ou’ve applied to a job you really want, it will be a great career move for you and you’ve been called for interview with the company. Great! Now what do you do to prepare? For many candidates, interviewing is something they struggle with, whether it is due to stage fright, general nerves, lack of interview experience or simply because they haven’t interviewed in a long time.
Below we have narrowed down 5 simple steps to help you ace your interview:
- Know your CV
It may sound like common sense, but before you go for interview make sure you reread your CV and know it well. It may have been a number of days/weeks/months since you’ve written or updated your CV so go over it before your interview to make sure you are comfortable talking about all of the details you have described on it. Talking through your experience is something you can guarantee being asked about in an interview so don’t let this expected question be your downfall, know your CV and experience well and this will help you grow in confidence during the interview.
- Review the role
This is another area from which the majority of questions in the interview will stem from. Before meeting your interviewers ensure you have gone over the Job Spec line by line. Take the time to think about each task mentioned on the Spec and how you can carry out the task. For every point, prepare an example from your own experience that you can use to show the interviewers what you can bring to the table. Having these examples prepared will also mean you will have less to think about on the spot during the interview itself.
- Do your homework
Before meeting with any company do some research about them. You don’t need to know their entire history but it is important to be able to show in the interview that you have done your homework. Remember, companies want employees that are enthusiastic about working with them and a way of showing this is to demonstrate that you know about the company, their reputation, products etc. If you know anyone that works for or has worked for the company before it is also good to have a chat with them before the interview to see if they can give you a better insight to the company also. If you can demonstrate that you’ve gone the extra mile in learning about the company this will earn you bonus points in the interview. Learning about the company also helps you to understand if you would like to work with them or not too so it is important to do this research.
- Dress to Impress
The night before your interview take some time to pick out your interview outfit. Interviews are a formal occasion so make sure you dress accordingly, it is always better to be overdressed than underdressed. Dressing in smart, business attire will not only give a good first impression, it will help you feel confident and put you in the interview mindset. Laying the clothes out the night before also means this is one less thing you need to do on the day.
- Confidence is key
Try to remember that it is an achievement being called for interview by a company so take pride in this. Companies will not invite candidates to interview unless they are interested in them so be confident in your experience when going to meet the interviewers. Take a deep breath before going into the interview to help settle nerves. Maintain a smile and good eye contact with the interviewers and express your enthusiasm during the interview. Once you start speaking about your experience you will start to gain confidence, just make sure this doesn’t turn to over-confidence!
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ou’ve applied to a job you really want, it will be a great career move for you and you’ve been called for interview with the company. Great! Now what do you do to prepare? For many candidates, interviewing is something they struggle with, whether it is due to stage fright, general nerves, lack of interview experience or simply because they haven’t interviewed in a long time.
Below we have narrowed down 5 simple steps to help you ace your interview:
- Know your CV
It may sound like common sense, but before you go for interview make sure you reread your CV and know it well. It may have been a number of days/weeks/months since you’ve written or updated your CV so go over it before your interview to make sure you are comfortable talking about all of the details you have described on it. Talking through your experience is something you can guarantee being asked about in an interview so don’t let this expected question be your downfall, know your CV and experience well and this will help you grow in confidence during the interview.
- Review the role
This is another area from which the majority of questions in the interview will stem from. Before meeting your interviewers ensure you have gone over the Job Spec line by line. Take the time to think about each task mentioned on the Spec and how you can carry out the task. For every point, prepare an example from your own experience that you can use to show the interviewers what you can bring to the table. Having these examples prepared will also mean you will have less to think about on the spot during the interview itself.
- Do your homework
Before meeting with any company do some research about them. You don’t need to know their entire history but it is important to be able to show in the interview that you have done your homework. Remember, companies want employees that are enthusiastic about working with them and a way of showing this is to demonstrate that you know about the company, their reputation, products etc. If you know anyone that works for or has worked for the company before it is also good to have a chat with them before the interview to see if they can give you a better insight to the company also. If you can demonstrate that you’ve gone the extra mile in learning about the company this will earn you bonus points in the interview. Learning about the company also helps you to understand if you would like to work with them or not too so it is important to do this research.
- Dress to Impress
The night before your interview take some time to pick out your interview outfit. Interviews are a formal occasion so make sure you dress accordingly, it is always better to be overdressed than underdressed. Dressing in smart, business attire will not only give a good first impression, it will help you feel confident and put you in the interview mindset. Laying the clothes out the night before also means this is one less thing you need to do on the day.
- Confidence is key
Try to remember that it is an achievement being called for interview by a company so take pride in this. Companies will not invite candidates to interview unless they are interested in them so be confident in your experience when going to meet the interviewers. Take a deep breath before going into the interview to help settle nerves. Maintain a smile and good eye contact with the interviewers and express your enthusiasm during the interview. Once you start speaking about your experience you will start to gain confidence, just make sure this doesn’t turn to over-confidence!