Are you interviewing for a new role? Follow the steps in the guide below to give yourself the best chance of securing the role of your dreams.
STAGE 1: PREPARATION
RESEARCH THE ORGANISATION AND THE JOB ROLE
- Always take the time to thoroughly research the organisation, their products/services and their competitors
- Explore their social media channels
- Search for the interviewers on Linkedin to explore who you will be talking to.
PREPARE YOURSELF TO ANSWER COMPETENCY BASED QUESTIONS
These are questions which ask you to provide a specific example of your skills and/ or experience, e.g.
- ‘Tell me about a time recently when you have had to deal with a difficult customer at work and what the outcome was’
These questions will be directly linked to the position that you are being interviewed for and aim to test how your skills match the requirements of the role. They will be varied and could potentially include any desired skills, however common skills include: leadership, delegation, negotiation, new business development, team management, influencing skills, analysis of data etc.
STAGE 2: ON THE DAY
DRESS APPROPRIATELY
Always dress and act appropriately. Not all interviews require suits, but you do want to show that you can blend into the culture of the business, whether it be in a formal or informal setting. Take a look at your interviewers’ LinkedIn profiles to see how they dress for work and be guided by this. Alternatively contact them to check what the dress code is.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS
Listen attentively and answer the questions posed to you – ask for clarification if you are unclear. Watch for social cues that suggest you should elaborate or shorten responses and don’t use one-word answers. You also need to be aware of nonverbal language and ‘fillers’ – don’t fidget and try not to fill spaces with words like ‘um’ and ‘like’.
TELL THEM ABOUT YOU AND YOUR EXPERIENCES
Talk in the first person. Being a part of a team is great, but interviewers want to know what YOU can do and what YOU have achieved. Have examples that you can share with them.
ASK QUESTIONS
Near the end of the interview, there is usually an opportunity to ask questions. You might have questions related to the interview itself. It is also impressive if you have questions based on research you did ahead of time. It shows interest in the organisation and job.
