Preparing for an interview

Congratulations on securing an interview – you’ve done the hard bit. The interview stage can be daunting, it is a pivotal stage, but thorough preparation gives you confidence that will help you do your best in an interview. Interviews are the moment when you have the opportunity to make a lasting impression, showcase your skills and experiences, and secure that dream job or internship. In this comprehensive guide, we will provide you with 5 proven strategies to help you prepare for interviews effectively, boost your confidence, and increase your chances of success.

1) Plan ahead to make the best first impressions

We know it sounds simple, but if you are feeling nervous this first step will help you familiarise yourself with the location and the journey to the interview, which will boost your confidence.

• Plan your journey

• Plan to arrive 10 minutes early, not before.

• Once you get there, be approachable to all staff, security, and anyone in the lifts that you happen to meet.

• Dress code is the next thing to think about – we have 7 seconds to make a first impression so how you present yourself is an essential part of interview prepping. Dress formally- it is best to try and research the company and dress for the sort of role you are going for,

• Don’t chew gum and present yourself in the best way you can.

• Shake the interviewer’s hand, firm and confidently – but don’t crush their hand!

• Take a notebook and pen with you.

2) Research – the company and the job

The company will want you to demonstrate that you understand what they do and have spent some time researching this. We have broken this task down into a couple of bitesize places for you to start spend time on. Make some notes to help you find 3 - 5 reasons why you want to work at the company.   Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / LinkedIn (you must do all, not just a couple)

• What type of content are they publishing?

• How many followers do they have?

• What kind of interaction do they have on their social media?

• Which channel is the most popular, and why do you think this?

• Do you see room for improvement? What would you do differently?

  Company website

• Be able to explain what the company does in ONE sentence

• Who are their main customers?

• What can you learn from their blog?

• Do they have any awards?

• Who is the CEO – look at their Twitter and LinkedIn accounts

• What are their company values? Do you like them?

  Review websites

• Review the company on Google / TrustPilot / FeeFo / reviews. What are their customers saying about them?

• You can also find out current and previous employee reviews and experiences at the company on Glassdoor – a great source of information.

  Find out what you can about the interviewer.

• Who are you meeting? Is it more than one person?

• What is their job title(s)?

• Look them up on LinkedIn

• How long have they been in the current role?

• Have they been promoted within the company?

• What different jobs and companies have they had/worked at prior?

• What uni and course did they do?

• Do you have any common connections?

• Google them before, try to find something in common: university, course, interests, companies, friends in common.

3) Research - The job spec

Research and find out 3 - 5 reasons why you want this job and why you are the perfect for it. Read the description a couple of times, print it off and take it with you. You must be able to explain what the advertised job is, and understand what the responsibilities are.

• What skills and experience do you have that match the requirements?

• What excites you about the role?

• Is there something on the spec that you don’t have? This is important to identify and then have an answer prepared to explain the gap, or how you would overcome this. Ie. If you are questioned that you have no experience managing social media channels – you could say ‘Although I have no prior experience managing a professional social channel, I use socials myself and understand the technology. I also am aware of the many online resources available to help me upskill.’

• What is not clear about the spec? You can then work this into a question to ask during the interview to help the flow feel more conversational.

• What examples do you have the demonstrate the skills and experience that are on the job spec?

4) Knowing yourself

These are generic questions you will find in any job interview be it for a role in a supermarket right up to senior roles. The interviewer will expect you to be able to explain your CV, from your degree, positions of responsibility at uni, to any work, paid or volunteering. You should be able to do this from the top of your head without hesitation.

• What inspires / motivates you?

• What are your passions / hobbies in life?

• What are your strengths?

• What are your weaknesses?

• How do you like to be managed?

• What has been your biggest challenge? – interviewers love this question.

• How do you manage conflict?

5) Prepare thoughtful questions to ask at the end

This is a really important bit to plan! Aim for 10 questions and take them written down. An employer will always ask you at the end of the interview if you have any questions. The only answer is "Yes!" This is your chance to show the interview prep that you have done. Your questions should be a mix of what you really need to know to decide if you want the job AND strategic questions to demonstrate your curiosity and thinking. There are 4 areas to make sure you have asked questions in; job, team, interviewer, and the company. 1. About the job

• What tasks are involved?

• Who will be your line manager?

• How will I know if I am doing a good job?

• What are the key skills that I will learn in this job?

• What will be the biggest challenge for me?

• What will I enjoy the most?

• What are my KPIs? (Key performance indicators)

  2. About the team

• Who else is in the team?

• What do the other team members do?

• How will I work with them?

• How long have they been working together?

• What other teams does will you interact with?

  3. About the interviewer

• How long have you been working in the company?

• Why did you join the company?

• Tell me more about your role

• What do you enjoy about it?

• Will we be working together?

  4. About the company

• What is the growth strategy?

• Who is your favourite / best customer and why?

• Who would be your ideal customer?

• What is the biggest challenge that the company faces right now?

• How does this job support the company objectives?

• What are the company values?

• How do people celebrate success here?

• Do you plan to expand into new countries?

• Do you plan to operate in different languages?

• Do you plan to offer different services and products to your existing ones?

If you have an interview face to face, take a notebook with you, with the questions that you would like to ask. When you sit down take out your notebook, open on the relevant page and leave it there in case you forget your questions! Find some online resources to help you plan your questions, Prospects is a helpful source as is Harvard Business Review. And lastly, good luck!