You’re invited to a job interview for a marketing role. Before the interview, you’ve done your research and know everything about the company. During the interview, the interviewer asks you questions about the industry and your expertise. You know the answers in advance, but you want to impress the interviewer with your knowledge. What do you do?
You might want to take a moment to review your answers before the interview. If you’ve spent the last three years building up a career in digital marketing, but have never worked in marketing for a non-digital company, now might be the right time to expand your professional network. You might want to consider using an interview platform like Interview Street to get some experience before landing that dream job. Here are some tips on how to expand when writing answers on an interview not a job:
Prepare Some Awesome Answers For Things You Know Well
The first step to expanding your vocabulary is preparing some awesome answers for things you know well. Your research and preparation for the interview will give you a leg up on any question the interviewer throws your way. The more you know, the more you can prepare. It’s always good to be over-prepared. Interviews are stressful enough without having to worry about whether you’ve got the right answer or not. It’s also a good idea to look up the questions in advance and practice your answers. That way you’ll know exactly what to say when the time comes.
Understand The Interviewer’s Point Of View
Another way to expand your vocabulary is to understand the interviewer’s point of view. For some odd reason, too often interviewers will ask questions that assume you know what they’re talking about. For example, if the interviewer says, “Explain why you’re a fit for the position,” you might reply, “I’m a fit because I have the skills they’re looking for. Our customers love what we do, and that’s all about marketing.” Boom! That’s the end of the discussion. You’ve just assumed the role of the Marketing Manager, and it wouldn’t exactly be fair for you to complain about your lack of experience when you’ve just assumed a senior role. The interviewer might even say, “Great! I’ll let you know what they have decided.” That’s when you know you’ve done well. The more you know and understand about the interview process, the better you’ll do. If you get stuck, ask for clarification or go back and review the previous answers. Better to overprepare and understand than to under-prepare and not have the full picture.
Use An Interview Platform For Some Real World Learning
An interview platform like Interview Street can help you get some actual work experience while getting to know people who could become future coworkers or business connections. The app offers a variety of ways for you to get experience, from taking on quick tasks to completing various exercises and practicing with your smart phone. Interview Street is all about connecting you with opportunities and offering real world experience in a virtual environment. Sometimes all you need is a little help from a platform like this. It can feel lonely going through the interview process, especially if it’s your first time ever doing so. Having someone to talk to who knows what you’re going through can make a big difference. Even if it’s just getting some questions answered, you’ll still feel like you’re getting work experience. It’s all about finding what works best for you.
Try As Many Interviews As Possible
If you’ve got the opportunity, it’s a good idea to try out as many interviews as possible. Sometimes there’ll be a few glitches in the process and you’ll have to go through a few rounds of revisions, but that’s part of the fun. You can’t expect to get a call back every time you go through the process, so by trying out a variety of platforms, you increase your chance of getting a call back for a suitable job. This tip also goes hand in hand with the previous one. If you’ve got your heart set on a certain job, but haven’t been able to lock down an interview, don’t give up just yet. Try again later, when you’ve got more experience. Most importantly, have fun with it! If you take the process seriously, stress can easily creep in, and that’s the last thing you want when you’re trying to land that job.
Join The Conversation On Social Media
One of the best ways to expand your vocabulary is to join the conversation on social media. There are a variety of forums and platforms designed for just that purpose. You can use your social media accounts to follow experts in your field, participate in discussions, and get to know people who share your passion for knowledge. The key is to find the forums that will help you get the most out of your research and preparation for the interview. The more you know, the more you can prepare. It’s all about making the right connections and putting yourself in the right place at the right time. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of luck, but you’ve got to make the most of it to ensure you get that amazing opportunity you deserve.
Know When To Revise
One more thing! Sometimes during the interview process, you’ll need to go back and revise your answers. Don’t worry, it’s not you! Often times, the interviewer will point out parts of your answer that they feel needs some revision. It’s a good idea to listen to their feedback and pull out the parts that you feel needs the most work. Revising your answers doesn’t mean that you’ve failed. It simply means that you’ve got room for improvement. The key is to continue to do better each time you revise. Knowing when to stop and when to go back is something that comes with experience. Keep plugging away until you find that perfect answer. You’ll be surprised how much better you can get with a little bit of revision. Sometimes it’s simply a matter of rewording things or putting them in a different order. Other times, you’ll need to backtrack and re-visit some of the points you’ve made. Whatever the case may be, it’s all about finding the right combination of words that best represent your knowledge and experience.
Remember to take some time to celebrate your achievements at the end of the day. Even if you didn’t get the job you were looking for, you still did everything you needed to do to set yourself up for the next opportunity. Experience and knowledge are not something that can be taught. If you continue to work hard and stay positive, you’ll be able to find the perfect job for you in no time.