Get That Job!

If your curriculum vitae has impressed an organisation the day will come when you have to attend an interview. Some people are born performers and relish the chance to show off their personal presentation skills but for most the interview is at best intimidating and at worst terrifying. The best way both to deal with the anxiety and to improve your performance on the day is to be properly prepared.

Know Yourself

Anything you wrote in your application form, cover letter or CV is fair game for an interview question, so look back over your copy of it and be prepared to expand on everything in it. The interviewer will probably have your CV in front of him / her and will have just reviewed it. Therefore, make sure your CV is fresh in your mind too!

Are there aspects of your professional or academic background that might raise a question in the mind of the interviewer? Be prepared. Review your CV, cover letter and / or application from the perspective of the employer and the job you’ve applied for. Apart from the content of your CV, what else do you want the interviewer to know about you?

Know the Organisation

Read any literature you have been sent about the company, research the company website, and search the Internet for additional information, such as recent newspaper articles. Find out as much as you can about the company’s product / service, mission statement and organisational culture. Use this information and visualise yourself as the organisation would see you and respond to questions in a way that highlights how you would fit in. The information you gather will not only help you in the interview, it will also help you with your decision should you receive a job offer later.

The Introductions

Arrive 15 minutes early. If you’re exceptionally nervous, close your eyes for a minute or so and take some slow, deep breaths. Visualise the image of your “best self” walking into that interview: poised, confident, smiling, and ready to get on with it. Be nice to everyone, especially secretaries and receptionists! As soon as you enter the building, you are being observed.

Practice the route if necessary. Before you enter the interview room switch off your mobile phone, as you don’t want it to go off during the interview. If you have some time to wait reread your CV so you are not caught out by a sudden reference to a section within your CV. When you are called into the interview room take your lead from the interviewer about where to sit.

First Impressions

The “Halo effect” means that your overall appearance affects the interviewer’s evaluation of you. First impressions are vital. The employer will often form an opinion of you in the first few minutes of the interview; so introduce yourself with a pleasant smile and firm handshake to everyone present. This is why it is important to think about your appearance before the interview. Look smart and professional. Poor personal presentation may detract from the content of what you say during the interview.

The First Question

This is often designed to put you at your ease and may not be relevant to the main content of the interview. Therefore, resist the temptation to waffle. The interviewers aren’t really interested in how your journey was, so give a brief but polite answer, unless you need to explain why you are late. If you are late, remember to thank the interviewer for re-arranging his/her schedule so that you can still be seen.

The Preliminaries

The interviewer should explain who they are and what their role is. The emphasis of the questions may depend on the role of the interviewer. The first serious question is likely to be, “Why have you chosen this company / position?” It is helpful if you have done some homework about the job. We suggest speaking to your consultant and viewing projects and types of work the company carries out from their website. Websites are a great provider of information and should assist you in giving reasons why you wish to join their team. If possible talk to people who are currently working for the company or who have some personal knowledge of the company.

The Interview

Sell yourself! and be positive about what you have done. If there is more than one interviewer, address them all; maintain good eye contact, but do not stare; look at the person that asked you the question. However include the others in your glance occasionally. Try to keep a relaxed but alert posture. Speak clearly and slowly. Avoid nervous habits – they distract the interviewer from what you are saying. Smile! You should be clear about your own reasons for choosing to attend an interview with that particular company. Make sure you know enough about the company / position to talk intelligently about your interest in it and motivation for it. Try to match it to the skills you have described in your CV. If you have samples of your work or a portfolio it is sensible to take it with you. You may be asked about important future developments in your chosen field so read anything you can find about it. If you want to change sector suddenly you will need to be clear and honest about your reasons for changing.

Additional Skills

Organisational skills and time keeping are important and you may be asked how you handle a busy schedule. If this is your first proper job interview, use examples from your hobbies and clubs. The interviewer may ask about your interests in order for you to demonstrate these skills. Or they may ask from genuine curiosity or common interest.
If you have rehearsed an answer try not to let it show. Launching into a prepared speech doesn’t look convincing. You can have a strategy for how to deal with a question without memorising a verbatim answer. Try to speak with enthusiasm, if not passion, for subjects that interest you. Keep your sense of humour during the interview–you may need it later.

