There is no one theory on how to nail an interview, but there are certain things that you should keep in mind before you go for that really important meeting or call. Here are some common tips that will help you slay that interview:

1. Prepare your questions:

Preparing your questions in advance can help you better navigate a conversation with the employer or interviewer. Make sure your questions are not vague or irrelevant. It shouldn’t look like you’re asking questions just for the sake of asking. Think of your interview as a two-way conversation where you get to know the employer and your work as much as the interviewer is getting to know you.

2. Do your homework:

If you are applying for a technical job role, like cybersecurity for example, then you should focus on being prepared for any technical questions that may come your way. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to go through your training notes that you received in your ethical hacking course or network defense course. In case you don’t have access to your study material, you can always go online and do your homework there. If you are applying for a non-technical job, then your homework will mostly include knowing about your field.

Must Read: Using Social Media to Find Job Opportunities

3. Dress for the job:

Virtual interviews are becoming the new normal but that doesn’t mean that you don’t need to dress appropriately. Surely you wouldn’t be wearing any pajamas but you shouldn’t be wearing casuals either. The way you dress says a lot about you and creates subconscious impressions about you in the minds of your audience. Make sure that you are wearing formals and looking the part in your Zoom call or Skype meeting.

4. Listen intently:

When the interviewer is speaking, you should be listening intently and not just waiting for them to finish their part so that you can respond to it. Everybody wants to be heard. It is important that you have a genuine heart to heart conversation with the interviewer rather than a mechanical talk.

5. Keep your qualities ready:

It’s very important during an interview to remain confident about yourself, and at the same time, to make the interviewer see why you are a good fit in the first place. Surely, the person must have liked something in your profile that they chose to interview you further, but you should not take that for granted during the call or meeting. Have your qualifications ready at your tongue and make sure that you are able to express clearly why you should be preferred over other candidates. For example, if you are applying for a CEH course holder position, then you could tell them about your problem-solving and critical thinking abilities and share some examples of how you have demonstrated thinking out of the box in the past.

6. Don’t try to impress, be honest:

We all think of interviews as a chance to impress our employers and pitch ourselves to them in the most advertising-oriented way possible but that’s not the case. You shouldn’t be focusing on impressing the interviewer, rather you should be focusing on being honest and getting to know what your work would be like and making sure that, through the conversation, they get a clear picture of you so they can make a better decision regarding the recruitment.

7. Stick to the clock:

Time is a valuable thing. A lot of people have indiscipline and non-punctuality as a  pet peeve and therefore you should always assume the same about your interviewer and stick to the clock. Start on time and end on time. Especially if you are expecting a virtual interview, then you should prepare in advance and give yourself a buffer time to make sure that the software, the internet, the microphone, and audio-video settings are working properly