Guide to Interviews

Interviews

Attending a job interview can be one of the most stressful things you ever do. However, for most people
good preparation and attitude are the key to performing well in interviews. Indeed, there is some
evidence to suggest that interviewing alone is not a particularly reliable means of selection; that is, that
with good interviewing technique you can overcome many other drawbacks. This does not mean lying
or pretending to be someone youre not, but it does mean adapting your behaviour to give yourself the
best possible chance of success.

Beforehand
Preparation is key!
This begins with preparation of your CV and covering letter; a good CV and letter will not only ensure
that you get short-listed, but will make interviewers expect you to be a strong candidate, ensuring that
you will have their full attention. Whether or not you start your CV with a 30-word profile, it is strongly
recommended that you compose one for use in interviews.
Much of the time you spend preparing for the interview itself will be taken up with finding out as much
as you can about the job you are applying for its size, scope, responsibilities; the skills, knowledge and
experience required; pay range; number and seniority of those reporting to you and the company and
industry concerned.
Employers will normally provide job specifications before you apply for jobs but where they dont you
should ask for one. This document is a good starting point, but you should tap other sources of
information, such as the press, trade magazines, company websites, annual reports, and, particularly,
any contacts you have in the industry and, especially, within the company.
In researching the company you should find out about its size, turnover, recent history, culture,
profitability, key products, activities and markets, spread of operations, main competitors and
organisational structure. You should be aware of the topical issues facing the company and its markets.
Next make a list of the most important things that you want to communicate during the interview; this
list together with your profile will inform your responses to questions (even if you need to diverge
slightly from the question asked of you), and influence the questions you ask, if and when you are
invited to.
It is vital that you can anticipate the likely questions that you will be asked during the interview. Some
typical key questions that you should prepare for are listed below under The Interview, but you will
find there are others relevant to you if you go through your CV asking yourself: what is there that is
unusual, unclear, or needs further clarification? Are there any gaps or obvious missing information?
Also, look at the job specification and advert for clues as to the sort of person the employer is seeking
and therefore the types of questions that will be asked? Again, if you were interviewing yourself, what
questions would you ask? Remember, most questions will be intended to elicit answers to one of three
questions:
Can you do the job?
Do you want to do it?
Will you fit in?

- Interview Guide Finally, an excellent way of honing your technique is to interview yourself, preferably aloud, or get
someone else to. This is a great way of making sure that your answers to questions are well thought out
and that they sound credible. It may also be helpful to make an audio or video recording that you can
appraise.

Packing the Essentials

Prior to the interview, we suggest you make a list of all the things you need to take with you on the day;
this will probably include most of the following:
Interview offer letter, including full details of who you are meeting, where and when
Location of interview, and travel directions
Travel tickets
Mobile phone and contact names and numbers
Sufficient cash and credit cards
Job advert, job specification
Your CV, including your profile, and any other information youve sent to the company
Your list of things to communicate, and notes on company and industry
Watch
Pen and paper

Appropriate Appearance
Dont underestimate the importance of appearances. Interviewers will consciously or sub-consciously
be assessing you from the moment they set eyes on you. Rightly or wrongly, your appearance is likely to
be a significant factor in their decision whether or not to offer you the job.
Getting to the interview
Plan your journey well in advance: how you will get there (with a fallback plan in case of emergencies),
by which route, and the timing to ensure you are there in good time, arriving at least 20 minutes before
the interview starts. Check travel reports on the morning of the interview.

The Interview
Interviews usually last somewhere between 45-90 minutes, and most tend to follow a similar pattern:
Introductions: putting the candidate at ease; outlining what will be covered
Questioning: identifying relevant skills, knowledge and experience, and assessing strengths and
weaknesses and suitability for the role, ending with tangential questions about interests;
Candidate Questions: an opportunity for the interviewee to ask questions
Closure: next stages and likely timescales
In addition to the formal interview, you may also be asked to undergo tests or exercises, such as
aptitude tests, psychometric tests, role-plays, group exercises, and you may meet other personnel,
probably less formally.

What is the Interviewer Looking for?

By putting yourself in the shoes of the interviewer, you will get a much better insight into how you
should present yourself. Most interviewers will be looking for most or all of the following:
enthusiastic, bright, articulate and well motivated applicants
appropriate skills, knowledge and experience
required level of technical ability
someone who will fit into the organisation

- Interview Guide -

General Guidance
Dont smoke or eat; it is OK to accept coffee, tea or a cold drink. Never argue with the interviewer,
become annoyed, angry or aggressive, even if you feel you have been provoked. Dont crack jokes or try
to be too clever
Appear alert but relaxed and natural throughout. Walk confidently into the room, with a good upright
posture. Give a firm, friendly handshake, while looking into the eyes of the persons you are meeting and
saying something like Its nice to meet you. Sit comfortably but with back straight.
During the interview, try to suppress any nervous mannerisms (for example touching your face,
fidgeting, repeating yourself). Maintain natural eye contact with the interviewer/s; this generally means
keeping good eye contact with natural breaks at the start and end of each response.
When the interviewer is speaking, give appropriate feedback by nodding (or saying yes) at the right
points, but dont overdo this. Speak clearly and avoid gabbling responses, especially in the early stages
of the interview when you are most nervous (tension tends to increase the speed at which we speak).
Dont rush your answers, especially if you are unsure of what you are going to say; pause slightly and
think about your response.

