I often hear this comment from people - “I’ve been through many interviews and therefore am quite good at them”. Practice makes perfect, right?
In this case - not really.
It is important to realise a few things:
- In my experience, majority of people are not really aware of best-practices for giving a great interview. So having gone through many interview situations doesn’t really help because you’ve been practicing all the wrong things
- You should never just land-up for an interview, thinking that if you meet the requirements of the job, you will be selected
- It is not always the best and most qualified candidate who is selected. How well you handle the interview plays a big role also
- You can have a significant influence on how well your interview goes. There are many ways in which you can improve your interviewing skills, thereby increasing the chance of getting hired
- Techniques that interviewers use to conduct an interview keep changing and you should be aware of current trends, so that you can prepare accordingly
- There are many resources (both free and paid) to help you get up-to-speed with interview techniques and to help you prepare/practice accordingly
So no matter how many interviews you’ve been through or how many years of work experience you have, I think your base assumption should be - “If I am about to look for a job, I need a lot of preparation/practice for upcoming interviews.” This way you have nothing to lose (other than being really well prepared for your next interview of course ).
Sources and references: Sandbox Advisors
