Interview Technique

An interview is your opportunity to bring your CV to life, to ask a few questions of your own and to prove how much you would like the job by having done a little intelligent groundwork before you sit down face to face with your interviewer(s).

Remember, no matter what the style of the interview, the bottom line is that most interviewers simply want to find out if you have the right experience for the job and if so, will you be able to apply it successfully within their organisation.

Many people, including interviewers themselves, are nervous at interviews. But the more prepared you are, the less reason there is to feel nervous. We always brief our candidates on a company and its culture but there’s no harm in doing your own research via the internet, newspapers and friends. If you come to an interview without having researched the company or fail to ask a few relevant questions of your own, you damage your chances of leaving with the job.

Preparation

  • Mentally list your strengths and experience against the job description and the responsibilities of the role
  • Don’t be shy about your successes
  • Show you are ready to learn new skills
  • Have some examples ready of times when you have solved problems
  • If you have pastimes that demonstrate values or motivation relevant to the position, talk about them
  • Be ready with questions of your own if the opportunity arises at the end of an interview. Ask questions that will show your enthusiasm for the position rather than ones which show how interested you are in the annual holiday allowance
  • Dress up. A formal business suit even if the company has an informal dress code
  • Don’t get lost! Make sure you know the name of the person you are going to see, exactly where they are, how long it will take to get there and your consultant’s contact number if you are unavoidably delayed. Write all this down and take it with you
  • Finally, as much as you can in such a potentially tense situation, be yourself. That’s who they want to see and in the end, it’s who you need to be if you are going to be happy in this role.