Job interviews can be nerve-racking and anxiety inducing.
But if you have the right mindset, they can be a chance to really showcase to future employers your skillset and what you have to offer.
Tech lawyer Aleks Nikolic, 28, has shared her “best interview tip, from someone who has always gotten the job after they’ve interviewed” — except once, where she came in second.
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“I lost out on a job I interviewed for at my current company to a colleague of mine. It came down to experience in that instance,” Aleks says in her now-viral video.
However, she said she was still glad she applied, and the application process was a “valuable experience” as she was able to practise applying and interviewing.
“It put me on the radar of my leaders that I was looking for that next step. There was no downside!”
When it comes to her best tip, Aleks says there is a “really simple formula to follow”.
“My top tip to stand out in an interview is enthusiasm — especially if you’re just starting out in an industry,” Aleks tells 7Life.
“You need to think of interviews like a first date.”
She suggests this means crafting your answers to show as much interest as possible in the specific role and the company — rather than giving more generalised statements about the job description.
For example, she suggests not to respond to a question about why you want the a job simply by saying, “I’m really passionate about accounting”.
“(Doing so) is like going on a first date and someone says, ‘Are you interested in me?’ then you say, ‘Yeah I’m interested in being in a relationship’,” she says.
“No — people want to know that you’re interested in them.”
She explained that you need to think: “Why do you want this job, this company, this team?”
The job interview expert said “when you’re structuring your responses” to interview questions, you need to apply “the rule of three”.
“Your skills, the business’ need and then link the two,” she said.
“Your background, why it matters to them, and how you link those two things together — it’s that simple.”
Her video received more than 43,000 views and people widely praised her advice.
“More of this please, thank you,” said one.
“I say this all the time! The first date thing haha,” said another.
“100 per cent agree,” said a third.
Aleks says the main thing to avoid in a job interview is getting flustered.
Questions are often designed “to throw you”, she says, and employers want to see how you handle pressure.
When it comes to staying calm, Aleks suggests role playing interview scenarios with family and friends.
She thinks the top mistake people make when it comes to job interviews is thinking that once they’ve received a job interview that, “the job is in the bag”.
“I’ve been in interviews with candidates I thought would be awesome and been really let down,” she says.
“So, make sure to research your interviewers, understand their team and understand the company.
“I appreciate candidates who take some time to read up on the company they’re interviewing for, to understand headwinds or the industry. It shows care.”
Aleks is also an expert when it comes to saving money, and she recently shared how she saved $35,000 in a year.
“I find it so much easier to save if you know what you’re saving for,” she told 7Life.
“Putting $500 aside for an ambiguous future date is hard. But $500 towards flights to Europe feels so much more satisfying.
“In my case it was a house deposit — I knew every $500 brought us closer to our dream home.”
Aleks says she used to struggle to save money for years after earning just $300 a week and falling into a credit card debt.
Eventually, she found a simple way to set aside her hard-earned cash — the trick is to simply have a specific purpose for your savings.
“Having just a big bucket of cash that includes your emergency fund, home savings etc makes it really easy to dip into that money and not know what you’re stealing from,” she explains.
“When you label your accounts with exactly what they’re for, (it) makes it really hard to steal from your holiday fund knowing that you’re taking away money from flights or accommodations.
“And that makes it a lot easier to say no to those purchases.”
Aleks says among the best ways to budget your earnings are to automate your savings and to try to create new streams of income.
She acknowledges her corporate roles are a “privilege”, which have contributed — along with hard work — to her ability to save.
“Learning to put money towards things I cared about, like holidays or experiences, and less toward things that provided a temporary balm to my anxiety, such as clothes shopping and eating out, I found I was able to save a lot more and it was really easy,” she said.
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