Talk your way to the top

Tips and tricks for successful interviews

So you’ve gone through our fantastic Get Ahead in Job Hunting, you’ve used CV Sorcerer and made your application with all the great advice in Get Ahead in Presenting Yourself...

And now you’ve got an interview! Great!

Isn’t it?

Don’t panic.

Here’s a selection of top tips to help you on your way to landing that dream job.

First things first!

You have been invited for interview. That means that they think you can do the job. Employers are busy people and they won’t be inviting you along just to make up the numbers. You look good on paper, they just want to be reassured that you are as good in person.

They have faith in you - have faith in yourself.

Top tips for interview success

Prepare

The better you prepare the more confident you will feel. So read back over the original job advertisement and your covering letter and application. If you sent examples of artwork or articles ensure you have the right ones in your portfolio ready to take to the interview.

But it’s just as important to find out more - go to the website, search for articles on the company in the national newspapers online, go to the library and see if there is anything in trade magazines or press. If they are really big you can try looking in company searches in your local library or ring the reception personally and get hold of a copy of their accounts - it goes down well at interview and gives you lots of inside info.

Look right

Scary fact: - you have 10 to 20 seconds to make a favourable first impression. So give yourself a head start by looking right for the part. Combats and trainers would settle you in nicely at a web design agency but they’d have you out the door of a management consultancy. Whatever you wear, make sure you look neat and clean!

Smile

Smiling creates the right impression and makes the interviewer think of you positively. You should also extend this to your answers in the interview, for instance " Yes the journey was fine" rather than "I had a better time coming out of my mother’s birth canal!" or "I really enjoy my current job but I’m ready for greater challenge."rather than "The place is a dump and the people are trolls."

Turn up

Sounds obvious doesn’t it? But employers are busy and set interviews at certain times in order to fit them around the rest of their work! However, if you are late don’t panic. Call the company, explain the situation and give an estimate of the time you will arrive. Isn’t it amazing how often trains run late?

Don’t lie

Employer: "You don’t seem to have the experience we require for this position."

You: "It might seem like that but actually I have work experience working with Sir Norman Foster designing the Dome, Angel of the North and Buckingham Palace."

Employer: " And how is Norman? I was at university with him you know."

Ah...This is why you don’t lie.

Here are another couple of reasons, just to make sure the point gets across: -

> If you end up in a job and aren’t able to do something you claimed you could you’ll look pretty silly.

> It makes any contract with your employer null and void. They can sack you. On the spot. Without compensation.

Body Language

More scariness: - between 60-80% of our message is communicated through our body language, only 7-10% through the actual words we use! So it’s useful to know some ways of impressing.

Handshake - make it firm, but don’t crush their hand. Try practising on your mum.

Eye contact - look at the person interviewing you. If there is a panel interview the rule of thumb is to focus on the last person that spoke, but do try and glance round at the other occasionally.

Tilting your head - it shows interest.

Brisk, measured walk - demonstrate that you are confident.

Arms - don’t cross them, just rest them in your lap. It shows you are open and relaxed, even if you aren’t!

Ask questions

It would be a bit weird if you turned up at an interview and were asked no questions, wouldn’t it? They take it seriously enough not just to accept what you’ve written on paper. And you need to ask questions for the same reason! You need to find out about the company and what it would be like to work there. You might want to find out why the job has become vacant, how long most people work there etc.

End on a positive note

Thank them for seeing you and shake hands again. Leave positively! Even if you have just advised them to examine their parentage.

And finally....

What if it doesn’t go as well as you hoped and you don’t get the job.

Firstly - it’s not the end of the world!!!

Secondly - follow up. Find out if there was anything in particular that meant that you didn’t get the job. Write or ring - you might get a good tip for your next interview.

Good luck!

Katie Streten