One key question "every' employer/HR team have in mind is,

"How can this candidate add value to my organization?"

Again the keyword is "VALUE"

2years ago, just after my final MBBS exams, I got called for an interview for a marketing position I applied for a few months back.

Well, the truth is I didn't have a great CV and the only working experience I had was executing personal I.T related projects.

The day of the interview came and I packaged myself the way I knew how and headed to the interview location (somewhere in Lagos).

Before the interview started, I interacted with some of the candidates and immediately realized that they were far more experienced than I was.

However, I knew why I was called for the interview.

You see, in my application letter, I clearly stated that I had a working knowledge of affiliate marketing and if I was considered for the job, my input would increase their revenue by at least 10M per annum.

Men, I was bold on paper.
I also stapled the application letter in front of the CV because I wanted it to be read first.

Remember, my CV wasn't great and I needed the HR team to read my application letter first.

Fast forward to when I got called into the interview room.

HR: Introduce yourself please.

Me: stated my name and some other bio-data, then I stated that I just graduated and had a working knowledge of affiliate marketing.

HR: Ok, in your application, you stated you had a plan that could increase our revenue. Please share.

NOTE: this was my opportunity to convince them whether I was the man for the job or not.

ME: I started by talking a bit about affiliate marketing and how many global...

brands have implemented it in their businesses for better revenue generation.

I further stated how it could be applied in their business setting, citing practical examples.
I also talked about how I could collaborate with their ICT team to implement the plan.

What started as an interview, ended as a presentation.

Needless to say, the team was wowed.

HR: So what are your plans now.
Me: House job

This was where the vibe changed as they weren't convinced I could combine House job with working with them.

However, the head of the team categorically told me that when I was done with HJ, I should reach out to them if I was still interested.

Summary
There are a good number of interview etiquettes, but understanding how you can add value to an organization and ...

effectively communicating such would give you an advantage that is in a class of its own.

Again the keyword is value.

Disclaimer: this thread is not meant to portray me as an HR expert but simply to share an experience I think people may benefit from.

Cheers...