WELCOME TO JILOA'S BLOG©: How to have a successful interview (3)

Be savvy during phone interviews. If it is a phone interview, it's usually with a PR person who knows very little about the position and technical terms related to a specific job. Make sure to use keywords and buzzwords while answering questions because you are trying to paint a picture with words, since the interviewer has no visual clues of you. Do this and you will pass the phone interview.

Treat the phone interview like a real professional interview. Go to a quiet place, don't get distracted or do anything else but speak, and talk slowly and clearly.
Keep your notes in front of you, but still be prepared to talk on the fly. Having your notes can make you feel more confident about what to say, but don't lean on them.
Dress for business. Dressing in a professional manner will make you feel more prepared, than if you do your phone interview in pajamas or shorts.

Be savvy during Skype Interviews. The Skype interview is becoming more popular than ever, and has been a great way for employers to weed out employees that may not be a good fit during the first or second round of interviews. So, find a place with good lighting and a simple professional background, dress up and groom properly, and test your camera and microphone beforehand to make sure you're ready for the interview.

Treat the interview just as you would a face to face interview. Don't think it's less serious or professional just because you're meeting over the computer.
Be early for the interview. Try to be 15 to 20 minutes early. Use any wait time to review your notes. Being late or just barely on time tends to cause stress and it can show during the interview.
After each interview, debrief yourself. Afterwards, try to see yourself from a "fly-on-the-wall" perspective. Be objective. Ask yourself what you did wrong, what you did right, what you could have done better, how you could have made a better impression, what questions were difficult to answer, etc. Quickly write these things down. Research and/or think about areas where your answers could have been better. Review these notes before your next interview. You will be surprised at how much better you perform in each successive interview.
Use your time during the interview wisely and efficiently. Be careful about going off on tangents and wasting valuable time. An hour-long interview can go by really fast. Try to be efficient in the words and thoughts that you express. Try to leave 10 to 15 minutes at the end for your questions and so you can diplomatically size them up as well. Bring a wrist watch to help you keep track of time.
Find a balance between stating your good qualities but not coming across as someone who is bragging about themselves.
Don't take rejection personally. Reason for not getting a job is typically a better qualified candidate was chosen. Stay in the game...Keep swinging...Each interview increases your chances of landing a new job.
Many State jobs, county jobs, federal government jobs and private sector jobs require drug testing. This can be accomplished by a urinalysis test or by cutting a small strand of your hair and sending it to a lab for analysis. The hair-strand approach can detect drug usage from months ago because of the internal molecular structure of your hair. If you are taking illegal drugs, be advised and consider ways to stop. If you are taking legal pharmaceutical prescriptions, write these down on the form that you sign so the lab will understand the situation. The form has a place for this information.
Many interviewers like to ask a question towards the end such as "What three adjectives best describe you?" Be prepared to answer such a question.
If asked about something you know nothing or very little about, it's better to say what you know and then be honest and say something like "This is not my strongest area...but I'm very willing to learn."
If your rejection comes in the form of a phone call, be polite and thank them for considering you. Who knows, the person they selected might not work out. If this happens, they might reconsider you.
On each interview, bring a nicely typed up brief list of items that you want to make sure you bring up during the interview - A top-10 list you might say. Keep list in front of you. Try to work some of these points into your responses.