By Lara Louder

Your palms are sweaty, your mouth is dry and your mind is blank. Your usual charming, confident and qualified self is now bland and unable to say an intelligent word. Why does this happen to so many young graduates? Because you're at an interview. Your whole future is dependant on this hour of small talk. It's not that you're not qualified for the job or able and willing it's that you dont know how to give a good interview. Don't worry, graduates, you're not alone and there is help.

According to SusanIreland.com, "When you're in a good interview, it's like being on a relay team. You and the employer are runners on the same team, and you both have a common goal: to figure out if you and the employer's organization are a winning combination."

In order to make it a winning combination, thestudentzone.com gives some helpful advice on how to suceed in an interview:

1. Go prepared to your interviews. Present related skills, talents and accomplishments. Prepare your own questions in advance.

2. Dress appropriately.

3. Focus on what you can contribute to the organization rather than what the employer can do for you.

4. Don't place blame or be negative about past employers.

5. Follow up strategcally after each interview.

The more you know about the company you are interviewing for the better you will be prepared to answer questions accurately and affectively, according to Carly Burns, a recent USU graduate in Public Relations.

"Before I got my job in California, I researched the company and what exactly they were looking for and what the position entailed," Burns said. "This allowed me to be confident and ready for my interview."

For more info and tips on successful interview tactics go to USU's career services, Career Perfect, and Monster Interview.com.

NW
MS