How To Prepare for a Job Interview
Whilst there is no doubt that how someone performs on the day in a job interview will be a major factor in whether they are successful, there are also some very important elements to preparing for an interview beforehand that will determine how positive the experience will be. Carrying out some research on the company website before the interview is paramount – you don’t need to know everything about a company but a potential employer will expect you to have a good understanding of what the business does. A good tip is to look for recent company news online or look at their social media feeds to understand some of the company culture. Read below to find out how to prepare for a job interview.
How should you prepare for a job interview?
Make sure you know where the company is, how to get there and if there is parking available. If you are using public transport, is it accessible? Ideally, you should arrive at an interview 10 minutes early to create a good impression.
A typical interview will involve certain questions that require preparation beforehand. These will include why you are looking for a new job, why you are interested in this particular role, what key strengths you can bring to a company and what areas could you improve on.
This is important as it shows you have thought about the position beforehand and shows some enthusiasm about the job on your part. In addition, the job and company need to be the right fit for you just as much as it is for the potential employer.
When attending an interview, it is important to make sure that your first impression counts. An interviewer’s impression of you will be determined by the way that you are presented, whether you are on time and how friendly you are during the first introductions.
Eye contact is also very important to maintain from the start. It is perfectly normal to feel nervous before an interview but if you feel that it may affect your ability to answer the questions, let the interviewer know as they may make an allowance for this. Try to be as relaxed as possible as a lot of the success of a job interview is how well you and the interviewer get on so building a rapport is very important – just be yourself!
A good tip is to keep things simple and concentrate on talking an interviewer through what a typical day would involve in each of your jobs, picking out key points from each one that will relate to the vacancy in question.
Providing examples of dealing with any difficult situations or customers and how you turned it into a positive is always something that will impress an interviewer. If you are going for a sales role, then providing figures will definitely be relevant.
Since the Covid 19 pandemic, online interviews have become far more common. Much of the above still applies to how to conduct a successful virtual interview. However, potential employers will notice your surroundings/background during an online call so it is important to have a neutral background where possible and also to be free from distraction. If you are using a handheld device, you should ensure that it is fixed and can’t move during the interview. A good tip is to ensure that the link to the invite you receive works beforehand or that you have downloaded the necessary app that the call will be on.
How we can help you
Part of Intro Personnel’s comprehensive service to our candidates is to support your interview preparation and to pass on useful hints and tips about the kind of questions you may face in an interview. We work very closely with our clients so we have an excellent understanding of the format of the interviews they will conduct. Contact us today for more tips on how to prepare for a job interview or browse through our latest job opportunities.
