The interview is the final hurdle in the process of marketing yourself successfully.
The Interviewers
In order to win the interview, you must persuade the interviewers that you:
- Have all the key essential requirements that the job demands.
- Possess skills and experience relevant to the position being discussed.
- Will fit in well as part of the team.
- Have the ability and willingness to learn and can be properly managed.
The interview should be seen not merely as a questions and answers session, but more as a sales meeting at which you will be given the opportunity to sell yourself and persuade the employer that you are the best candidate for the job. You will achieve your objective only if you have a clear understanding of:
- What the employer is looking for in the ideal job candidate.
- The product you are selling – yourself.
- What you have to offer to meet their requirement.
The degree of success will depend on your ability to match that requirement in all areas. You must also demonstrate during the interview that you have all the qualities you claim. The interviewer will not accept your answer “Yes” to the question “Are you highly motivated?” as evidence.
You must demonstrate this by showing confidence, asking job-related questions and taking every opportunity to sell yourself. Equally, it is a waste of time claiming that you have good listening skills if you do not listen carefully to questions asked at the interview.
Preparation is the key to winning the interview competition. Detailed preparation before each interview should include company research and job analysis that will enable you to sell yourself effectively and convince the employer that you have got what they want.
In most interview competitions, the result will be a photo finish with little to choose between the top two or three candidates. Therefore, it is vital that you prepare well and pay attention to detail in order to get your nose in front.
Interviewers look for:
- Motivation / Confidence
- Energy and initiative
- Determination
- Strong communication skills
- A committed team player
- Dedication / Reliability
- Honesty / Integrity
- Listening skills
- Analytical thinker / Problem solver
- Evidence of job-related achievements
- Leadership potential
- Hunger for the job
Their Criticisms:
- You did not prepare for the interview – An experienced interviewer will minimize this in the first few minutes.
- You failed to listen to questions asked / Answered the wrong question.
- You provided superfluous information and unnecessary detail.
- You made negative comments about yourself / Showed low self-esteem.
- You made negative remarks about the company or the interviewers.
- You were poorly motivated – didn’t ask job related questions – didn’t take opportunities to sell yourself.
- You showed poor face-to-face communication skills.
How to make a good impression
Appearance:
- First impressions are vital and are based on your appearance.
- If you create a bad first impression, this puts you in a weak position from the start and one from which it is difficult to recover.
- Dress conservative and clean cut; wear clothes appropriate to the culture.
- Hair clean, neat and tidy.
- Keep jewellery to a minimum.
- No after-shave or perfume.
- Clean shoes.
- Suits dry-cleaned.
- Overall cleanliness, hands, nails etc.
- For Men: Dark suit, no loud colours, white shirt, black shoes, plain socks.
- For Ladies: Wear suit or dress/jacket; low heels; no jeans.
Body Language:
- Give a good firm handshake, making eye contact.
- No slouching – erect but relaxed posture when sitting, walking or standing.
- Sit close to Interviewer.
- Smile!
- When answering questions, look directly at the questioner.
- Speak clearly, loudly enough to be heard, facing the questioner.
- Don’t show emotions i.e. disappointment if things are not going well – just keep selling yourself.
Listening Skills:
- Eye contact.
- Do not interrupt the interviewer.
- From time to time, ask for clarification of what has been said.
- Don’t show emotions or prejudices on any contentious topic.
- Occasionally, re-phrase what has been said to show you have clearly understood the question before attempting to answer.
- Keep an open mind on what is being said until the interviewer has finished.
How to prepare for the interview
Company Research:
- The question “What do you know about our Company?” is frequently asked.
- It is vital that you get information about the company i.e. country of origin, products/services, markets, staffing, turnover etc.
- A simple phone call asking for company PR literature could provide you with all the information you need.
- Other sources of company information include press articles and personal contacts within the company.
Identify Your Skills & Personal Strengths:
- Know what skills you’re selling and who you’re selling them to.
- Decide which aspects of your work experience to stress to employers.
- Do not focus too much on current job responsibilities. Your best selling points may be from earlier jobs.
- Take a broad approach when listing your skills. It may be necessary to include voluntary activities to illustrate your best skills.
- List your Transferable Skills and your Personal Strengths
- List your most significant Achievements in current and previous employments, outlining objectives and results in each case.
- Try to associate your skills and strengths with each job-related achievement
– this will give evidence of where you have used your skills - It is important that you link your skills to the requirements of the job for which you are being interviewed.
- Try to show how your achievements in a totally different working environment are relevant to this position.
Match your Skills to Job Requirements:
- Essential that you match your skills and abilities against the job requirements.
- Study the job advertisement carefully.
- List the key requirements including experience, skills and personal qualities that are considered essential/desirable (These will generally be listed in order of their importance to the company).
- Try to get hold of a written job description from the company or staff recruitment agency to help your preparation.
- When you have compiled your list of job requirements, see how well you match them by preparing a statement of what you have to offer against each item.
- Where there is a shortfall, you will have identified this early and have adequate time to address the issue before the interview.
