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12 tips for your first job interview

Know what you need to do before, during and after your first conversation with a recruiter
Facing the first job interview is a pretty daunting idea for anyone who needs to enter the job market. Insecurity, fear and anxiety can mix at this time – and it is natural for this to happen. But that’s not why you need to miss the opportunity to show your potential and convince the recruiter that you’re the most suitable candidate for the job. Here are some tips to help you stay calm and come prepared for this conversation.

1. Study the job, the company and the interviewer

To make a good impression at the time of the interview, it is essential that you know very well who the hiring company is and what the vacancy is at stake.

It is important to seek information about the company, to know what it does, where it operates, whether it is a national or multinational company, where its headquarters are located, etc.

If you know the name of the interviewer, also research what you can about them. It is interesting to know, for example, if he is from an outsourced recruitment company or if he is from the hiring company itself. Whether it’s someone from HR or your potential boss. All of this helps direct your responses and set the right tone for the conversation.

2. Know how to tell your story

It is very likely that at some point during the interview the interviewer will ask you to tell your story. The idea here is not to repeat everything that is on your resume, but to tie together a few facts that can create a memorable story for those who listen.

Want an example? Come on.

“I am from Sorocaba, from a family of three brothers, and I came to São Paulo to study. My father was an engineer and I always wanted to be like him, so I chose the course and came to live alone. In college, I didn’t like the first year so much, I thought about quitting, but I started to get really interested in the junior company and that kept me going. Good thing, because it was the best decision I ever made…”

3. Know the most frequently asked job interview questions (and prepare your answers)

Some questions are very frequently asked. This means that even on your first job interview you are likely to have to answer some of them.

So that you can start thinking about the answers, here are some of the most common ones:

Can you talk a little about yourself?

What do you know about the company?

Why should I hire you?

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Do you have any questions?

4. Assess your speech and behavior

Have you ever stopped to think about the way you speak and move during the conversation with the recruiter? If you’ve never thought about it, it might be a case of recording your responses or – if you’re not too shy for that – even filming a mock interview to get an idea of ​​how you would be perceived by the other person.

If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, it’s worth trying to practice the situation with a friend and then ask what he thought. If it’s someone who has already gone through some selection processes, then even better.

5. Select situations that demonstrate your skills

Many job interviews are based on situations you’ve been through. These are the so-called competency interviews.

In order not to run the risk of having a blank on your first job interview, you can prepare your memory. Remember, in advance, situations in which you felt challenged, in which you had to solve a problem, for example. It is very likely that a question like this will come up in the chat.

Oh yes, and don’t worry about the simplicity of the tasks you are going to report, this is already expected by the interviewer. What matters, in the first job interview, is to show how you achieved the results and not the result itself.

6. Value your academic experience

In general selection processes, what matters most are the results obtained by candidates in previous experiences. Of course, if you’re looking for your first job opportunity, the recruiter already knows that you don’t have professional experience (much less results) to present, but that’s not why you’re going to stay silent.

At this moment, you can explore your results and experiences at school/college, participation in congresses, seminars, improvement courses, work developed, such as TCC and Monographs, and, mainly, volunteer work, vacation work, exchanges.

7. Choose well what to wear at the first job interview

Virtual or in person, the job interview is decisive for the selection process. That’s why you should – yes – worry about what you’re going to wear because some simple care can make all the difference.

Ideally, dress as if you already worked for the company. That is, if you know that everyone in that company wears jeans and a t-shirt, you don’t need to wear formal clothes.

However, if you don’t have information about the dress code, the ideal is to wear a neutral outfit, that is, not as formal as a suit, but not as informal as a t-shirt. The tip is to dress as if you were going to an important meeting.

8. Take a deep breath and keep your attention in the present moment

At the time of the interview, you need to keep your balance so you don’t get too agitated or apathetic to the extreme. A very simple tip to maintain balance is to take a deep breath – literally.

Seriously: Deeper breathing helps restore the brain’s hippocampus, responsible for memory.

9. Look the interviewer in the eye

If the interview is in person, it is important to greet the interviewer with a firm handshake and maintain eye contact with them – looking them in the eye when answering questions.

10. If you don’t understand, ask

It’s better to interrupt and say you don’t understand than to answer anything that might make it look like you don’t know what you’re saying.

11. Be yourself in the interview

Don’t make up lies or fancy stories to make an impression. Be yourself and everything is much easier – including for you, who won’t have to play a role in this moment that is already tense by nature. In addition, selection processes seek to place the right person in the right place.

If you are not selected, it does not mean that you are a bad professional, but that there was someone more adhering to the requested profile.

12. Prepare some questions to ask the interviewer

At the end of the conversation, the interviewer may ask if you have any questions. At this time, it’s good to have some interesting question to ask.

You can ask about the job or the company, for example. It’s just important not to ask very basic questions that can be answered with a simple Google search.

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