INTERVIEWS

Interviews

How to prepare for an interview

Give yourself the best chance of securing a job by preparing well for an interview.

  • Ensure you have suitable clothes, keep any jewellery discreet and cover up any tattoos.
  • Men should wear a suit or trousers, shirt and a tie. Women should wear a suit or a blouse or shirt with a skirt or trousers. Choose comfortable and clothes that aren’t too distracting.
  • Prepare answers for potential interview questions. Think about the job description and person specification. What skills, experience, abilities and understanding are they looking for? What did you put in your applications form? Can you support your answers with a strong example?
  • If your interview is with a public sector organisation, they may use competency based questions. In which case you can expect questions that cover topics like: confidentiality, teamwork skills, equality and diversity, managing workload, prioritising and meeting deadlines, information communication technology skills
  • If you’re interviewing for an administration job you can expect questions that cover topics like: administration skills, high level of information communication technology skills and knowledge of software packages, database management, report writing, budget management, diary management and personal assistant duties.
  • You can also expect some questions about why you want the job and what you can bring to the organisation.
  • Look for opportunities to show that you have a good understanding of the job you are applying for, by outlining how you would use your skills and experience to fulfil your role.
  • Prepare examples to demonstrate your skills and experience using the STAR model:

Situation: describe the background details
Task: What were you asked to do
Action: what actions did you take (outline the skills involved)
Result: Describe how it was a success and how happy everyone was.

  • Have some questions ready to ask them, to demonstrate more of your skills, your enthusiasm for the job and your knowledge of the organisation. Research online. Don’t ask about money or perks.

What to do during an interview

From the moment you enter the building for an interview to the moment you leave, your prospective employer is assessing your suitability for the job.

  • Once you enter the building you are in the interview, staff may be asked to comment on how you behaved.
  • Don’t shake their hand unless they offer theirs. Make sure you make some sort of greeting and make eye contact with the whole panel, with a smile.
  • Listen carefully to the questions and make sure you apply your examples to what they are asking you.
  • Take your time, they want to hear the details, try not to rush your answers.
  • Don’t assume they know what you do, explain the details, they cannot assume you have what they need, you have to tell them.
  • Smile and hold ‘gentle’ eye contact, look at the whole panel but focus mainly on the person who asked you the question.
  • They will be writing notes, don’t let this put you off.
  • Make your answers as full as possible and remember there may be different parts to the question. If you need lots of prompts this may count against you if you get to the last two candidates.
  • If you cannot think of an answer ask to come back to it at the end. If you get panicky take a deep breath and hold it for a few seconds and let it out slowly! You can ask them to repeat the question.

What to do after an interview

What you do immediately after an interview can make a difference to securing the job.

  • Don’t sigh and ask for feedback straight away!
  • Don’t relax until you have left the building
  • Make a note of the questions they asked and your answers, the longer you leave this the less you will remember.
  • Leave contacting them for a few days if you don’t hear back, make sure they know how to get hold of you.
  • If you are not successful stay calm! If you can, arrange a time to call to get feedback on how you did.