For some interviews can feel like a daunting process but this needn’t be the case – especially when you feel prepared and ready to handle the situation you will be primed and ready to give confident answers.
The recruitment process seeks to establish if you have the necessary skills and are the right fit for the organisation to whom you are applying. To this end your application doesn’t get you the job it simply gets you to the next stage – the interview! The interview is also your opportunity to determine if the role and the organisation is indeed the best for you.
Step 1
Research the organisation. What do you think that you bring to this organisation? This could be one of several opening/early interview questions. In order to answer this well you need to have researched the organisation so that you know what their strengths are. Good places to start are their website, including recent reports and strategy documents and blog posts. From here you can start to broaden out and look at the wider sector and the current challenges that are being faced.
Step 2
Map your list of possible interview questions (you can predict these yourself but it is also useful to use careers websites to help with this i.e. Prosper Portal). Once you have a list of possible questions start by planning your examples and key pieces of experience that will allow you to fully answer the questions. The aim is to distill this into approximately 3 succinct points/ideas to fully answer the question posed. It’s important to prepare for typical interview questions / commonly asked questions and practice your answers out loud. Many people overlook this step but practising what you will say allows you to refine your answers and deliver them in the most structured and succinct way that make sense to the recruiter.
Interview Tips:
- Dress appropriately (looking smart and well turned out indicates that you are taking the process seriously).
- Smile and greet everyone that you meet during the process (informal feedback and first impressions count).
- Listen carefully to the question asked and consider it, don’t rush to give an immediate answer because you feel under pressure. It is good practice to indicate that you are taking a pause to consider your answer.
- Make sure to answer the question asked! This sounds obvious but often when candidates are nervous they can give an answer to a question that they have previously prepared that is not exactly what was asked. If the question has two parts, then make sure that you answer both parts. It is ok to ask for clarification if you forget.
- Prepare questions to ask the interviewers! If you don’t then you run the risk of looking unprepared and uninterested in the role.
- Don’t overdo your preparation the night before!
- Expect the unexpected! Remember with difficult interview questions it’s not just about the answer that you give it is also important how you handle the process. The interviewer wants to see that you can calmy and logically reason your answer.
Further Support:
- Undertake a 1:1 Career Development Consultation to practice interview questions or discuss the interview process in general
- Review possible interview questions using the Prosper Portal resources, “additional questions” at the bottom of the page
This blog was written by Eleanor Hennige, Research Staff Careers Consultant.
(Image by WOKANDAPIX from Pixabay)
