10 job interview pieces of advice, tips and suggestions to help ready you to face the interviewer.
This is a quick summary to help ace the job interview. Click the links for more a detailed breakdown of interview advice.
Job Interview Advice – What are the things you should never say in an interview?
A job interview is designed to test if an applicant is a ‘good fit’ for the organisation.
As each company is different, they all have their own values and vision, applicants should approaches each job interview differently.
But, a career professional excels in an organisation that has a culture that fits, naturally, with their temperament. In this sense, applicants can be themselves , and say whatever they like – for some interviews this would result in a job rejection (but the career professional may not of enjoyed working within this culture) or a job offer (and is likely to excel)
Saying that, though, there is a couple of common mistakes applicants make during the job interview; the common no-no’s during a job interview:
- Don’t talk about salary until an employer brings this up
- Don’t put up barriers by stating that there is an expectation to work out a long notice period
- Don’t ask personal questions unrelated to the job sector or company
Job Interview Advice – How do you make a good impression during the interview
Likeability is the key to interview success
A confident self-promoter, research shows, is more likely to gain employment then a quiet applicant who easily self-discloses weaknesses.
5 tips to create a good impression (basic but powerful)
- Smile
- Open gestures
- Use Stories and examples
- Find commonality with the interviewer
- Highlight a high level of industry knowledge and experience
Job interview Advice – How to answer interview questions
Before preparing a job interview answer, it is important to understand the structure of the job interview itself.
Each Interviewer asks different types of interview questions. A good rule of thumb when answering any job interview question is to state, confidently, that you have the required skill or experience
“In my last role this was one of my main duties…”
Second, give an example “an example of this was….”
And finally create a summary “to end I have 6 years experience of (skill)..”
Job Interview Advice – How to prepare for the job interview
Job interview preparation is key to a successful career.
First ensure you have put time aside to prepare for the forthcoming job interview.
Second write down a list of sector related job interview questions. Use the job profile or job criteria to predict the job interview question.
Finally, write down your interview answers and ‘role play’ until the answers are second nature.
Job Interview Advice – What do say in an interview presentation
Interview presentations are becoming more common.
Having to create an interview presentation is a big barrier from many applicants as this isn’t an easy to require skill.
By breaking the interview preparation down into 3 steps can help creates an easy strategy to work with.
- Have a beginning, middle and end (open, main body and summary)
- Use one slide per minutes with little text
- Have one key message that runs through the theme of the interview presentation
Job Interview Advice – How to start an interview
The interview handshake creates the first impression.
Once an applicant has been invited to the interview, it is the employer who will start the interview, often by making small talk (to relax the applicant)
Applicants need to be polite by introducing themselves to the other interviewers.
The applicant, to come across well at the interview start, can create a conversation by asking the interviewer questions rather than just answering their questions.
It is important at the interview start to communicate with confidence, discussing sector-related information as this creates a positive interview identity.
Job Interview Advice – How to be more confident in a job interview
Interview confidence comes from being well prepared.
Applicants can use mind tricks to increase confidence
- Imagine a positive interview where everything is going well. By imagining a confident version of yourself creates the feeling of confidence
- Remember industry-related successes to remind yourself of your high level of sector skills
- Stand with confidence as the mind-body connection makes you feel confident if you stand with confidence
Job Interview Advice – What common mistakes do people make in a job interview?
There are 3 key mistakes applicants make who constantly fail in job interviews. These interview mistakes are often unconscious but have a terrible effect on the outcome of the job interview
- Self-discloses weaknesses, past mistakes and negative traits without being promoted by the interview panel
- Talk to quickly (and therefore not understood) or say to little (and not hit the job criteria resulting in a low scoring answer)
- Makes no effort to build likability or rapport with the employer
Job Interview Advice – How does a structured interview work?
The competency based job interview is the most common of all job interviews.
Each applicant, in a structured job interview, is asked the same 10 job interview questions. The question, recorded on an interview scorecard, comes with a scoring mechanism, often a score of 1-4.
The more job criteria a candidate states the high a score they will receive, with the highest-scoring applicant being offered the advertised role.
Job Interview Advice – How to end an interview
Job interviews are evolving.
There is a new style of job interview questions being asked.
No matter what type of interview an applicant attends; video interview, structured interview, informal interview, the applicant has a chance to ask their own interview questions at the interview end.
The standard questions to ask an employer are:
- What development opportunities are there?
- Can you describe the team dynamics?
- What makes you want to work for the organisation?
- What does the organisation value the most?
- When am I likely to hear back from you?
Job Interview Advice
