Once you have submitted your CV and managed to secure an interview, what’s next? Preparing for an interview, if done right, can be worse than the real thing! I’m now going to give you 7 of the most valuable tips on preparing for an interview.
- Research, research and research – It’s so important to stress the importance of thoroughly researching the company and role. I’m a fan of the UK Apprentice TV show and it always amazes me during the final stages, how many of the Apprentices have not got a clue what Sir Alan Sugar does after ten or so weeks on the show. Obviously, he will be more geared towards the applicants with the most passion and knowledge of what he does.
- It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it – the interview is now your personal sales and marketing pitch! Being confident without sounding cocky about your ability to do the job will make your interviewer more at ease recommending you to his work colleagues, as you have the ability to sell yourself. There are lots of candidates out there that come across unsure of themselves, and therefore this will always impact how they will potentially be perceived in the workplace.
- Never assume – whatever you do, do not assume anything. If you are unsure about something, just be honest and ask before the interview. If the answer is not satisfactory to you, you can always bring it up again during the interview.
- Examples – simply saying you are good at something does not mean you have ticked the boxes and therefore will be offered the job. For example, if asked about your strengths and weaknesses, do not say statements like “I’m a good communicator and great a problem solver.” Your interviewer needs to be convinced by you, therefore have your audio script prepared to demonstrate how good you are at whatever you say you are. Facts and figures will work a treat. Make it easy for the interviewer; create the picture you want to create in the interviewer’s head.
- Questions – No questions, no job offer! Alternately, having some well thought-out questions highlighting any gaps or issues, and potentially solutions to problems will put you in good stead.
- Interview dating – who’s recruiting who here? When preparing for your interview, imagine the interviewer needs you more than you need them. Reverse psychology can help get you clear on what you have to offer your potential employer and why they should recruit you. With this in mind, don’t be surprised if they are overzealous in convincing you how great the opportunity will be for you.
- Body language – they say never judge a book by its cover, however for the interview, that saying should be totally ignored! Body language probably counts towards over 60% of interview success. Consider this exercise – make a conscious effort and look at your body language including posture when answering questions daily. Analyse your body language, what is your body language saying that you are not saying verbally? The results can be a real eye opener.
David Walters has analysed the results from preparing hundreds of candidates for interviews and from the results, we developed a tried and tested formula for successfully interviewing. We are now helping professional people with our independent Interview Preparation service to prepare for job interviews. For further information email careercoach@david-walters.co.uk
Best Wishes for 2010!
Tags: Interview, Interview Preparation, Interview Techniques, job interview, jobs
Very good tips. As an interviewer, one question might be ‘tell me what you know about our company’ … remember on The Apprentice… the final 4 got to the interview stage and a few of them didn’t have a clue what the company was about. With the internet and all the technology about and the ease with which information is available – you’ve got no excuse to do your homework. Just as they might facebook you… make sure you google them!
Thank you Dave for your advise, as someone looking for a new contract and the preparation and research part sometimes being worse than actually interview I’d like to add to this discussion from a candidates point of view.
As professionalism and preparation from the candidate is one thing and goes without saying if you are serious about taking a position, but it shouldn’t just a one way street, both the recruitment agent and the hiring company needs to show courtesy and professionalism.
By this I mean agency have a duty to keep the candidate informed of where things are in the interview process, relay replies back from the company promptly, actually get an answer from the company along with feedback from the company as to what they thought if they choose to say no or yes.
From the company an actual answer from them would show professionalism not let weeks go by and the candidate gets to assume it’s a no.
As a final point all parties replying to emails and returning phone calls would help recruitment run smoother and faster for all.
A number of years ago recruitment from all parties used to be viewed as a careful process to be entered into where all parties showed their best ‘face’, replied, gave feed back and acted professionally a lot of the time today it comes across as a bit of a cattle market.
I don’t get involved in blogs at all, but this one is a little close to my heart at the moment. Apologies for sounding a little blunt about this subject but it is not all down to the candidate some of it is down to the company and agency needing to tell the candidate what they can do for them as well and following through.
I’ve sat on both sides of the table many times.
I think it’s key to do your research on the company, the industry and, if possible, on the people who will be interviewing you. It’s good for you to find out what you are getting into and good to show a prospective employer you have been doing your homework.
Good interviewers are looking for fit on the basis of technical skills, exerience and cultural. By cultural I mean fitting into their corporate culture.
