In this article, I am going to teach you the techniques that will help you succeed during your embassy interview. I decided to make this kind of a video because it is the GKS application period and lots of people have been asking me for interview tips on Instagram. By the way, if you do not follow me on Instagram yet, stop this video for a second, and follow me, here is my account, you are all welcome! Thank you and now let’s begin.

First, I will quickly explain the process of interview and how it was in my case. I entered the interview room in the embassy at a designated time, there were 3 interviewers: 2 men and 1 woman. My interview was in Korean language, although my major was in English. This is because interviewers look at the applicant’s TOPIK level before the interview, if they see that the level is high, they usually conduct the interview in Korea, so be ready for that. The whole interview lasted for about 10 or 12 minutes.

Now let’s move on to tips that will help you succeed in interview.

Number 1. Your appearance is essential. How you look and how you dress will play a certain role in your final result. Make sure that you wash your hair before the interview and style them nicely. It is important to look clean and neat. Do not do too much make up. At the same time do not avoid make up. You would ask, what does my appearance have to do with my interview results. Believe me, I know what I’m saying. Korean people place so much attention and importance on appearance in every aspect of life. So, you should look really good. In terms of clothing, you need an official, classic style and look. In my case, I wore white shirt, black pants, I straightened my crazy curly hair, did a little make up, looked clean and nice. You can wear something different, but make sure you look classic and serious.

Number 2. Keep eye contact when talking.

I honestly believe people don’t realize the impact eye contact can make. It can literally hypnotize the interviewer to choose you. Eye contact makes your answers sound authentic and you look confident, which is a huge benefit. Of course, I don’t ask you to stare them like crazy during the whole interview, but when talking to each interviewer don’t look around or on the ceiling, just look them into eyes while talking.

Number 3. Practice your speech.

Listen, you don’t even feel this, but you might mumble a lot while speaking. When we are in an important meeting, interview or whatever, we worry so much that we start using lots of uh uh in our speech without even noticing. Interviewers are already used to this, because there are so few people who don’t mumble. That’s why, just imagine the impression they will get if your speech is clean and clear. This makes a big change, seriously. That’s why, I strongly recommend that you work on your speech before the exam. How you can do this. Just record your speech several times answering to questions you might be asked during the interview. And practice by trying to improve it every time. It will help you a lot, seriously.

Number 4. Be concise.

Many of us think that the longer my answer is, the better. That’s a huge misconception. Okay? I personally observed many interviews after coming to Korea and I can definitely say that when a candidate gives a very long question to the answer, it makes interviewers feel that the person just pretends to be smart while actually he doesn’t have one definite and confident answer to the question. It is not related to questions that really have a long answer, like for example, “can you talk about your work experience”, then, obviously if your experience is big, you will have to talk long and it is absolutely okay. But when they ask you “why did you choose Korea?” you don’t have to make a long speech of why Korea is a great country to study. Just mention two, maximum three solid reasons that make sense and that are relevant, not because you like K-pop.

Number 5. Use gestures, voice tones and facial expressions.

This is a very tiny moment that makes a very huge difference. Just imagine that you are interviewing two people. One of them is sitting straight, does not move and answers to all question like a robot. The other one smiles, uses hands and slightly changes his speech tone. Who looks more authentic? Who do you want to choose? Well, that’s how you should be in order to be chosen.