Interviews can be a nerve-racking experience. In a short space of time, you need to make a good impression and sell yourself to a potential future employer. To help you along your way, we have put together our top tips to help you prepare.
1. Do your homework
Find out as much as you can about the company you are applying to. Make the effort to understand their business and also identify the competition. Don’t forget to spend some time looking at the job description and your application. Look at the competencies listed on the job description and try and find as many examples as you can from your own experience that demonstrate them.
2. Leave yourself enough time
Interviews are usually run on fairly tight schedules, so not only does turning up late point at disastrous organisational skills, but it also cuts your own interview short. Allow lots of time in your schedule for delays and if you’re super early, locate the office and then go and have a coffee.
3. Look the part
Even if a company prides itself on informal dress code, it always pays to look smart for an interview. The clichés are right, first impressions do count.
4. Tell the truth
Body language, shifty eye contact, there are usually several unintentional signs that you give off when you’re being a bit liberal with the truth. Don’t make things up, you will be found out eventually. Focus instead on the positives; what you have to offer.
5. Two way process
It’s easy to focus entirely on trying to impress at an interview to secure the job, but remember that an interview is a two way process. You also need to decide whether you want to work for them.
Ask your potential boss about their management style, how they deal with stress and how the team operates. If you don’t like them, or you can’t see yourself fitting in, you can always walk away.
