I only had one job interview once!
I was 16 and I was looking for a summer job (meaning: my mum wanted me to find a job to 'do something' with my holidays).
So I give my resume to a few place but never get called. You don't get far with a "No experience yet" (which is stupid because you must have a first experience once, but so many jobs requiere a 'a bit of experience').
So my mum says "Why don't you try to Pizza Hut?". And I'm like 'meh, whatever'.
So we go eating to Pizza Hut, I have my resume with me. At the end, I ask with my very well-educated voice "Excuse me, is the manager here?" *Bright Colgate smile* "I am she!" "Oh perfect! Can I leave my resume? I'd like to apply for a job here!". "How old are you?" "16." "That's annoying, you must be 17 to work here". Then, I kind of almost jumped around with big moves saying "Well that's just perfect, my birthday is the 31th of July, so I'll be operative starting from August 1st...If you hire me". My mum said that during that discussion, I was suddenly all miss-commercial-representative-have-you-seen-my-smile-I'm-going-to be good-for-you and that the manager already seemed to have liked me. She took my resume and told me they'd give phone calls at a certain time to interview everybody.
In the meantime, I went to a library (Club...I don't know what would be the equivalent in your countries!). I also asked if they were looking for students and after 5 minutes, the manager was ready to hire me BUT...I had to be 18 to work there. She told me it was really a pity that I wasn't one year older or I'd be hired at that very right moment and that I had to come back the next year!
Then I had my interview at Pizza Hut. I was starting to get excited by this interview dynamic, but I wouldn't have been sad if I wasn't hired. It was my first real interview, sitting in front of the manager and everything.
I am genetically unable to lie (I'm a pure Drogyn). So everything I said was true. I guess it helped.
It went a bit like this:
"So, why do you want to work here?"
"To be honest, the main reason is that I want a job to earn a bit of money to buy a camera. And I like food, so I figured this could be a good place to work. And I live very near!"
"Why should I pick you?"
"Eeeerrr...I'm very ponctual, and very optimistic, and I am a bit clumsy but I compensate with a surreal motivation to get things done right."
"It's a very physical job, you'll have to run everywhere."
"Well, it's like a sport, it will keep me in shape during holidays!"
"You might have to work twice as hard when someone is sick or doesn't work well enough."
"Oh well...I spent the whole year working twice harder because a girl in the work-group was doing strictly nothing, so I'm used to it, it's not a problem".
"I might have to scream on you at times if you don't do the job right."
"I know, and if you hire me it will be my first job, so I might make mistakes or not get used at the very first second, but I'm open to critisism, and if you have to scream at me because I don't work well enough-which I will avoid-, I will understand it, you'll just be doing your job to run the place smoothly!"
"You realise it's not going to be an easy job, mostly if it's the first?"
"Well it's a good thing, if I start tough, other jobs will just seem easier to me".
"What about the langage?"
"My French is perfect (that's a very dull thing to say when you are having the whole interview in French because it's your native langage). My English is good enough to hold a conversation. My Deutsh isn't as good as my English..."
"Your Deutsh isn't that good? It's the second official langage here"
"...but if I learn the vocabulary specific to the job, I won't have any difficulties with clients!"
While I was doing the interview, I was thinking that it would be ridiculous to lie, because then when you are hired, you are not like you said and it's a big mess. I didn't practise anything, I didn't know how it would go, I always answered the first things that popped into my mind and rephrase them in an appropriate interview-langage (meaning no "You know" "like" "Y'a know"...Avoid that street langage). I think it's important to be polite but not overly polite, just speak normally, knowing that the person in front of you is your hierarchic superior and you must talk to that person with the due respect. I didn't wear anything special, just everyday clothes (with an ice cream necklace, to show that I really like food. That was the most elaborate thing of my clothing). I didn't have a glass of water, but if I didn't know immediatly what to answer, I would say "That's a tough one" and laugh slightly.
The weird thing is that during the action, I don't really calculate anything. I just answer. And then when I think about it, I think I had again this "Hire-me-and-my-colgate-smile" attitude.
Even that is natural. I kind of smile without even noticing it. Don't force yourself into smiling if you are not the smiling kind. Smile a bit but not too much. Maintain eye contact, it is very important. Just be yourself, show your personality right away, stay polite, have eye contact, smile at times, say the right things without lying, and you'll be ok! And, it is very possible that the interviewer tries to demotivate you, that he gives you excuse not to want the job. Fight it, show you really want the job, no matter what!
(Of course, that was just for a summer job, I don't know how it will be when I will have to apply for an after-studies job).
((I feel like my posts aren't getting any shorter)).
