I was on Radio WM yesterday, talking with Paul Franks on the DriveTime show. I’be been called to discuss interview strategies, what people can do to improve their chances and we also discssed horror stories.
Do people really turn up in the pyjamas and slippers? Wll yes if they don’t want to get the job offer, but I still can tell tales of people turning up loking like they have come straight from the allotment as they’ve decided not to make an effort as getting the offer was just a formality -no it wasn’t.
Another time I went to collect a candidate from reception and he chatted me up as we walked to the interview room. He was very surporised when he reaised he was to be interviewed by me,.
If you have got to interview you have done well, the comapny thniks you can do the job, but you still have to perform well on the day, you’ve got to do better than the competition.
Research is essential
You must do research, find out something aobut the company. It’s not difficult to visit their website and do a search for them on Google. Find out who their competitors are, their market share, any new products, charitable involvement
Remember your stories
Create real life stores of times you have worked well with others, solved problems, etc. The stories bring your examples to life and mean that you can discuss them in response to different questions
Think STAR
It helps to have a structure to answer questions, STAR really helps – think of a situation, what was the task you had to do, what action did you take, what was the result.
Demonstrate enthusiasm and energy
We like to work with people who have these traits, if you don’t demonstrate these at interview what will you be like 3 months into the job?
Prepare questions
Have questions ready to ask at the end of the interview. It’s fine to write them down, you don’t have to memorise them.
Belief
You must believe you can do the job, and that you can be successful. Don’t go into the interview thinking you are going to fail, you need to be positive