The Conclusion

When the interviewer has finished asking questions they will invite you to ask a question. If you have a real question then ask it but don’t ask about something that is covered by the job description, a topic already discussed in the interview, or a question that makes you look like a smart-ass. It is conventional not to ask about holidays or salary at this stage. (Examples of good questions to ask are given later in this document). Listen to what the interviewer tells you about how you will be contacted with the result of the interview, if they don’t tell you what the next stage is likely to be then ask, this could be important if you have several other outstanding applications. When you leave take your cue from the interviewer as to whether to shake hands again or just to say goodbye. Thank the interviewer(s) and don’t forget to take your things with you. Don’t try to second-guess your performance by how long the interview lasts.

Points to Consider Throughout the Interview

Be prepared with answers to the traditional interview questions. Rehearse your answers with a friend who will give you honest feedback about the content of your answer and body language.

• Aim for clarity, brevity and above all, honesty. Give honest answers with a positive tone.
• Concentrate on the employer’s needs, not yours.
• Emphasise how you can help the organisation achieve its goals.
• Describe your past responsibilities and accomplishments.
• Explain why you approached projects in a certain way.
• Explain how the skills you bring will benefit the organisation.
• Don’t downplay your accomplishments or attribute them to luck.
• Be specific in your answers. Avoid rambling or moving off on a tangent.
• Ask for clarification if you are unsure of the question.
• Ask the interviewer if they think it would be helpful to add information about skills or experiences that you believe are relevant but which have not been covered during the interview. Take responsibility for communicating your strengths. Don’t rely on the interviewer to pull it out of you.
• Consider the types of skills and characteristics you think the employer needs in the applicant to be successful in the job for which you are attending the interview, e.g. attention to detail, diplomacy, leadership, persistence, problem solving and planning, stress management, team building, technical.
• Once you have determined what you think the employer will be looking for, try and demonstrate examples of situations that showed your skills in those areas. Explain your past successes, the more you can clearly describe the experience, the challenge and the solutions, the more you’ll stand out in the interviewer’s mind.

Finally

If you are not appointed it is reasonable to ask for some feedback. Accept this in the constructive way it is intended. Do not let a disappointment affect your performance in subsequent interviews. Try to enter each interview room with a positive attitude and a smile. Apart from intelligence and industry skills, employers appoint people because they think they will work well in a team and be enjoyable to work with.

Remember that there are no right or wrong answers (except perhaps, “I want to be the Chairman of this company within 12 months”, which may be true but is still wrong), and there is no right or wrong appearance. If you are the right person for the job you should get it. If you don’t get it you probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it anyway.

Different Types of Interview

There are several different types or styles of interview that you may come across amongst our clients. It is important to remember that no two interviews are the same and that you can always improve your interview style and preparation. There follows some general hints and tips on the most common / frequently used interview techniques that you are likely to encounter through our agency.

The Traditional Interview – Sample Questions

Sometimes interviews follow a more traditional format (quite common with people who are not used to interviewing). The following is a list of typical interview questions which may arise in one form or another. It is a good idea to reflect on the sort of answer you might give before an interview but it is unwise to learn answers off pat as you risk coming across as unnatural and not genuine. It is a good idea to back your answers up with examples taken from your own work experience.

• Do you prefer to work in a small, medium or large organisation?
• Why do you want this job?
• What qualities do you think this job requires?
• Why do you want to work for this organisation?
• What have you got to contribute?
• What can we offer you that your previous organisation cannot offer?
• How long have you been looking for a new job?
• What do you know about this organisation?
• What interests you about this organisation?
• What are you looking for in a new job?
• What would be your ideal job?
• What did you do on a day to day basis?
• How did you make a difference to your last organisation?
• How successful are you?
• What was your greatest success and how did you achieve it?
• What has been your biggest failure?
• How could you improve yourself?
• How did you progress in your last job?
• How do you handle criticism?
• How do you work with others?
• Do you need other people around to stimulate you?
• Are you accepted into a team quickly?
• Give me an example of when you took initiative to solve a problem?
• What motivates you?
• What problems did you encounter and how did you overcome them?
• Do you feel you are ready to take on greater responsibilities?
• How do you cope under pressure?
• What are your career goals?
• How did you get on with your last manager/colleagues?

