The interview is one of the most important elements in your job search, and often a job can be won or lost in this stage. To increase your chances for success it is imperative that you prepare properly.

To begin you need to extensively research the company, and with the help of the internet this should be fairly easy. Start by reviewing the company's website and looking at all the individual pages including 'about us', 'the management team' and 'press releases'. Take time to study each page and get a full understanding of the company and its business philosophy. If the company is public, research the stock and learn its history. Also google the company to find out if it has been in the news lately.

Use the same approach if you know whom will be conducting your interview. Check on google, linkedin, twitter, spoke, etc. to learn about your interviewer. By knowing more about the interviewer's background you will better be able to answer questions and create small talk as needed. The interviewer will also be impressed by the time you took to learn more about them.

Next, properly prepare yourself for the most commonly asked questions such as: what are your greatest strengths, what is your biggest weakness, tell me about yourself. Remember to stay on track when answering. Providing too much information may take the interview in a direction that would not be beneficial, and never speak poorly about a past employer or boss. Be prepared with a list of intelligent well thought out questions for the interviewer and do not ask about salary or benefits in the first interview.

Finally, take time before the interview to get directions and make certain you know where you are going and how long it will take you. Build in time for rush hour traffic or road construction. Arrive 10-15 minutes early, dress conservatively with no perfume or cologne and leave your cell phone in the car. It's also advisable to bring extra copies of your resume. To better stand out amongst other candidates send a thank you note to everyone you met. This can be done either through email or regular mail and remember to proof read your thank you note before sending.

Relax, take a deep breath, enjoy the process and contact Kunin Associates if you have any other concerns about interviewing.
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