The Staff Force blog has covered just about every topic pertaining to the career placement process: fine-tuning resumes, creating captivating cover letters, the importance of LinkedIn and even what not to do. However, there is still one piece of the pie your Dallas, Houston, South Texas, and Brownsville staffing agency has not yet served – how to effectively conduct oneself during the interview. Once you complete the steps mentioned above, an interview should hopefully be awaiting you. The other steps weigh heavily in importance, but it is usually the interview that tips the scale in your favor, as this part of the process allows you to finally meet face-to-face with the recruiter and leave an enduring impression. In order to do that, you must create rapport, trust and confidence in the recruiter. We are confident you have the ability to do so, and we have just the right amount of tips to help you along the way.

There are a few general rules of thumb to put into practice no matter what position you are applying for and no matter which company. The first is that nobody likes anybody who is late and conversely everybody likes anyone who is early or on time, so be sure to show up at least 5 minutes early.

The second is to be well prepared. Your interview should feel like a natural conversation, not filled with long pauses because you’re trying to remember how to best communicate your skill set. The third is to dress sharp. It is scientifically proven that what you wear will influence the perception your interviewer has of you. Remember that proper interviewing is a learned skill. Below are more specific tips from your Dallas, Houston, South Texas and Brownsville staffing agency that will help you along your journey.

• Practice good nonverbal communication. This includes looking your interviewer in the eyes when you are being spoken to and also shaking hands firmly with that person.
• Listen carefully. Thinking of a response based on the first sentence uttered from your interviewer instead of listening to their whole dialogue may potentially cause confusion and demonstrate that you are hearing but not listening.
• Ask questions. Don’t just ask questions about your job specifically. Ask questions about the company’s culture, ask your interviewer their favorite aspect of working for the company, ask your interviewer where he or she sees the company in ten years time. These types of questions will display your curiosity about more than just yourself.

All in all, these are just some of the rules and techniques that you can use to have a successful interview, but by no means is this list of everything you can do. Be creative and venture out with your interview approach, ask fellow friends and family members about the success they’ve had with interviews but be careful because you do not want to risk being too informal in your approach. Contact your Dallas, Houston, and Brownsville staffing agency today if you feel that your seeds of success have been well planted and you are ready to bloom into the next phases of your career.