If you’ve been invited for an interview, seize the opportunity to show you are the right person for the job. Planning in advance will go a long way to help your chance of success.
Here are some interview tips from Hannah Jackson, Career Services Manager at Connect by Nova, a not-for-profit offering high-quality and professional careers, employment and training advice.
1. PREPARE BEFORE YOUR INTERVIEW
RESEARCH THE COMPANY
In an interview, you may be asked what you know about the organisation, so you want to have done some research so that you aren’t caught off-guard. Even if you aren’t directly asked this question, try to find an opportunity to sprinkle relevant information in the interview, such as new products, services or ventures the organisation may have recently announced, as it showcases your interest and engagement. If you are working with a recruitment agency, ask your recruiter if they have any insights about the organisation, team, or hiring manager that would help you be more prepared for the interview.
RESEARCH YOUR INTERVIEWER (IF KNOWN)
It’s not always possible, but if you are privy to who the interview will be with, take time to check out their company bio/LinkedIn profile. You can arm yourself with a better idea about what they are looking for in a new hire, and when the time comes, ask more meaningful questions.
DRESS FOR SUCCESS
You perform at your best when you look your best and feel your best. A clean and neat professional appearance is essential to making an excellent first impression. You want the focus of the interview to focus on you and your skills, not your appearance.
2. KNOW YOUR EXPERIENCE & PREPARE ANSWERS
This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’re going to need to be able to speak about your experience, skills, and expertise in an interview. You should confidently be able to highlight why you would be an asset to the company and where you would add value to their team. Think about what you have done in the past, what you are doing now, and what you would like to do in the future.
MATCH YOUR SKILLS TO THE ROLE
When going into an interview, you should be able to speak to specific skills and experiences that meet the needs of the role in question. Start with the job ad/description and look for the keywords that signal the essential qualities and skills the hiring team is looking for (this is what employers often term a ‘competency’). Once you have that list, create another parallel list of 8-10 of your skills and experience that match the job’s competencies that you just picked out.
USE THE STAR TECHNIQUE
Once you have identified the competencies and examples from your own experience, you need to craft the perfect story to showcase those skills in an interview. It can be challenging to tell a story that is to the point and covers all the important details; use the STAR technique to help structure your answers by laying out the Situation, Task, Action, and Result.
Situation:
Set the scene and give the necessary details of your example.
Task:
Describe what your responsibility was in that situation.
Action:
Explain exactly what steps you took to address the issue/ task, ensuring you’re focusing on one of the skills/competencies you identified earlier.
Result:
Share what outcomes your actions achieved, where possible, using numbers to quantify the result. Ideally, you should have at least one story/anecdote from your experience for each of the key competencies you picked out of the job description; this is the best way to ensure you’re prepared for any question the interviewer may throw at you.
3. PREPARE QUESTIONS TO ASK THE INTERVIEWER
Don’t be afraid to ask questions when you’re in an interview; this is your chance to ensure this is a good fit for you just as much as a chance for them to see if you are a good fit for their needs. Come up with some questions you genuinely want answered ahead of the interview, and bring them with you in a notebook so you can ensure you don’t forget anything crucial. Having questions prepared shows that you are engaged in the interview and genuinely interested in the position, but it also demonstrates that you are taking the interview process seriously, which will impress your interviewer.
Potential questions to ask:
1. What have past employees done to succeed in this position?
2. How do you help your staff grow professionally?
3. What are the company’s key priorities over the next five years?
4. How would you describe the working culture in the organisation/team?
5. What do you enjoy most about working here?
4. FOLLOW UP WITH A THANK YOU
The interview may be over, but it shouldn’t end there. Send an email thanking the company/interviewer for the opportunity. If you think the role is an excellent fit for your career goals and experience, express why you believe this is the case and your genuine interest in your thank you message.
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