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Welcome to the Workforce – Your First Job Interview

For many, a first job is working part-time on the weekend or after school – and it can be a first taste of what it’s like to be part of the workforce. With this in mind, applicants might not have much of a work history, and so experience in going through the interview process will be minimal, putting extra pressure on a candidate that may already be lacking in confidence.

A past work history is not necessarily what every employer is looking for: there are other key skills that could take precedent over and above experience – for me, they are certainly more important. Give me someone with the right attitude and an eagerness to learn over past experience any day, but for someone trying to get their foot in the door, with nerves shot and confidence dwindling, it may be hard to get those traits you posses across at the interview.

The old adage “never judge a book by its cover” is a nonsense, because it’s simply human nature to make a snap decision about someone from the way they look or act – we all do it, and once that opinion is made, it’s very hard to change. It might seem a little basic, but there are some things to take care over to send the right first impression in an interview situation.

Above all, just be yourself because you can’t fake who you are for very long. The interviewer will realize you have not had many interviews, and take this into account, but if you turn up inappropriately dressed with not much more on your resumé than your name, you will have a lot of work to do to change their already made up opinion about you. Good luck.

 

Linda Coles is a Speaker, Trainer and Content Creator. She is the Author of “Start with Hello,” founder of The Say Hello ProjectPhoto Credit wwarby.  SmartRecruiters is the hiring platform with everything you need to source talent. Check out more interview tips on our blog.

Read Linda on SmartRecruiters Blog: “How to Staff a Retail Store in a Month” & “The First 5 Minutes of a Retail Job Interview.”