Preparing for the Perfect Interview
You’ve nailed your CV and got the interview, what next? Our key advice is to prepare, then prepare some more, this will provide you with confidence and the ability to think clearly when answering the interviewers questions. Interviews can take place over the telephone, via on-line video conferencing or face to face, dependent on the businesses circumstances and location, so make sure you’re comfortable will all of these scenarios.
Preparing for an Interview
For many jobs, a lack of technical skills or relevant work experience is the main reason for rejection. However, where the employer is looking for someone to train the main reasons for rejecting applicants are, as follows;
Research
You may have already conducted some research prior to applying for the role, now is the time to learn more. Visit the organisation’s LinkedIn page and website to get an understanding of what they do, how they do it and what’s important to them as a business. It’s also worth having a broad understanding of the sector the business is in, whether it’s a growth sector etc. If possible find out about who will be carrying out the interview, connect with them on LinkedIn to start building that professional relationship. And finally, do some research focused on the specific role you are interviewing for, review the job specification and understand what’s involved.
Be aware of how you’re using Military terminology
Very few people from the world of HR and wider industry will understand the Military, so it is down to you, to get your point across. For this reason alone, you are best advised to leave out of both your CV and or Covering Letter any Military Abbreviations and Jargon.
Trying to interpret your key strengths and attributes from military jargon can be very difficult. If it is critical, that should you have use to a military term, then give thought to giving a brief explanation as to the meaning and context.
Make sure that your CV will read well within the commercial sector. Ensure you ask a friend (with no military connections) to read your CV, does it make sense to them.
Your CV is about you, your achievements and not of those that surround you, how did you make a tangible difference (I instead of we).
Having the right attitude
You may have already conducted some research prior to applying for the role, now is the time to learn more. Visit the organisation’s LinkedIn page and website to get an understanding of what they do, how they do it and what’s important to them as a business. It’s also worth having a broad understanding of the sector the business is in, whether it’s a growth sector etc. If possible find out about who will be carrying out the interview, connect with them on LinkedIn to start building that professional relationship. And finally, do some research focused on the specific role you are interviewing for, review the job specification and understand what’s involved.
What questions can I expect at interview?
You can’t prepare for every question that will come up at interview, but you can anticipate most of them.
Here are some of the most common questions, and ways of handling them;
This is probably the most asked question because it sets the stage and gets you talking. Plan ahead by having a presentation statement to cover this to include facts about your education, career and current life situation, be careful not to give the interviewer your life story.
Talk about career plans, and what you want to learn and achieve in the future.
Employers will probe for reasons for job change or out of work. Rehearse short, simple, positive “stories” to cover these points. This is not telling lies, just a simple, positive summary.
Do your homework before you go to any interview, you should know about the company or business you’re going to work for. Has this company been in the news lately? Who are the people in the company you should know about? Do the research and it will make you stand out as someone who comes prepared, and is genuinely interested in the company and the job.
Have a clear and straight forward answer to this, presumably you are looking for a new job because you want to advance your career and or get a position that allows you to grow as a person and an employee and lead it into the research you carried out on the company and the job role.
Hopefully if you’re applying for a position where you have lots of related experience, you should mention it all. But if you’re switching careers or trying something a little different, your experience may initially not look like it’s matching up. That’s when you need a little honest creativity to match the experiences required with the ones you have. People skills are people skills after all, you just need to show how customer service skills can apply to internal management positions, and so on.
Handle questions about personality carefully. Rather than say “I’m an ideas person”, talk about a time when you changed things with a good idea.
Have a couple of good examples when you have worked under pressure and what the outcome was but they should all be positive.
The answer to this one is not money, even if it is. You should be motivated by other pursuits. You want recognition for a job well done. You want to become better at your job. You want to help others or be a leader in your field.
Questions are beginning to create a future which includes you – so welcome them. Describe what you would do within the organisation as if you are there already. Create the right picture, and the employer won’t be able to imagine a future without you.
Wrong question. Focus on the value you can add to the employer, not your basic needs. Find out what the company is willing to pay, or work out what similar employers pay for good people. Always throw pay questions back to the other side of the net.
The interviewer is looking for work-related strengths such as someone who thrives under pressure, a great motivator, an amazing problem solver or someone with extraordinary attention to detail.
Remember that the recruiter gives far more weight to negative information. Talk about weaknesses that are also strengths, e.g. being demanding of your team, being a perfectionist, pushing hard to get things done.
It’s important here to focus on the word “implemented.”. Be prepared with a story about an idea of yours that was taken from idea to implementation, and considered successful.
This is one of the most common questions asked in interviews. This directly relates to the research you’ve done on the company and also gives you a chance to show how eager and prepared you are. You’ll probably want to ask about benefits if they haven’t been covered already. A good generic one is “how soon could I start, if I were offered the job of course.” You may also ask what you’d be working on. Specifically, in the role you’re applying for and how that affects the rest of the company. Always have questions ready, greeting this one with a blank stare is a rotten way to finish your interview.
Questions to ask
Know what the employer wants, make sure that you have double checked the job description so you are equipped and prepared with your questions. The skills and qualities they need in an employee and you have the right match.
Key Deciding Factors for a Job Offer
For many jobs, a lack of technical skills or relevant work experience is the main reason for rejection. However, where the employer is looking for someone to train the main reasons for rejecting applicants are, as follows;