- If done carefully, this exercise will enable you to prepare an effective presentation of your relevant job skills, strengths and achievements, link them to the job requirements and improve your chances of success.
List likely Interview Questions:
- List likely questions given detailed list of job requirements.
- All job-related questions will be asked to establish whether you match the key requirements that the job demands.
- This will give you opportunity to practice your answers, prepare an effective presentation and minimize the thinking on your feet.
- List your questions – prepare three or four job-related questions to ask at the interview.
- Do not ask questions about salary – if the interviewer thinks you are a strong candidate, he will bring this up.
Before the Interview
- Check day, date, time of the interview.
- Check if you need to confirm your attendance at the interview.
- Check directions – allow yourself enough time.
- Check if you are required to bring anything with you i.e. references, samples of your work etc.
- Check if clothes are clean and presentable.
- Review all documents on the job i.e. Advertisement, Your CV & cover letter, job description, your notes.
- Practice your brief stories on previous employments/work experiences etc.
– Keep working on these until you are completely satisfied with the presentation.
At the Interview
Arrival Checklist:
- Arrive at the Interview on time but at the company premises early.
- Take time to freshen up and perform final mental preparation before the interview.
- Review all your notes on the job and the company.
- Go over your interview notes one last time.
- Relax!
- Behave pleasantly towards persons in the Reception area – their impression of you may be taken into account.
When shown into the interview room:
Do:
- Give a firm handshake.
- Make eye contact.
- Smile.
- Show confidence.
- If introduced to each of the panel members, make sure you get their correct names and job titles.
Don’t:
- Use interviewers’ Christian names, unless asked.
- Smoke unless invited to do so.
- Sit down, until you are invited.
- Worry about being nervous.
- Show samples of your work, unless specifically requested.
Interview questions
Interview questions will fall into one of 2 main categories, biographical and job related.
Biographical:
- Where did you come in your class in College?
- Why didn’t you do better in your exams?
- Tell me about yourself?
- How would you describe yourself?
- Why do you want to leave your present job?
- What would your boss/colleagues say about you if asked?
- What motivates you most?
- Do you prefer working alone or with others?
- What are your long term plans?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
- What is your greatest strength?
- What is your greatest weakness?
- How do you cope with pressure?
- Give me an instance where you were under pressure?
- How do you feel about your career progress to date?
- Why do you believe you are a suitable candidate for this job?
- What can you do for us that somebody else can’t do?
Job Related:
- Tell us about your broad responsibilities in your present job.
- What are some of the problems you encounter in doing your job?
- What real contribution are you making in your present job?
- What aspects of your current job do you enjoy/dislike?
- Why do you wish to leave your current job?
- Why do you want to work for this company?
- How long before you can make a real contribution in this job?
- What the most difficult situation you had to deal with? How did you resolve it?
- What changes do you think you might make if you joined us?
- What do know about this company?
- What is the most challenging work/task you have ever done?
- Have you made any major mistakes in the past? What did you learn from them?
- What was your worst staffing problem? How did you resolve it?
- What salary are you looking for?
- What do you feel are the key requirements in this job?
- Do you have any special skills or abilities that would contribute to this position?
- What were your three most significant achievements?
- In which work areas do you need to improve?
- What aspects of this job do you consider most important?
- What skills are you bringing to this job and how are they relevant?
- Why do you feel we should offer you this position?
Interview Checklist
Do’s:
- Do your homework and come well prepared.
- Dress appropriately.
- Make a good, confident entrance.
- Make eye contact; Smile; Firm handshake.
- Listen carefully to questions asked.
- Keep a positive attitude throughout the interview.
- Match your skills point for point with job requirements.
- Stay calm and cheerful even when under stress.
- Keep highlighting your relevant achievements.
- Ask questions about the job and the company.
- Make sure you get all your important selling points across.
- Ask what happens next and when you might hear from them.
Don’t:
- Show discouragement if things aren’t going your way.
- Correct the interviewers unless in a tactful manner.
- Say anything negative about yourself/put yourself down.
- Criticise your current or previous employers.
- Give up hope if the interviewer is negative/abrupt.
- Ask how well you’ve done in the interview.
- Talk about salary/benefits/holidays unless they bring it up
Negotiating Salary
Before you begin salary negotiation, it is important that you:
- Have determined your minimum salary requirements beforehand.
- Try to establish what your skills are worth on the current market
- Current job advertisements
- Staff Recruitment Agencies
- Salary Surveys
When discussing terms of employment, consider total package offered i.e. pension fund, medical scheme, club membership etc. before making any decision on job offer.
After the Interview
- Each job interview should be a learning process.
- Learn from your mistakes – don’t repeat them.
- Carry out a post-interview analysis immediately after the interview while it is still fresh in your mind.
- Review tough questions and make notes for your next interview on areas where you might handled difficult questions better.
- Motivate yourself to approach your next interview in a positive frame of mind.
- Use the experience gained at each interview to improve your technique and overall presentation.
