You’ve dressed up, are a little sweaty under the neck and have pumped your interviewer’s hand a little too vigorously before sitting down in the hot seat… it’s the dreaded job interview. Remember what the most important principle in real estate is? Location, location, location.
A very important principle to remember for that job interview is this: PREPARE, PREPARE, PREPARE. If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail. So HOW to PREPARE? I was lucky enough to attend an appointment recently with career specialist at the University of Calgary that illustrated these sensible points. These pointers may be handy for any interview, not just career, but also volunteer related positions you will have in the future!
Follow these three steps to help prepare for interviews better.
1. Prepare answers to the most common questions：
Tell me about yourself？ Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? These are very likely to come up. Know yourself and be honest. Your weakness isn’t cupcakes either. When talking about your weakness, state it truthfully, but definitely tell your employers what you are doing to improve upon it, so it doesn’t raise any red flags about your work ethic. Be career related in your answers.
2. Create at least 10 SPARCS.
A sparc is the formula for any examples they want you to provide to demonstrate a skill/ attitude/ attribute they are looking for. Situation or Problem, Action taken, Result, Close or what you have learned. Talk about the examples positively and with confidence.
ex. Question: Tell me a time where you inspired someone? SPARC. At this one instance at the …..I did this…..it caused this to happen…and I’ve learned this.
3. Ask the company questions back.
You also want to know if the company is a good fit for you.
What is the team environment like? What are the skills and attributes your top performers possess? How do I succeed in this job? Ask questions, things you couldn’t already find on the company’s page.