Now that you’ve gone through all the initial job search processes, you finally receive a call from your potential employer. Kudos! You are qualified for the job, which means, you have all the reasons to be confident enough about yourself.  Now all you need to do is to ace the interview to land the job you have been chasing for.

Below are few tips to help you ace your job interview:

1. Research
2. Look Presentable
3. Ace the warm up questions
4. Get your Question Ready
5. Follow up
6. Things to Avoid

Research

Many of the candidates do not conduct research prior the interview. Little do they know that this will make them nervous during the interview session as they won’t have necessary information to answer when interviewer questions them about the job or the company.

Hence, it is recommended to conduct research about the job including job description and requirements. Also, put in some effort to know about the company’s mission, vision, history and their culture. Try to sync your answers to what you found out with the research.

Look Presentable

Do not underestimate the need of looking good. This does not necessarily mean you to put on the trendiest outfit from your wardrobe or shop for the new one. But simply, look professional, neat and presentable.

However, it is recommended to put a little thought while choosing the right color of the outfit. According to 2,099 hiring managers and human resource professionals who participated in CareerBuilder’s published survey (2013), blue and black are the best colors to wear to a job interview, and orange is the worst.  While blue color represents a fresh and approachable personality, black gives an impression of leadership. Other colors such and white and grey can also be the good choice to wear during an interview.

Ace the warm up questions

Few questions are certainly or most probably certain that will be  . Prepare and practice the answers to these questions and ace them when asked in the interview:

1. Tell me about yourself
2. What are your strengths?
3. What are your weaknesses?
4. Why should we hire you?

Take note of the fact that the answers to these questions should revolve around the job and company based on your prior research and not about your personal opinion or personal life.

Get Your Questions Ready

This is the most important tip. When in an interview, make sure that you keep your queries too. This is the perfect opportunity for both you and company to know each other.

Follow up

Follow up the company after an interview with a “Thank You” email to the hiring manager. Also, follow up with a call or mail in a week or so to find out if you have been considered for the job. However, do not overdo it as it can show you as being too desperate.

Things to Avoid

Here is the list of things you should avoid doing during an interview:

1. Running late
2. Bad mouthing about your previous boss or company
3. Dominating the conversation
4. Over sharing or lying

Take away:

You’ve made it to interview means you are already qualified enough. Use this idea to boost up your confidence and ace your job interview with the tips given above.