Job interviews are full of tests; here’s how to pass them

The average employer interviews seven to 10 candidates for one job. According to Hired, on average, a person will have two to three interviews before being offered a new position. There are some strategies interviewers use to see if you are the right person for their company.

You have your resume, complete with all of your past work experiences. You have your references. You think you’re all set for the interview, but are you really ready?

The interview process starts long before you walk in the door. Resume Lab found 41% of employers will not consider a candidate without social media accounts. That’s because they use social media to screen you before your interview.

According to Indeed, 76 percent of recruiters use behavioral questions to assess soft skills. This includes how you handle the unexpected. First off, the coffee test. Have you ever been offered a beverage during an interview? Interviewers want to know what you’ll do with the cup when you’re finished and that will determine if you’ll be a good fit for the company.

The waiting game, or purposely making you wait past your scheduled interview time to start, is actually a stress test to see if you can keep calm and focused when things don’t go your way. Business Insider reports one hiring manager trick is to ask you to spell your former supervisor’s name at the beginning of the interview. They believe you’ll think the company will reach out to your old boss, leading you to give more honest answers.

It might not be so much about what you say, but how you say it. One survey found high performers answer in the first-person during interviews. 60 more than lower performers. Plus, lower performers use absolutes like “always” and “never” 100 percent more often than their higher performer colleagues.

Resume Lab also found 65% of recruiters reject candidates who don’t make eye contact during the interview. 20% don’t take people who sit with their arms crossed into consideration, and 71% will pass on anyone who is not appropriately dressed.

Employers often use AI to filter out resumes and weed out the candidate pool. Here’s how you can Beat the Bot.

Ivanhoe Newswire contributed to this report.