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How To Prepare For An Interview

Posted on September 9, 2018 Written by Cathy Allen

Preparing oneself for professionalism from the start is the key to finding and getting hired for that desirable job. There are many factors to exude professionalism before, during and after an interview. It is critical that one knows the dos and don’ts of making ones self image professional from the get-go.

Many individuals who begin looking for a job do not have a plan. Simply speaking, planning saves time and money for both the employer and employee.

Tips For Creating The Plan- These will help form the answer to many of the top ten basic interview questions.

  1. Research, Evaluate and Write down what job opportunities that the candidate wishes to apply for. (Mobile services, public health, education, management, clinical, sales etc.) : This helps form the answer to one of the top ten basic interview questions "Why do you want this job?"
  2. Write down the candidate’s skills, certifications and experiences: This helps form the answer to one of the top ten basic interview questions "Why should we hire you for this position?"
  3. Evaluate which job would be able to offer that ideal working environment based on your skill listed in #3 above. (private office, group practice, specialty office, mobile dental units, educational institutions, government, corporate etc.) : This helps forms the answer to three of the top ten basic interview questions "What is your greatest strength?" "What is your greatest weakness?" and "How do you evaluate your success?"
  4. Write down and evaluate where the candidate is personally, financially and professionally now and where she/he would strive to be in 1 year, 3 years and 5 years from now (goals and aspirations). This helps forms the answer to three of the top ten basic interview questions "What are your goals for the future?", "What are your salary requirements?", "Questions about your career goals?".

A candidate who knows what they want ahead of time is preparing themselves mentally and emotionally to begin the process of looking for their ideal job. This practice improves the ability for that candidate to express themselves with confidence at an interview thus promoting their professional demeanor.

Based on the information from above, the candidate is now ready to begin the job seeking process by creating their resume and cover letter. Check spelling and grammar. Employers base whether or not they will contact a candidate on these critical factors, whether the candidate is qualified for the job or not. The resume and cover letter is the candidate's first professional impression for employers to review before the interview.

Next, prepare the telecommunications. Where and how are employers contacting the candidate? Is it phone, fax or email? Are these methods professional? Look at the name of the candidate’s email address. Save unprofessional email addresses for friends, not potential employers. Voice messages should also be professional as one is looking for a job. A recorded rock music background on voice messages is unacceptable for employers to hear. A professional impression is critical on all telecommunication methods as potential employers are forming an opinion of the candidate before the interview begins.

An example of a professional voice mail should state, "You have reached the voice mail of "First Last Name". I am unable to come to the phone but your message is important to me. Please leave your name, number and best time to reach you and I will do so within the next business day."

Do you have questions or comments?

Email mail@DentalWorkers.com

About the Author:

Cathy Allen has written many employment related articles for Dentalworkers.com since year 2000. Some publications include The Dental Assistant, The Warschaw Learning Institute’s Newsletter, the ADAA Educators Newsletter, Business Beat, the ADAA Student Newsletter and other dental blogs, newsletters and magazines. Read further

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