5 Interview Tips

Writer: Mostafa Hanno

Editor: Duha Hegazy

Designer: Maram Mohammed


You’re anticipating your first interview, it’s nerve racking, isn’t it? Whether you’re a high school student or applying for that first internship, you might find these 10 tips quite useful. Stick around and catch a thing or two because you got this!

Be Honest and True to Who YOU Are.

Look, we know that everyone is eager to put his or her A game; it’s in the human nature to upsell yourself. However, that’s not all interviewers are looking for. Like any long-term commitment, they’re not looking for a catfish; interviewers have done this before, they could tell who’s being authentic and who’s bogus. Speak up confident in your own personality, you have lived a life equal to all others. Show what you have to bring to the table and show how you would stand above others. You will realize as you think about that that you’re pretty cool, and with optimism be the best version of yourself and stand out.

A Smile and Good Body Language Go a Long Way.

Something we can assure you, is that all of your mannerisms go a long way in gesturing what kind of person you are, and what value you bring to the table. So important in fact, that body language cues make up to 80% of face-to-face communication. Strong eye contact is indignant of high confidence, and strong character. It’s recommended that in order to come off as a higher value person, you should hold longer eye contact with the Interviewer, make sure not to look at the room, sky, table, look them in the eye as you answer any and all questions. Use eye contact as a tool that reassures what you have to say. After you’ve been keen on eye contact, try smoothing out the interviewers view by lightening up the mood with a nice, warm smile. This goes miles in giving a sense of empathy; it shows that you’re a person capable of connecting with people. When conducting an interview, you want to be sincere, and nice, true smile does just that.

Also one of the telltale signs for an interviewer when considering a candidate is how their posture holds up, with good posture, one comes across as healthy, capable, and responsible. So don’t forget to keep your head up!

Understand What the Position Needs, and What They Are Looking For.

Before an interview, it’s better to know what the interviewer is looking for, and what kind of energy and skills you need to bring to the table. For instance, a position requiring responsibility and a level head wouldn’t have you showing how social and energetic you are. (No matter how amazing your personality is), with that in mind you’ll find it easier to appeal to the interviewer.

Cut Yourself Some Slack Mid-interview, and Keep Going.

It’s totally normal to stumble with thoughts or words in the midst of an interview, but don’t let a mistake influence the rest of what you have to say, interviewers are looking for bullet points in your persona. Don’t worry and threat over every single word, whenever you make a mistake, brush it off, pick yourself up and pretend it didn’t happen. It’s just a conversation; you’ve had thousands of those anyway!

Think Clearly Before Responding, and Take Your Time.

The silence hurts, the seconds you have to think feel like an eternity, but it’s completely normal. When an interviewer asks a question, the time you have to processes it is not awkward, your mind takes this period and exaggerates it, and understandably so. As you get a question dissect it, show them how calm you can be and how put together you are, take as much time as u need because the interviewer is here to hear you out, and rushing your answers is definitely not a trap you want to fall into.