How to ace that first job interview: It's a job interview, not a blind date

In a time when young people are increasingly savvy about self-promotion, you’d think job interviews—essentially an opportunity to sell yourself—would be a cinch. But the thing is, there’s a big difference between self-promotion that gets you more Twitter followers and presenting yourself in a way that gets you hired.

As an editor, I’ve encountered my fair share of applicants—for internships and even entry level editorial positions—who can’t seem to draw the line between the personal and the professional. Maybe that’s the problem with our political-is-personal generation. Living in a time where we feel like our opinions are all valid and important, we find it difficult to draw the line, to separate personal biases and keep things professional. If your Twitter feed loves you, the whole world must love you too, right? Wrong.

Here are some notes on acing your first job interview:

Our teachers were right. Success depends on research and preparation.

I once got an applicant who seemed to think she could get an editorial job based on sheer personality. When prodded for previous experience, sample work, or even some proof that she’s actually interested in the job, she admitted that she had just decided she’d like to become a writer. Previous experience? Personal style blog. Sample work? Instagram photos of her outfits. Previous interest? “I don’t really read a lot…. I love shopping though!” She later admitted that she’d never read an issue of the publication she was applying to.

The worst thing you can do at a job interview is to go unprepared. By doing so, you’re telling your interviewer that this job means nothing to you, you’re a frivolous kid who doesn’t have a serious work ethic, and that really, he’s missing out on nothing by rejecting you. Having little experience is okay if you show initiative and real interest.

Research the company you’re applying to, its strengths, its weaknesses, its competition. Going to a job interview without research is like going to war without a gun. And since this information is so readily Googleable nowadays, you deserve what you get when your interviewer cuts your interview short and sends you home.

When writing your résumé, put your best foot forward—but don’t lie.

The résumé is really your college life in bond paper form. If you worked hard and explored your different skills during college, you’re bound to have no fear of the bond (paper). This is your time to brag, after all. List down those grades, the org positions you held, those internships you spent those summers on. Your only problem is choosing which of your achievements should find space on your résumé, which is best kept to one page.

But if you spent most of your breaks hanging out with your friends, with the kind of grade point average that’s passable but not exceptional, it’s time to panic. The best you can do is find a way to present those achievements in a way that makes you look like a desirable candidate. When all else fails, the power of the cover letter should not be underestimated. If you make a convincing case for yourself, you might just be able to convince your prospective employer.

Stalk your interviewer.

As an extension of the research and preparation item, know what you’re up against.   The company might be hiring you but at this stage, the interviewer’s the one who’s actively doing the hiring. But don’t come off like a creep (“So I read your tweet earlier, you like Bonchon too? I love Bonchon…. Yeah, I Googled you”). This is just so you mention the areas of experience and interest aligned with your interviewer’s own background. Keep it relevant.

Keep it professional.

I once interviewed an applicant who had the lyrics of Call Me Maybe (as in, “Hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but here’s my number, so call my maybe”) on her résumé. I didn’t know if she was trying to be funny, trying to get the job, or trying to pick one of her interviewers up.

The nature of the job interview means it has to do with a lot of wooing—making little jokes to break the ice, presenting yourself in a way that puts your best attributes forward, making yourself a desirable candidate. But you shouldn’t cross the line between the personal and professional. Yes, talk about yourself—your achievements, your interests, the stuff you’ve done in the past that makes you a good fit for the position. But don’t talk about your mother, your love life, your shopping habits, and so on. You’re looking to work together, not sleep together.

Dress for the office, not the club.

It’s not a date but that doesn’t mean you should dress lazily. Put your best self forward. Wear office-appropriate clothes that make you look good, presentable, and together. Make sure your clothes are ironed well, your half-windsor knotted properly, and those zippers fastened. How you look on the day of the interview gives your interviewer insight on the kind of person you are.

At the same time, one of the worst things you can do is dress up in a way that makes you look like you’re going clubbing. Ladies, keep the sequins in check and the hemlines conservative. Gentlemen, a leather jacket doesn’t make you look like Ryan Gosling. It just makes you look like a douche bag. Dress according to the industry you’re applying to. A creative industry like advertising and publishing allows for more personal style and a bit more eccentricity. Corporate? Best to go safe and simple, at least at the start.

Be interesting and interested.

Your objective, essentially, is to make sure that your interviewer knows this is a big deal to you and that you’re going to take the job seriously. Seem interesting and interested—one of the worst things you can do is seem blasé about the job. Ask good questions to show that you’ve given it some thought. Although it’s not expected, it might also be good to prepare an informal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of the department you’re heading into. By giving suggestions—in a way that doesn’t seem like you’re a know-it-all, of course—you communicate that you won’t be just another mindless drone.

Know your worth.

At the end, when you have a satisfied interviewer, a prospective offer in your hands, you have one more important thing to do—be honest about what you want. No one likes talking about money and assessing what you’re worth, but you have to understand that this is the job you’re going to live with for a while. Of course, entitlement is another thing. Make sure your demands aren’t unreasonable. Again, research is important. Know what the going industry rate is.

You have to make sure it’s a job that knows your worth, knows the demands it will place on you, and compensates you as such. It’s hard to clock in and out every day, work hard and do your best for a job that you know doesn’t deserve you.