. Attach your resume and a cover letter. Sending a resume without the cover letter makes the job application incomplete. Candidate should check that attached documents are virus-free. If the candidate is replying to a recruiter’s job offer, this should happen in the reply mode. This helps the applicant and the recruiter to link back to previous communication. Try to answer the email within 24 hours. Delaying the reply implies lack of seriousness or interest. Do not let your communication lead to missed opportunities. While applying for Fresher jobs, a resume holds the credentials, but without good communication skills, your cause might be lost. Just follow the right telephone and email etiquette it will surely bring you a few steps closer to the desired job position.