Job Interview Advice
Making a good impression!
If you have been lucky enough to be selected for interview you need to make a personal impression.
This means in your own personal presentation as well as doing some research to show you are keen and have shown interest in the company.
The employer is looking for the potential in prospective employees to become a valued, trusted, productive team member of their Organisation.
Think About Yourself
This is when you need to think about all the reasons you are applying for the job and what you have to offer the Organisation. You will have to prepare to discuss both short and long term career goals.
Employment Gaps on your CV
If there are any gaps in employment on your CV that is over a month you will need to be prepared to explain what you have been doing during these gaps. If you worked on temporary assignments but did not log them on your CV you will need to explain what you did, who you worked for and the length of the assignment etc. If you were just unemployed and job searching it will look best to give some examples of your research.
The Job
Always research the job you have applied for before attending the interview because you may find that the employer could fire all sorts of questions at you. Try to familiarise yourself with the following:
- The size of the Organisation and number of employees
- Check if the Company has a website and find out the History, about the Company, and how long they have been operating
- The Company’s services and products or even the Company’s goals and aims.
- Company News Updates are always good to know as you can tell the employer of any recent business or even if the Company has been acquisitioned
- Ensure you know where you are going and allow time for any delays that might occur. Arrive early as this allows you time to relax and gather your thoughts
- View the job description, pay particular attention to the skills required and the main duties. If you do not meet some of the required skills then think of what you can offer as an alternative or how you think you can still do the job without these skills because there maybe other candidates that meet all the criteria so you need to make yourself stand out
- Always prepare some questions, these questions are generally to help you get more of an understanding of the Company, whether there are any changes to come, how you see the Company developing in years to come etc, don’t ask about benefits and salary always let the employer mention this first
- Use positive body language, i.e. using an open posture, smile, speak clearly and speak carefully and listen to what is being said and asked
- Always leave positively, smiling and shaking hands and thank them for taking the time to meet with you and to contact you if they need any further information.
Reasons for Leaving Previous Employment
Any job you go for each employer will want to know why you want to leave your current position, or why you have left your recent position. You will need to be honest and positive, if you left to better yourself explain this and what areas it is you are looking to progress in. If you left involuntarily then explain this in as much positive light you can.
Examples of Standard Interview Questions
Here is a list of standard job interview questions, however, for each job you may be asked questions relating to it such as HR, Finance, Management, Medical etc so it is always worth to research questions for that specific role.
- What interests you about this job?
- What qualities can you bring to this job?
- What do you know about the Organisation?
- What are you looking for in a new job?
- In previous jobs what did you do on a day to day basis?
- What did you dislike about your job?
- What were your greatest achievements in either your job or personal life?
- How did you make a difference to your last Organisation?
- What motivates you?
- How do you handle criticism?
- Can you work under pressure? How do you overcome pressure?
- What are your ambitions?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses? (tip, most people have a weakness in something, try not to say you are great at everything, this is actually a trick question, I would answer this as follows: “my strengths are attention to detail, time keeping and spreadsheets, my weakness is in math’s, although I have basic knowledge there are some areas that need developing of which I am/plan to attend a math’s course to improve this so that it is no longer a weakness”). This way you are stating a weakness in a positive way and explaining how you are/plan to overcome this weakness.