Interviews are one of the most important opportunities to have a successful first impression for a potential job position. It is crucial that you come prepared and understand what exactly to avoid doing in order help yourself move along in the interview process.

Rich McSweeney, IT Staffing Practice Director at CTN Solutions, advises the following preparation for an online interview:

• Make sure you are fully prepared: check your camera angle, have a private space with no clutter in the background, and have good connection to Wi-Fi.
• Accept the meeting invite sent to you and if you cannot make the interview, notify the interviewer.
• Think through typical questions that are asked. For example, “What are your strengths?” This prepares you to have a good answer.
• Look presentable.
• Do research on the person interviewing you and the company.
• Have 3-5 questions to ask.
• Answer questions in a reasonable amount of time (not too long or too short).
• Have talking points from your experiences.
• Ask a closing question. For example, “What is a typical day in this role?” Or “Is there anything in my resume that would cause concern?”
• Send a thank you email after the interview

By following this advice, you will go into your interviews with more confidence and a great chance to ace an interview and first impression. Remind yourself that the small things will go a long way. Rich McSweeney has a great deal of experience in conducting interviews, making his advice very valuable to take note of.

Connect with Rich McSweeney on LinkedIn.