You’ve gotten applications, filled them out and now are called in for an interview.  Now the real fun begins!

Other books and manuals will tell you that you want to put your best foot forward, accentuate the positive, be ready to counter any objections, blah, blah, blah.  Some of that may be true for people with an actual work history, but for you, chances are pretty good that you are interviewing to get your very first job!  You don’t have anything to accentuate, counter, or put forward.

The best way to handle an interview is to accept that you will be nervous.  Feel free to let the interviewer know that you are nervous.  They were once in your position too, and chances are they will understand and help you feel better.  Answer their questions honestly and completely, but don’t give out too much info.  When they ask you how you are feeling, feel free to tell them you are a little nervous, but don’t describe in detail how that nervousness is exhibiting itself in your body.

The most important thing is to be honest.  It’s always easier to be honest in the long run, because you don’t have a ’story’ to have to keep track of.  Also, any GOOD manager will hear a lie and move on to the next person with you none the wiser.  I’ve hired enough people to know when someone is lying in an interview, and nothing annoys me more.  If I can’t trust you, or think you are trying to hide something, I have a hard time believing that I will be able to trust you to do your job unless I’m constantly watching you, and I don’t have that kind of time or energy.

If you don’t know an answer, feel free to admit that.  Questions where this comes up usually tell managers what type of training may be needed before the employee is ready to fly.  Sometimes, however, they are designed to gauge your honesty or humility.  Don’t try and ‘find’ an answer that may not be there, or you may come off as a BS artist or just untrustworthy, two things that you don’t want to be.