Preparing for an interview and appearing confident

In short: Good preparation on the company, typical questions and your own questions takes away nervousness and shows interest.

In more detail: The interview is the chance to turn the application into a person. The company wants to know whether you fit professionally and personally, and you whether the company fits you. It is a conversation at eye level, not an interrogation.

In Depth

Preparation

• Know the company: products, size, customers, news, website.
• Understand the position: tasks and requirements of the advertisement.
• Read your application again; you must be able to explain everything.
• Clarify route and time; arrive 10 to 15 minutes early.
• Bring documents (certificates, notepad). For online interviews test technology, lighting and a quiet background.

Typical questions

• “Tell us something about yourself.” (briefly, two minutes: school, interests, path to the position)
• “Why this occupation, why our company?”
• “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” (honestly, with an example and how you work on it)
• “Where do you see yourself in five years?”
• Technical questions for IT occupations: basics, projects, troubleshooting, logic tasks.
• Answers with examples (following the pattern situation, task, action, result) are more convincing than claims.

Asking your own questions

Show interest: “What does a typical day in the training look like?”, “Who will accompany me?”, “Which projects are there?”, “What happens after the interview?” Questions about leave and salary are better asked later; for apprenticeships the pay is usually in the advertisement or fixed by collective agreement.

Appearance and follow-up

Punctual, friendly, eye contact, calm posture. Clothes suitable for the company, better slightly too tidy than too casual. Questions about family planning, religion or origin do not have to be answered; they are generally inadmissible. Afterwards you can write a short thank-you email. Note what went well and learn from it. Rejections are normal; every practice makes you more confident.

See also: Writing an application, Dual training, Presentation and technical interview