Interview Advice: From Start-to-Finish

It’s Wednesday afternoon and after two days of being glued to your laptop reading through countless vacancy adverts and pretty much giving a detailed account of your life so far to your recruitment consultant, you’ve got an interview. Maybe it’s for the job you can do standing on your head, or perhaps it’s a position you have aspired to get to since finishing education. In any case, be proud of this achievement. Out of a number of applicants, a Hiring Manager has taken a look at your skills and capabilities and has concluded that you have the potential to be a valuable asset to their organisation. An interview is simply an opportunity for you to prove them right, so make sure you’re prepared to do so!

First, your appearance. You want to make a good impression as early as possible, and nothing makes a better impression than your choice of fashion at an interview. For a client, a well-presented applicant does not only impress on a visual level, but it communicates your desire to want to impress from the get go. In many aspects of an interview, the desire in an applicant is what the interviewer is looking for. If you are nervous, good! Believe it or not, most hiring managers look on nerves as a positive trait in an interviewee as this communicates the importance of the role to you and your desire to obtain it. Giving the best account of yourself can only aid your chances of being hired and so your appearance gives you the easiest and earliest opportunity to do so.

Then comes the aspect of all interviews which people fear the most, your preparation. Have you researched the company’s history? Have you spent hours memorising the job specification word for word? Wanting to impress in an interview is important, but the interviewer does not want you to tell them what they already know. The most important thing to remember is that you are there to talk about you, and nobody knows you better than yourself. Remember, the Hiring Manager has determined your capability to fulfil the position you are applying for from your CV, so give them what they want to hear and sell yourself. If you were applying for a Project Manager position, you would be a fool for not speaking about successful projects you’ve managed! Fear and over thinking when preparing for an interview can result in a great applicant missing out, so be confident in expressing your capabilities.

We should all remember that an interview is a two way street. As much as you are looking to sell yourself to the client, the client should be looking to sell themselves to you in return. Many applicants fail to give themselves the chance to evaluate the company they are interviewing with. Ask as many questions as you feel necessary, take note of the working environment, assess their attitude and how they come across. Do you see yourself being happy in this environment? You are likely (depending on the nature of the position) to be spending a lot of your time in this environment so make sure you are confident that this is a place you want to be. Once again, a good Hiring Manager will look upon this as a positive attribute as you are translating the importance of this process to you.

The practices I have spoken about can be applied to all interview scenarios. Ultimately, the thing to remember above all else when getting ready for your interview is that the client wants to hire you. So don’t panic, they’re on your side!

If you would like to discuss your job search in further detail, please contact us on 01732 455300.