by David B Hitchcock

Created on: December 29, 2010   Last Updated: May 06, 2011

Job interviews: How to make a good first impression

You found the job you want. You sent in your resume, and they like what they see. Now for the interview. If you make a good first impression, you'll get that job. But its not always easy to make a good impression. Remember the following 5 things and you'll be on solid ground.

1 - This company has already chosen you

Before all else, remind yourself that of all the people applying for this job you got an interview. This means that already the company likes what they see on your resume. Otherwise they wouldn’t waste time with you. The fact they already are interested in you means that short of messing up, you almost have the job already!

2 - Prepare, prepare, prepare

Before your interview, go over your resume. If you want, write it out by hand a few times. Expand on the point form, fill in the details, and generally go over it so you know your points backwards and forwards. Next research the company who will be interviewing you – find out the company’s product line, their services, where they have offices, check out their financial report, and read up on any press releases in the last few months. All this information will give you a good overall picture of the company and allow you to ask intelligent questions about the company and job during the interview.

3 - Ask questions

While there are good questions and bad questions, asking no questions is definitely a no-no. When you are in an interview, you are expected to ask questions. It is best to prepare a few before coming in, ideally more than you will need in case some are answered before you can ask them. Don’t ask questions like what is in the candy machine, or how many smoke breaks you can take. This looks like you don't care about your work.

Good questions are about the day to day tasks involved in the job, or ask how the company can justify hiring when they had a bad last quarter according to their public finance report. Even where the possible path of promotion is from this job because it shows you plan to stay with the company for a long time. These types of questions show the interviewer that you have done your homework, and you are intelligent. These are all things companies want to see in an employee – it reassures them that they are making a good investment in hiring and training you.

4 - Dress for success

When a company is interviewing job candidates there are some things they expect to see. You need to dress well. Standard

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