Interview Guide
Preparing for your interview
Only a few years ago, most interviews were conducted face-to-face, with both candidate and interviewer in the same room. This provided candidates with continual opportunities to impress, verbally and non-verbally. It’s a fact that first impressions, the initial few minutes of the interview, are hugely important, but now, with more and more interviews conducted over the phone, or on a face-time platform like Zoom, Teams or Skype, this ability to create a first impression is so much harder.
Consider also that in many cases, with our shrinking world, the interview may be conducted in the interviewees’ and the interviewer’s second or even third language, so non-verbal factors are even more crucial in those instances.
Nevertheless, in person, on the phone, or Zoom, several fundamental rules apply if you wish to give yourself the best possible chance of success in an interview.
Here are our top tips on how to smash the interview:
Prepare:
Before the interview, you need to do several things by way of preparation:
- Review the job description for the position you’re applying for and make sure you understand the key skills and competencies being asked for.
- Spend time researching the company website: try to find out as much as possible about their products or services, check-out recent press releases as a source of possible questions and understand their business goals.
- Check over your CV or application form and try to connect your skills and experience to those in the job description. Think of examples of how you have demonstrated the required skills and competencies.
- If you plan to make a presentation or show examples of your work, practice the content of what you plan to say. You may wish to ask a friend to listen to your “pitch”
- Think of 3 or 4 questions to ask when invited to do so. It’s amazing how few people prepare for this, and yet all interviews are a two-way street, and the interviewer will inevitably ask if you have any questions. Saying “no” might imply you are not interested in the role.
- If you are being interviewed online, make sure your equipment works as it should; camera and microphone, and also make sure the lighting is good – not too dark and not too bright – check you have a neutral background. It is also good to have the camera at eye level, so you are not looking down into the lens.
- And then the final housekeeping task –if you are going to an in-person interview, check that you know where you are going, what time you need to be there, how you will get there, how long the journey takes, including walking from the car park/bus stop or railway station, who you are meeting and how to contact them if you are running late – although you will have planned to be there 10 minutes early, right?
First Impressions: Matter
- Dress the part – make sure you hit the right note with your dress code. If you choose not to wear a suit, try to match the company culture and maybe even call beforehand to ask about their dress code. Be well-groomed, with the best shoes you can afford. Appropriate dress is equally important for online interviews
- Before you enter the room or begin the online call, turn off your phone
- Try to control your nerves, maybe have a drink of water or do some breathing exercises… then,
- Smile as you greet your interviewer with direct eye contact and a confident handshake/”Hello!”
During the Interview
- Listen carefully to the interviewer and think before answering any questions. Being able to listen and respond appropriately is crucial to success
- Always be polite and attentive, try to maintain a pleasant yet professional tone in your voice
- Don’t argue or disagree, instead try to steer the conversation away from any contentious issues
- Never lie about your experience – you will be found out – be honest and clear about your capabilities
- When answering questions about your skills and experience try to give illustrative examples – explain the situation you had to deal with, what task you were given and how you went about it and finally what were the results
- Don’t tell the interviewer more than they need to know. Nervousness or inadequate preparation causes rambling, which can be dangerous and could lose you the job.
- Don’t be overly friendly – a good interview will be relaxed and the conversation should flow – but never matey.
- Be positive at all times. Even if you have faced challenges and not performed very well, show that you have learned from them and how it won’t happen again
- Be sure to ask questions when you’re asked. Try to ask questions that show you have been listening, that you know more about the company than has been discussed in the interview so far, and demonstrate an eagerness to contribute to the company’s goals if offered the position.
- At this stage, do not ask about salary (if that hasn’t yet been revealed) or holiday entitlement
Questions – Questions
You will be asked questions, and most interviewers have a few awkward ones up their sleeves that they enjoy throwing in.
“Why should we hire you?” or “Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?“
But perhaps the most feared question is:
“What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
Unless you are extremely arrogant you will own up to having some weaknesses, but are they traits you wish to admit, or might they jeopardise your chances of being hired? Why not select a weakness that you can discuss and explain how you overcome it? For example:
- Being your own harshest critic – sometimes trying too hard
- Wishing to be liked by everyone in the organisation
- Sometimes overlooking details
By choosing a weakness that concerns the workplace, and not personal failings, you can swing the discussion round to how you might tackle that, for example by including colleagues in decision making, or by reading self-help books.
And your strengths? Here you must be able to back up your claim with examples. Before the interview, you should spend a few moments in self-examination – assessing your skills to identify strengths that will appeal to the hiring organisation. These might include:
- Education/Experience-based skills – Qualifications or Certificates in relevant subjects, languages or skills learned on the job in previous organisations….
- Portable skills – Communications, problem-solving, critical thinking or time management….
- Personal traits – what makes you, you – Initiative, drive and determination, willingness to learn, or a team player….
Choose wisely which ones of these, or others not on this list, to mention in the interview. Make sure you have examples of how you demonstrated this
- At the end of the interview, remember to thank the interviewer for their time and tell them you’re looking forward to hearing back from them.
Interview Support
Our specialists are on hand to coach on interview techniques, give tips on the client’s requirements, or indeed help you prepare answers to questions that are likely to be asked.
Our experience is vast, so why not use it to help you gain an edge!