Interview Tips

Preparation

Research:

Make sure you know how big the Company is, what its products are, who the Managing Director is, what the company performance has been like over the last 12 months, etc.

Your application:

Make a copy of your CV so you know exactly what you said. Think about what things they will want you to elaborate on. Decide how you are going to explain away gaps in your form or disappointing exam results. You need to be convincing!

Job description:

Read this carefully! Try and decide what they think will be the most important aspects of the job and then prepare examples of how well suited you are.

Prepared answers:

There are some questions you are almost bound to be asked and you need to have prepared how you are going to respond.

Some old favourites are:

- Why have you applied for the job?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- What are your goals?
- Why would you be good at.....?
- How do your contemporaries perceive you?
- What have been your main achievements?
- What salary are you looking for? 

Rules

There are some very simple rules for attending an interview but above all you should:

Be punctual:

There are many reasons you could be late but try and avoid all of them by giving yourself plenty of time. Make sure you know where you are going and have the phone number and name of the interviewer with you just in case you are unavoidably delayed.

Behaviour code:

- Handshake- shake hands firmly.
- Eye contact- look the interviewer in the eye and smile. Try to maintain eye contact at all times even it is a panel interview.
- Cleanliness- arrive at your interview clean and tidy.
- Dress - dress as smartly as possible! Business-like clothes are preferable. 

Most jobs have a dress code; arrive as you would expect to dress for the job, slightly smarter if possible.