Interview preparation

Before the interview:

Potential success depends on pre-interview preparation. Are you confident that you are as ready as you can possibly be? Do you:

Know your CV or application form inside out.  If you are struggling to remember where you were (employment wise) at any given time your prospective employer may well be wondering too!

Know about the company. Research their website, brochure, reports and accounts, policies, mission statements and online press releases. Check if they have been in the news lately. How flattering will it be to your prospective employer if you have taken the time to find out about their organisation?

Know about the job. You have the right to ask for a job description and person specification if the job has been advertised. If you have been granted an interview although no job has been advertised ensure you are familiar with all the possible positions that you might be eligible for in the company. Consider phoning people who are in the types of positions that you are seeking. This will give you some industry knowledge before you go for the job and help you to be more specific about what you are looking for. Remember to consult a few people and across a few companies as if you just speak to only one or two you risk getting a narrow and perhaps biased view. Fear often holds people back from making these calls but remember - the people that you get to speak to are usually graduates themselves and are happy to share their knowledge to help you out.

Know the skills  that your potential employer is looking for and prepare examples of how you have demonstrated them in your career to date. These examples can be taken from any aspect of your work, college, social or personal life.

Tips for preparation

Make a list  of as many questions as you can think of and the possible responses to them. Focus on the ones that you would least like to be asked and prepare accordingly. There are many resources in the Careers Service to help you with this process including a useful DVD entitled 'Why ask me that'? which allows you to follow closely the interview process unfolding.

Organise a mock interview  with your Careers Adviser, particularly if you have never been formally interviewed before. This will help to draw out issues that you may not have considered as being important and enable you to get useful feedback to tighten up your performance.

On the day:

Appearance and personal hygiene are important factors. It's not about having movie star good looks but rather about being well-groomed, well-dressed and being clean and fresh-smelling (not drowning in perfume/aftershave!).

Remember, if you are granted an interview you already have 100% chance of securing the job. Your aim should be to spend the duration of the interview talking yourself into the job.

Buy time and ask for clarification if needs be. If you have not understood a question or perhaps misheard it don't be afraid to ask the interviewer to repeat or re-phrase the question. If you need time to think then say so - "can I take a moment to consider that?". If you feel that as you answer the question you may have taken the wrong tack or have elaborated more than required then simply ask "have I answered your question" or "would you like me to elaborate further?".

Body language is probably one of the most under-rated performance elements of the interview. Is your handshake firm, do you maintain frequent eye contact with people when speaking with them, do you smile frequently (and at appropriate times!) when communicating?

Time is of the essence. It is said that arriving too early can make you anxious, arriving just at the hour can mean you feel flustered and unprepared and leaves no contingency time. Arriving late is only an option if you really don't want to get the job! You know what makes you feel comfortable but aim to be sitting outside the interview room approx. 5-10 minutes in advance. If the interviewers are late, avoid drawing attention to this during the interview.

Your questions for the interviewer at the end of the interview are almost as important as the ones that they will ask you. It is easy for them to think that you have not done enough research if you start asking basic questions about the company that you could have found the answers to before you came in. Progressive questions would be those concerning for example promotion, opportunities to travel overseas, opportunities for self-development and further study and so on. It is better to have some questions prepared rather than none.

Salary expectations is often the dreaded question! It is a good idea to have a sum in your head that you would like to earn. If you are asked what it is and the reaction seems a little negative don't panic! You can always qualify this by saying that that is the figure that you were expecting based on the average earnings of previous graduates of your course but that you are flexible depending on the total package that might be offered to you. It is not recommended that the candidate ask about salary at an initial interview. To get an idea of average earnings of recent graduates of your course consult the 'First Destination Reports' for previous years - available through your Careers Service.

After the interview:

Remember, if you are not successful, it is not necessarily the case that the interviewers did not find you suitable but rather that there was another candidate who appeared to have a greater capability to carry out the job - for example someone with more experience.

If you are not successful always call and ask for feedback on why you did not secure the position. If the above scenario is the case, you can be confident that you have performed to your optimum level. If your performance was not all that the interviewers thought it could be however then you may get some valuable tips on how to improve your performance next time out.

For more interview tips see the following websites:

Assessment Centres

An assessment centre is usually an all day event (or longer) which forms part of the latter stages of a company's recruitment procedure. Employers want to find out how you perform in different situations and devise activities to assess your abilities in various ways.

Assessment centres can incorporate a number of different activities such as:

  • Aptitude tests (also known as psychometric tests) 
  • Case studies and in-tray exercises 
  • Group exercises 
  • Presentations and role-plays

For a free practice in-tray exercise click on this link. 

For more information about these activities and ways of preparing for them check out the following websites:

 

 

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