1. It’s Great Practice

You may have heard the saying, “Practice Makes Perfect”. There is some truth to this saying. Even if you are not hunting for a new job or career path, it’s always good to take an interview for a job you “might” be interested in. The best way to hone your skills for the “perfect” job, is to practice selling yourself in an interview. If repeated enough times, you will be more than ready for that interview that you really want.

4. Gain Insight

Companies of all types are eager to stay on top of their industry and become as successful and make as much money as possible. One way of doing this is creating battle cards about the competitors within the marketplace. This allows them to understand where they are within the segment, and if necessary, make appropriate changes to have an edge. This scenario is the same for each one of us. Taking an interview can help us understand where we stand against the hiring market, and determine our needs to take a lead against those we are competing against.

2. Networking

Networking is one of the most important avenues in growing your personal brand and career. Believe it or not, an interview is a great way to grow both your personal and professional network. An interview is an opportunity to develop and improve your skill set, stay on top of the latest trends, understand the job market, and meet prospective peers, hiring managers, and even referral champions down the road. So, grow your network.

3. Evaluate.

When you need work done at your house, do you call one business, get the quote and proceed with the project? Most want to evaluate all options. Any interview is a chance to evaluate your current job or opportunity against another. This gives you the choice to make a decision based off of more than one set of factors. Interviews are a great way to gauge your current opportunity, your current short and long term goals and make an evaluation of them.

5. You Just Never Know

Perception can be a dream killer. When we make the decision to not take an interview based off of our perception of the opportunity, without even learning more about it, we risk the chance that the “opportunity of a lifetime” is passing us by. What’s the worst that can happen, you say “no thank you, I am not interested”? What have you wasted? It was great practice, you were able to expand your network, evaluate your current opportunity and path, and gain insight into the market landscape. Look at the long game – take the interview and grow.