Before the Interview
Get organised.
All the basics like planning your journey, taking all contact details and numbers with you, setting off early, remembering your mobile etc will stand you in good stead.
Then there’s the role related issues to tackle. Prepare thoroughly. Know who you’re meeting, find out all you can about them and the company and its competitors.
Find out what kind of interview it is – it could be competency based, have personality and numerical tests, be a presentation etc. We’ll be on hand to help you with this. For presentation tips click here.
Revise your cv and make sure you remember its finer points about your job history.
Refer back to the job spec – make sure you have examples of your achievements which fit with the role that you can talk about.
Click here for examples of questions you may be asked, then prepare your answers.
During the interview
Greet the interviewer using their name ‘Nice to meet you xxx’
Be positive, decisive and enthusiastic with your language but avoid arrogance, dithering and too many ‘ums’ and ‘ers’! If you need to stall for time to formulate an answer, a sip at a glass of water could do the trick.
Make sure you have some questions prepared that are relevant to the role for the interviewer – this is equally important as answering their questions well as it shows you’re switched on and motivated. You could use examples such as ‘What are the challenges the department faces in the current climate?’, ‘What are the company expansion plans, and could this role be part of them?’
Always dress smartly, plus eye contact, a smile and firm handshake will go a long way to creating an impression of confidence and ease.
If you feel like you’d benefit from some coaching with any of the above, please ask us. We’re more than happy to do a mock interview for you.
For an entertaining behind the scenes look at interviews, catch up on episodes of The Job Interview on Channel 4, but remember that different companies have differing interview techniques. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-job-interview