How to prepare for a job interview
Wednesday, 17, Mar 2010 12:00
You spent hours crafting your CV and covering letter and successfully managed to secure an interview. Apart from scanning the company website and choosing the perfect outfit, you may be wondering what you should do in order to prepare for the big day.
Pre-interview preparation is just as important as the way that you behave when you meet your potential employer for the first time. If you show up ill-equipped to answer the interview questions, you'll be doing yourself a major disservice.
Unleash your inner Sherlock Holmes
The first step towards interview success is to find out everything you can about the company you could soon be calling your employer. Reading the firm's website is a good start, but this is not where your detective work should end.
Keep an eye on the news or search online publications to make sure you're up to date on any current developments that involve the company. You may find information on a new initiative that will earn you Brownie points in the interview room.
There's never been a better time to flex your networking skills. If you know anyone who is connected to the firm in any way, take them out to coffee and find out whether they can give you any insight that may be useful. If you can, find out what the company's strategy for growth is and think of how your career goals fit in.
Plan your route
Punctuality may not be an attribute you listed on your CV, but if you're late for your interview, it will suggest that you have poor planning and time management skills. If you can't arrive at an interview on time, how can you be trusted to meet deadlines?
Some recruitment experts recommend travelling to your potential new offices in advance to make sure you are 100% certain of how to get there and how long the journey will take you. Be sure to do so on a weekday in case travel times are different over weekends.
Prepare your answers in advance
To avoid stage fright and ensure you portray yourself in the best possible light, it's advisable to prepare answers to questions your interviewer is likely to ask.
While you shouldn't repeat these answers parrot fashion on the day, a little preparation will ensure that you'll have to do less on-the-spot thinking and more talking. Your interviewer will expect you to come prepared, so live up to these expectations.
A good place to start is to re-read the job description and find work experiences or achievements that are aligned with the attributes and skills your potential new employer is looking for.
You also need to know why you've applied for the job, where this new role sits in terms of your career plans and what your long-term career goal is. You need to convince your interviewer that you value the role in question and are not simply applying for the job because you're desperate for work.
Know how to explain the gaps in your CV
In addition to knowing your strengths, you also need to think of ways to explain the weaknesses in your CV. If you took a year off to travel through South America, for example, you could say that experiencing new cultures and languages has always been your dream.
Think of all this groundwork as part of the job application process. With enough preparation, you'll go into your interview feeling confident and convince your interviewer that you're the best person for the job.