Interview Hints & Tips

Whether your interview is over the telephone, or face to face the following tips should help you get the most out of the experience and hopefully one step closer to the job you want.

Interview preparation

• Review the job details in advance of your interview and consider which of your experiences and achievements relate most closely to the requirements and responsibilities of the role
• Prepare to explain situations / scenarios clearly and concisely; explaining your specific role and contribution
• Think about how you can demonstrate your success – measurable examples are very useful (e.g. how much money did you save? By what percentage did you improve efficiency?)
• Make sure you have a good look through the careers website and also any corporate websites as part of your research
• Prepare a couple of questions that you may want to ask about the company
• If the interview is face to face plan your route and even do a trial run to ensure you know where you are going on the day

The interview

For telephone interviews...

• Ensure you are somewhere quiet where you can speak freely and concentrate on the interview (e.g. not sitting in a crowded space with lots of background noise and possible interruptions!)
• If you’re using your mobile make sure it’s fully charged up and receiving good signal

For face to face interviews…

• Plan to be slightly early, but not too early, so you will be relaxed and unflustered. If for any reason you are going to be unavoidably late then call a member of the resourcing team so they can call your interviewer and explain the situation
• Be polite and friendly to everyone you meet. People recruit people they like and who they can see fitting in to their team
• Dress appropriately, neatly and conservatively – don’t be afraid to ask what the dress code is to make sure you look the part
• Remember to smile! Interviews are never fatal and can be satisfying if you relax. Try and avoid showing signs of nervousness such as fidgeting, drumming of fingers etc

Other useful interview tips...

• Demonstrate genuine enthusiasm, interest, and confidence.  This is your opportunity to sell yourself and explain why you are the right person for the role
• Don’t give general examples (relating to we, they, the company)
• Do give specific examples (explain exactly what you do/did)
• Clearly and concisely set the context of any example (where / why / who)
• It is important to use good, solid examples, within which you are able to recall as much detail as possible
• Be mindful of time and follow the structure provided by the interviewer
• At the end of the interview check the next stage of the process, thank them for their time and tell them you enjoyed speaking/meeting them and if face to face give a good handshake whilst smiling