How you say something is as important (or sometimes more important) than what you say. Interviews are emotional assessments as much as they are intellectual ones.
Motivation and Passion
No employer would hire someone who does not like what they do. Motivation and passion are often a large source for interview failures. Employers will want to test how committed you are to your career and ultimately the company and may explore your motivations in depth. It is important to show you are passionate about the role you are applying for; for instance, you can use examples of what you are proud of, what you found interesting in your job, what you want to achieve with your role and why you like the company you are interviewing with. Another way to show interest is to prepare intelligent questions that make an interviewer think while also demonstrating your interest and desire to know more about the company and its people.
Be Positive
Most people like to work with positive people. Unless you are in a situation to critically analyse something, a positive outlook on most subjects is generally more favourable in interviews. It is helpful to be enthusiastic and show that you would be happy working for the new company. Even when you are asked to talk about a negative element about yourself, you should find a way to turn it into a positive experience or outcome.
Body Language and Appearance
Body language can also communicate a large amount of information to an employer. For instance, if your role entails dealing with other people or meeting clients, an employer will want to see how you would represent the company. You should make sure you have a firm handshake, a good level of eye-contact, confident tone of voice, good body posture while sitting and not fidget with your hands or other items that might prove to be a distraction. You should also dress appropriately as how you look can affect an employer’s perception of how well you will perform your role. In most cases corporate interviews are relatively formal, and you should ensure that you are you present yourself professionally (clean hair style, ironed/non-wrinkled clothes, polished shoes, clean hands, no excessive jewellery, etc).
Practice makes perfect
We highly recommend practicing for your interviews. Practicing for an interview can allow you to objectively see how you perform when asked a range of interview questions as well as spot any key areas of improvement. You can ask your family or friends to do mock-interviews – ask them to really challenge you and critically analyse your answers and assess your body language. Doing many mock-interviews can make you familiar with your answers and give you confidence when you are doing a real interview.