Resources
Please find below a list of websites and resources that may assist you:
REC Website (Recruitment Employment Confederation)
Austin Clark Recruitment's CV Preparation and Advice:
This leaflet is designed to assist you with your interview; it contains helpful tips, guidelines and interview style questions.
Our Top 10 tips are:
- Be prepared - Body Language
- Show enthusiasm - Do your research
- Always be early and never late! - Always Listen
- Ask questions - Follow up
- First impressions always count - Answer all the questions asked
Be Prepared
If you are attending an interview where the job specified requires you to have specific qualifications/skills make sure you take along copies of your certificates and references. You should also take along a notepad and pen to take notes, your notes may enable you to ask relevant questions at the end of the interview. It is also advised to prepare some questions to ask at the interview even if they have answered them during the interview show them!!
Show Enthusiasm
It is easy to show enthusiasm for an interview with small actions such as offering a firm hand shake, using eye contact and smiling! You should speak in a confident tone and manner and if you have done your research you should be able to enthusiastically speak about the company and what they do!
Always be early and never late
This is one of the most crucial points; it’s never a bad thing to be at an interview too early, you can sit in reception and prepare some more, have a cup of tea and relax! Getting to an interview late is not a good first impression; you could also feel flustered and anxious which could affect your interviewing technique. We always suggest that you should travel to the interview the day before just to see where the premises is and how long it takes you to get there etc. If you are going to be late due to traffic or an unavoidable circumstance please phone both the agency and employer to let them know out of courtesy.
Do your research
It is key that you research the organisation before you go for interview so that you can confidently talk to the interviewer about the company and so you can answer any questions they might have for you about their business. If you don’t do any research it is likely you will be unable to answer any of their questions and therefore hinder your interview performance.
First Impressions always count
You must always dress smartly for interviews, regardless of the company’s dress code policy. It is always better to be too smart rather than too casual. Mobile phones should be switched of completely, not left on silent/vibrate as sometimes they can interfere with company equipment and if on vibrate it can still be heard.
Ask questions
Many interviewees don’t ask interviewers questions either during the interview or at the end. If you don’t feel confident to do so during the interview there is no issue with leaving them until the end. You may have thought of something important to ask and its always best to ask if you are not sure about something! Asking questions can also show how interested you are in the role.
Body Language
During the interview sit up straight and try not to slouch! Maintain regular eye contact with the interviewer and have a confident posture. If you know you’re likely to fidget or play with your hair etc place your hands on your lap!
Always listen
An interview is an opportunity to sell yourself, however you must also listen to everything your interviewer says and asks. Try not to interrupt the interviewer or talk over them! It is key to listen as they may answer a question that you were planning to ask.
Answer all the questions
Candidates often feel rushed to answer a question; there is no harm in you taking a few seconds to think about your answer. Interviewers are not there to catch you out they just want to learn more about you, your understanding of the role and your knowledge of the company. If you’re not sure what you’ve been asked or you don’t understand just ask! Make sure all of your answers are relevant to the role and that you don’t give vague answers.
Follow up
Make sure you phone your contact at the recruitment agency when you leave to let them know that you’ve finished and what your feedback is. The sooner you do this the sooner the consultant can phone the client to ask for their feedback and hopefully be able to offer you a second interview or even the job!
Potential Interview questions:
Here are some questions that are likely to be asked at Interview... before your interview plan what would you respond to the questions with on a piece of paper or set up a mock interview with a friend!
1) Tell me about yourself?
2) What qualifies you for this job?
3) Why do you want to work for this company?
4) What do you know about this company?
5) Why are you leaving your current role?
6) Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
7) What are your weaknesses?
8) What are your strengths?
9) Describe a scenario where you have had to deal with a difficult customer; how was this resolved?
10) What do you know about the job role?
11) What interests you most about the role?
