Ten Steps to Job Interview Success

Know what to expect and be well prepared. It’s vital to make the effort in advance of the interview. First impressions are so important - interviewers make up their minds about you in the first few minutes. If you are well prepared and confident, you’re much more likely to create a good impression. If things don’t go well at the start, you’ll have to work very hard to change their opinion.

Very few people enjoy being interviewed for a job, but you can prevent it from being such an ordeal and improve your chances of success if you follow these ‘Ten Steps To Interview Success’.

1. Preparation is the key to successful job interviews:

Find out as much about the interview as you can in advance.

Ask:

• Who will be interviewing you – get names and job titles?
• How many people will be interviewing you - in a panel or one at a time?
• Will there be a ‘group’ interview, where you are interviewed along with other candidates?
• Will there be any tests e.g. psychometric/personality etc.?
• How long will the interview last?
• Will there be a second interview if you are successful with this one?
• If you’re not sure about the details, confirm date, time and location
• What documents do you need to take with you e.g. exam certificates?

2. What are you going to say?

• What do the interviewers need to know about you that will convince them to give you the job? Read the job description and match your experience to their requirements
• Three key messages - identify the three key things that should convince them to give you the job and work these into your answers
• Many people who interview you are not trained interviewers, so don’t expect them to ask all the right questions
• If you are unemployed because of redundancy, don’t worry about any negative impact this may have. It’s so common these days it’s no big deal
• Research the company/organisation. You will be expected to have checked out its website. Explore competitor and related sites

3. Anticipate questions – and rehearse your answers

There are some questions that usually crop up in some form:

• Why do you want this job?
• Why this company/organisation?
• What do you know about this company/organisation?
• What do you think you can bring to this job?
• Why should we employ you rather than any of the other candidates?
• Why do you want to leave your current job?
• What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
• What is your greatest achievement/ what are you most proud of in your life?

4. What should you take with you?

In addition to the documents you have been asked to bring with you, you should take:

• Portfolio/examples of your work, articles you’ve had published etc.
• Testimonials
• Copy of your CV (you might have already sent a copy, but chances are they might not have it to hand)
• Copies of your qualifications

5. Check out your journey

Don’t be late or arrive flustered. It’s best to arrive about 15 minutes early so you can use the toilet and compose yourself.

Find out:

• Exactly where the interview will be held
• What parking is available - is there any allocated parking for visitors? (This may have to be booked in advance). If not where can you park?
• Train times/alternatives and any likely problems e.g. train strikes/bad weather. Always choose a train that gives you plenty of time – it could be delayed or even cancelled. If it’s a long journey, consider travelling the day before and staying locally overnight (it's a worthwhile investment to make sure you arrive on time)

6. Your appearance

• Smart = respect. Show them that you’ve made an effort. Even if the dress code is casual, wearing a suit shows you are taking the occasion seriously
• Interviewers make quick judgements about you, and appearance is a big factor. If you make an unfavourable first impression, you’ll have to give an exceptional interview to change it
• Deal with sweat: a little talcum powder for your hands before you go in and don’t wear light colours that show underarm sweat – it’s best to keep your jacket on

7. Body language

• When you are greeted, smile and give a firm handshake
• Eye contact is vital but don’t stare
• Listen, and look interested
• Don’t fidget
• Don’t hold papers or fiddle with them on a desk
• If you’re offered a drink, just have water

8. When you arrive at the interview

• Turn off your mobile phone before you enter the premises
• Have the contact name handy to tell the receptionist - don’t have to rummage through your briefcase or handbag
• Watch the way the reception is run – you can tell a lot about a company by the way they organise their ‘shop window’ - remember an interview is two-way - you should be checking out whether it is the right job/company for you as well
• Do deep breathing exercises – deep breath in, hold for a count of five, then very slowly breathe out. Do this four or five times and it will help calm your nerves
• Remind yourself of the three key messages you want to give in your answers

9. Questions to ask at the end

• Interviews should be two-way, so prepare questions to show you are genuinely interested in the job. You can ask about salary and benefits but don’t start with that. Try:
• What is the next stage of the process?
• When will you be making the decision about who to appoint?
• How many other candidates are you interviewing?
• What do you see as the biggest challenge in this role?
• Why did the last person in this role leave?
• Have you concerns about my abilities in any aspects of this role?

 10.Follow up

If you are unsuccessful this time:

• Stay positive – being unsuccessful at this interview may be nothing to do with your performance. Sometimes employers know who they want – possibly an internal candidate - but have to go through a recruitment proves for legal reasons
• Your attitude when you make contact is vital – stay upbeat and motivated. The person they offer the job to may either turn it down (maybe had a better offer elsewhere) or turn out to be unsuitable. If you are next in line, you may get offered the job
• Ask for feedback about how you performed – use it to improve next time
• Ask what persuaded them to select the other candidate

If you are successful:

• Negotiate the best salary and terms/conditions. You don't necessarily have to accept their first offer. The company/organisation has gone through a lengthy and expensive recruitment process to reach this stage so they won't want to lose you at the last hurdle. But, don't be greedy/unreasonable - you could suggest a pay increase or review in a few months which they might accept rather than agreeing to a higher starting salary. Take a little time to decide, they usually want a fairly prompt answer but taking 24 hours to think it through is usually quite acceptable