The Team Interview – How to Cope with it?

In an effort to get a well-rounded perspective on job candidates, many companies ask numerous people to participate in the selection process. Depending on the level of job you are seeking, you may interview with an HR specialist, the hiring manager, the hiring manager’s boss and even staff members who would be your peers. In small companies you may have to sell yourself to the entire staff. This team approach means that many different people interview you and then get together to debate whether they like you well enough to hire you. Sometimes, each person on the interview asks a different set of questions. Other times, they all ask the same thing. This can happen by design, if the organisation wants to see whether you change your answers along the way.

Hints

You will need to be sure to connect with each person. Be sure to have eye contact with the person asking the questions and to glance at the other team members while answering the question to be sure that you are connecting with each individual. Be sensitive to the dynamics in the team. If they seem to want to control the interview, relax and flow with it, on the other hand be sure to offer information and ask questions. Take responsibility for ensuring that the group understands what you have to offer. The best approach is to be sensitive and adapt your approach to the group. Don’t be overly aggressive and take over, yet do interact and show your enthusiasm. Each person’s opinion can be weighted equally; in some cases, just one team member’s opposition can disqualify a candidate. Sometimes it is unclear what role or position the person occupies therefore you need to be respectful of everyone you meet.

The Behavioural Interview – Some Tips

The interviewer asks specific questions seeking information about a candidate’s skills, character and preferences based on examples of past behaviour. During a behavioural interview, questions are directed toward specific experiences. For example: – “Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult person at a work.” “What proactive steps have you taken to make your workplace more efficient and productive?” “Specifically describe a policy, project or system you created or initiated.” “Describe a high pressure situation you had to handle at work. Tell me what happened, who was involved and what you did in terms of problem solving.” “Some situations require us to express ideas or opinions in a very tactful and careful way. Tell me about a time when you were successful in this type of situation.”

Hints

The key in behavioural interviewing is to paint a picture of the reasons and thinking about the decision or behaviour without bringing in unessential details. It is expected that forming an answer will take time. Think your examples through. Be aware of the tendency to become too relaxed and reveal information that you didn’t intend to share. You need to do your part to foster the conversational tone but don’t become so, straying from the point. Be friendly but stay professional.

Questions from You

Try to think of some questions to ask at interview. If you have researched the company well, you will be able to come up with questions concerning the organisation. Below are some examples of good questions to ask during an interview:

• What are the main responsibilities in the role?
• What are the organisation’s long and short term aims?
• What training opportunities can the company provide?
• What is the overall organisational structure of the company?
• What would you hope I achieve within the first six months?
• How will my performance be measured and by whom?
• How much opportunity is there to see the end results of my efforts?
• Who will review my performance and how often?
• How much opportunity will I have for decision  making in my first assignment?
• What are the companies’ strengths and weaknesses compared to the competition?
• Could you describe your company’s management style and the type of employee who fits well with it?
• What particular computer equipment and software do you use?
• What is the organisation’s plan for the next five years, and how does this department fit in?
• What are the day-to-day responsibilities of this job?
• What is the company’s policy on providing seminars, workshops, and training so employees can keep up their skills or acquire new ones?

Other Things to Remember:

Please call one of our consultants if you would like to discuss your preparation for the interview, as we can provide assistance in the best methods of researching the organisation.

Please let your consultant know your impressions of the interview. It is important for us to know what you thought of the organisation, the role, the people who interviewed you and your impressions of how you performed in the interview.

Please also let us know if you are interested in taking the job if it is offered to you.

Remember 80% of people who attend an interview ARE capable of succeeding in the job for which they are interviewed. However the main reasons that most interviewees are not offered the job are down to poor preparation and not performing as they could during the interview.

Finally, we would like to wish you every success in your interview.

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