A Successful Job Interview

Title: A Successful Job Interview Author: Alex Berezovsky

As you may know, when you apply for the Canadian visa, you must attend to an interview with a Visa officer.

I´ve helped people from all over the world get ready for their interviews, and based on my experiences with them, I´ve prepared hundreds of useful tips that people looking for a job can use to succeed in any job interview!

Here are some of them...

It's the moment you've been anticipating. You've been steadily sending off resumes for the last two weeks and now the phone is ringing. On the other end is the disembodied voice of a business professional saying, "We've received your resume, and we'd like to have you come in for an interview." What do you do?

Getting responses to our resumes can be exciting because it means that the employer is interested. Very few employers call in every single applicant since they don't have that kind of time. So, in most cases, being called for an interview means that we've successfully passed the first round of screening. There was something on our resume that attracted their attention.

Now what?

All of us go through this when we are searching for a job. The problem is that most of us don't realize that the job interview actually began the moment we pick up the phone and greet that caller. How you handle yourself on the phone gives the interviewer some idea of what you're like in person. Any one can look good on paper, but the majority of people have more difficulty "faking it" during an impromptu phone conversation.

Of course, not all of these calls will be made by the actual interviewers. In some cases, these individuals will ask their secretaries or assistants to arrange the interviews for them. However, you'll still want to make a good impression on these individuals. For one, you may not know until it's too late whether you are talking to the interview or his/her representative. Plus, these representatives may pass along their opinion of your performance to their boss anyway. Therefore, you should always treat the caller as if they are someone important from the company; someone who will have a hand in determining whether or not you get the job.

Preparing for Calls

As soon as you begin sending out resumes, you should also begin to prepare to receive phone calls from employers. Remember that your contact information should be clearly marked on your resume and on your cover letter so that potential employers can get in touch with you. That contact information should include several possibilities, including your home number, your work number (if you have a private number that isn't screened by your current employer), your cellular number, and your e-mail address. You can also list specific times for each contact method. For example, "You can reach me at 555-5555 any time after 5 pm. Before 5 pm, please call XXX-XXXX." That will make it easier for potential interviewers to reach you. With that in mind, you need to prepare all of your contact channels for these potential calls.

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About the author: Alex Berezovsky is an expert in Canadian immigration and author of "Step-by-Step Immigration to Canada" For more information, visit www.stepbystepimmigrationcanada.com