When interviewed, I have MY answers ready for the harder questions. You can expect to be asked about things like: your contributions to your previous employers and the outcome: difficult interpersonal situations and what you did to overcome them and the outcome; why you know you are good at what you do; what’s your shortcomings and what do you do to compensate for them; and what you think your colleages would say about you.
You also need to have questions ready that show you are interested. I think there is nothing worse when I ask a candidate if they have any questions and they decline. To me it shows a lack of initiatve to engage in conversation and is a sure signal they are just looking for a job rather than a career move. Stay away from questions about compenstion and benefits. Ask things like what are the biggest challenges in the industry, for this company and for the position. Where do they see the company going. If appropriate and comfortable, ask the interviewers about their position in the company. How long have they been there, what they like about the company, etc. Be carfeul not make it too personal. It’s your chance to get a sense if people are happy there.
Inteviewers are looking to see how comfortable you are in engaging in conversation. If you can keep an intelligent business conversation going, they’ll be more comfortable with you.
As my job (Manager of Admissions) for CGA, I speak to a lot of individuals on both sides of the table, CGAs who are interviewing and prospective employees (Accounting, business and CGA students) who are looking for employment in accounting. A lot of what follows is opinion based, but the feedback from most employers I’ve spoken to is generally the same.
For prospective job-seekers, the biggest complaint that I hear from CGAs in industry is that the applicants have the technical expertise (via their education or work experience) but are lacking in comminications skills, attitude or interview skills. What this means is that you may have a high GPA, and a fantastic skillset, but if you cannot comminicate this in the interview, the candidate who comes in with a willingness to learn and a positive attitude will win the position. The CGAs I’ve spoken to say that attitude & comminications skills are ALWAYS near the top of their list in a prospective employee, whereas grade point average and technical skillset are lesser considerations.
Why is this the case?
Technical skills and specific job skills can be trained, whereas a positive attitude cannot. Particularly in the field of accounting, while you may be a great at preparing a financial statement, if you cannot work well with others you’ll have a difficult time advancing to the higher positions.
What is the best advice I can give you based on the feedback from CGAs in industry?
You have the technical skills necessary for the position showing on your resume, otherwise you would not have been called for an interview for the position! You need to elaborate on why YOU are a good fit for their company over another candidate with a similar skillset. Attitude is key here…be as honest as possible in the interview. Personally I can generally tell when someone is exaggerating/making somethng up, and I’m certain an experienced interviewer can as well. Elaborate on your key strenghts and how they fit the position. Don’t dwell on your weaknesses, we all have shortcomings, are you aware of them, and how are you going about fixing them?
From my own personal experience…
- Attitude is everything…a cliche or truth? I think this is true as my most sucessful interview as (I was told after the fact) I got the job over an applicant with more education because I had a better attitude & showed inititative and willingness to learn.
- Research the company and position you’re applying for. If you can’t spend an hour researching them, why should they spend years developing you into a sucessful employee?
- Think of tangible examples of how you improved the last position you had and write these down!
- Take your own notes during the interview…this will help you collect your thoughts and remind you of specific questions you may want to ask the interviewer later.
- ASK QUESTIONS! Interviews are not a 1-way exchange, if you ask a relevant question it will not offend the interviewer, in fact it will probably show them you have initiative and interest in the position.
- SLOW DOWN AND LISTEN. I’m guilty of talking too much and too fast when I get flustered…learn to slow down and listen to the key points an interviewer makes. Incorperate these into your responses and you’ll make a better impression.
- Sell yourself, your skills are outlined on your resume, good interviewers have already reviewed this. They’ve called you back to get a feel for what kind of applicant you are and if you’ll fit their company.
- Worst Case scenario, you don’t recieve the job…did you learn something in the interview. If you had a good or bad interview write these down so that you can do better the next time.
Hello Dave, the issue is probably even bigger than job interviews with the large number of people stating up their own business and needing to interview (or present proposals) to clients. The techniques you have identified have equal importance when meeting a potential client. In Australia we have over 1.1 Million Micro Small Businesses that don’t employ anyone but who still need to understand how to communicate with suppliers, customers, contractors, Government Authorities etc. Communication skills unfortunatlely are often sadly lacking and we need to extend the focus of HR to more than employer/employee scenarios. The employee paradigm is changing significantly to become self employed/small business owner and these people need professional assistance in how to speak with people. Thank you for your valuable insights.
this article is spot on. I want to add that you should prepare/write down the exact questions you will ask in the interview. Also, don’t get into the office more than 15 minutes before the interview starts. I’d also suggest not to smoke in the office premises.