Preparing for an Interview

 So you're sat waiting in reception 10 minutes before your interview and panic sets in. How are you going to convince them you're right for the job? What happens if they ask you a question you can't answer? Or they pick up on that one mistake on your career and spend 20 minutes grilling you about it, skewing the whole interview away from your real achievements?

If you’re only thinking about this now you’re too late! Spending time preparing before an interview is a must if you want to be confident, professional and impress in an interview. Put simply the more preparation you put in beforehand, the better you will do in interview. The basics of this are to know your own CV well and to do your research.

Knowing your CV is more than just being able to talk through your employment history. Review your own CV critically, and try to think of how it might look to an employer. What areas might they have concerns in? Where will their focus be when they read it? If you try to anticipate some of their questions in advance, you'll be much harder to fluster as you'll already have an answer prepared. You should also try to pick out two or three key achievements - examples of projects, work you've done really well or challenges you have overcome - to talk about when going through your career history. This helps to keep your points relevant, positive and will illustrate your experience much better than if you simply list your duties. Having these examples pre-prepared will help you stand out from the competition, and you will appear more confident.

 Secondly, do your research! If there is a job description and personal specification available then read them thoroughly - if not, your recruitment agent can fill you in on the job brief, or there may be more about the role online. Make sure you have a look at the firm's website and research them online for recent news stories or their financials. If you know who will be interviewing you, see if they are on the website or LinkedIn. A little background knowledge might help you focus on relevant points of your experience, or you might find out your interviewer worked somewhere you know - not only a great icebreaker but will help you relax and build rapport in the interview.

More is definitely more in terms of preparation. If you’re pressed for time then even half an hour preparing for your interview will help you walk into that interview room with a spring in your step.

If there are any questions you dread hearing in an interview, share them below! How did answer them? What would you have said instead with hindsight?