I’ve been through many interviews…

I often hear this comment from people – “I’ve been through many interviews and therefore am am quite good at them”. Practice make perfect, right?

In this case – not really.

It is important to realize a few things:

• In my experience, majority of people are not really aware of best-practices for a giving 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 show-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 also plays a big role
• 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).

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.