Acing Any Style of Interview

Surges with regards to hiring, job openings and not enough talent to fill vital positions in 2014 mean the job market has rebounded from the Great Recession. Take steps now to land your dream job. Update your resume, perfect your cover letter and practice your job interview skills to ensure you can come out of any interview session with flying colors.

Companies that look to hire the ideal candidate employ creative tactics with the job interview process. Take these tips and tricks to heart so you can be ready for anything when HR managers, recruiters and potential bosses attempt to throw you for a loop.

Businesses learned over the past decade that sometimes slower is better. The average time it took to fill open slots was 12 days in 2010, but that figure nearly doubled to 23 days in 2013. Psychologists even determined that hiring managers were, many times, over-confident in their abilities to ascertain whether or not someone was right for the job. To wit, job seekers should watch out and prepare for four different types of job interview scenarios.

Many companies engage in video chat interviews. Video chats let managers see a candidate, and get a feel for his personality, without spending money on a plane ticket. Treat this interview as you would one in person and dress for the occasion. Before the job interview starts, create a professional-looking Skype username and profile photo. Buy relevant technological enhancements for your computer such as a better camera and microphone to make yourself look and sound better to interviewers. Practice your presentation in the car while driving to run errands. This alone time gives you a chance to memorize, perfect and improve your delivery in front of the rear-view mirror. Create some tough interview questions to answer, and get your verbiage and tone down to the letter.

Group interviews save staff time by having several candidates in the room at once. In the group interview scenario, get ready for three to five other people in the room vying for the same dream job you want. Team-building exercises among the candidates reveal how each person behaves in a team scenario. In a group job interview, edify other people by remembering their names and then present your ideas after carefully considering what a few other people have said. Relax because everyone else there is in the same nervous boat as you.

A panel of your prospective peers eliminates any possible personal bias from a one-on-one interview. Plus, this format gives multiple people a chance to weigh your personality as it fits the position. Find out the names of everyone who will interview you, and search for their LinkedIn profiles. Memorize some facts about each person to engage in conversation points with each interviewer.

Video games are relatively new tools to help companies weed through possible job candidates. Video games can test coordination, judgment, emotional intelligence, prioritizing and critical thinking. Try out the app "Wasabi Waiter," a 10-minute foray into the world of customer service at a virtual sushi restaurant, to see the future of gaming interviews.

A job interview does not necessarily have to be one-on-one time with your future supervisor. Prepare for anything and you will be ready to catch the perfect job for your personality and work ethic.

Photo courtesy of COD Newsroom at Flickr.com