Dealing with Questions

Keep your answers concise and to the point and never feel that you have to fill any silences; the
interviewer will ask if he/she wants more information.
Listen very carefully to questions to ensure that you understand what the interviewer is asking you. It is
extremely common for interviewees to answer the question they want to hear, rather than what was
actually asked!
Always back up your responses with appropriate and credible examples. This is your best opportunity to
demonstrate your strengths, stating in quantitative terms what outcome you achieved, for example: I
saved the company x million; sales of the new product range I developed were x million in the first
year.
If you are thrown by a difficult or unexpected question, it is OK to use stalling tactics very sparingly; for
example: Let me see, errm, yes, or Im sorry, would you mind repeating the question? or Thats a
tough question; could I have a little time to think about it? If you are really desperate, it may be
acceptable to say: Would you mind if I come back to that question later?
If in the past youve made mistakes or have chosen the wrong career option, dont necessarily try to
cover it up. It is best to deal with it head on, demonstrating that you accept that you made a mistake but
that you have learned from it and will not repeat it.
Focus on the positive and most successful aspects of your career to date, and back it up with positive
language; for example, I work well under pressure is better than I feel I could probably perform OK
under pressure.
You will likely be asked about your weaknesses and you should be prepared to mention those that both
demonstrate awareness of and determination to overcome your shortcomings, and at the same time
will not be seen by the interviewer/s as so very bad, for example I tend to push others as hard as I push
myself.

- Interview Guide -

Key Questions

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Why do you want this job/want to work for us?
Tell me about yourself
What motivates you?
Who are your role models and why?
Where do you see yourself in n years time?
Tell me about a time when you demonstrated [a specific competency, skill or attribute]
If you were appointed to this role, what would be your initial actions?
Which other employers/jobs are you applying to/for?
What salary would you be looking for? (see Pay Negotiations below)
What do you think are the major [issues, problems, threats, opportunities] facing this [industry,
sector, organisation]?
What is your greatest achievement/biggest mistake to date?

Asking Questions
At the end of the interview you will usually be given the opportunity to ask your own questions. You
should take this opportunity but dont ask more than 3 questions (otherwise you run the risk of
annoying the interviewer), and dont ask questions just for the sake of it; if you prepared questions to
ask and they have all been satisfactorily answered, then say so mentioning them very briefly.
Make sure that any questions you ask are relevant and show that you understand the role and are keen
to do it. Its generally best not to ask about pay, benefits, or conditions of work; you will be able to get
this information from the HR department.

Ending the Interview

As the end and to a lesser extent the start of your interview will be the interviewers strongest
memory of you, its vital to conclude the interview on a strong note:
Stand up, smile and shake the interviewers hand
Thank the interviewer and say something like I look forward to hearing from you

After the Interview

Practice makes perfect.
If you want to improve your performance in interviews, it is vital that you reflect on what happened.
Analyse your performance: what did you do well and badly, and how could you have done better? Build
this into your next interview.
Regardless of whether or not you were offered the job, always seek feedback from the interviewer and
ensure that you learn from it. Is there a pattern to the feedback and are the same issues cropping up?
Are the jobs you are applying for right for you and are you qualified for them? Assess what new
information you have gathered about the job, the company and the industry and how this changes your
views on the suitability of the job?

- Interview Guide -

Offered the job?

Well done! But you should never simply accept the job in the euphoria of being selected. In the light of
everything you know about the job, the company and the industry:
Is it the right choice for you?
Is it compatible with your long-term career goals?
Does it offer you sufficient potential for future growth, development and promotion?
Will it meet your financial needs?
Can you do the job?
Will you be happy doing it and will you get on with the people you will be working with?
Do you share the values of the organisation and does its culture suit you?
Is it a successful company with vision? Will it be around in some years time?
Would accepting the job involve any upheaval, for example relocation, or significant travel? If so,
what does your partner/family think?
If you are sure that you want to take the job and are offered it over the phone, it is usually best to say
that you would like to accept the offer, subject to receiving written confirmation of the details. If you
plan to decline the job offer, you should always do this politely and as soon as you can.

Pay Negotiations
For a lot of people, negotiating and agreeing pay and benefits can be an awkward and embarrassing
task. However, following these basic rules should help:
Only negotiate once you have been offered the job in writing (you will be in a much stronger
position).
If possible, only negotiate with the decision maker.
Try to avoid suggesting your own figure; let the employer come up with their figure first.
Be sure that your negotiations cover salary, salary reviews, bonuses, and fringe benefits such as car,
health cover, pension, etc.

References
Identify a bank of appropriate referees and check that they are happy to provide you with a reference.
Try and choose referees from different part of your life e.g. one academic referee and one work
related. Dont choose referees purely for their status priests, public servants but those who know
you well and whose qualifications and experience make them suitably qualified to comment on you.
Choose an appropriate referee for the job you have applied for and advise them that they may be
approached. It is usual practice to advise the prospective employer of the name and address of your
referee after you have been offered the job.

And Finally...
One of the main reasons why interviews can seem so daunting is that we do them so infrequently. You
should therefore seize every opportunity you can to be interviewed, for example by applying for internal
jobs (even if you feel they may be outside your reach). You can also undertake training to improve your
performance in interviews.