10 Tips For Your Next Interview

Whether you're trying to land your dream job, going for that exciting promotion or simply starting out on your employment journey, every one of us will be tasked with completing an interview at numerous stages throughout our lifetime. Interviews can sometimes be stressful and intimidating situations but they don't have to be. Here are some tips for you to try in your next interview that will hopefully lead you to a successful outcome.

Tip 1 - Be prepared

As the old quote goes "Fail to Prepare, Prepare to Fail". Doing your research on the job you're interviewing for and the organisation and person(s) you're interviewing with is the crucial first step to any interview. You don't need to learn off the entire history of the company or research the org chart from top to bottom but you definitely want to be informed on who they are and what they do. This can be as simple of reviewing the company's website and taking a few notes or checking out the LinkedIn profile of the interviewer for any bits of information that will improve your conversation.

Tip 2 - Get off on the right foot

When we think of first impressions many examples come to mind of both good and bad first impressions. It is vitally important to make a good first impression when interviewing as you are effectively in competition with the other interviewees to land the job or position on offer. Knowing you made a good first impression will also give you the confidence to go on and perform well in an interview.

There are a number of ways to make a good first impression starting with showing up on time. Whether it is a F2F (Face to Face) interview, video conference or a phone interview you want to make sure you are ready to go before your scheduled slot. I would always recommend candidates show up for F2F interviews 5-10 minutes before their allotted time and log on to video/conference calls 5 minutes ahead of time. Any earlier and you may be putting the interviewers or their support staff under pressure and we don't want that. Additionally, for video/conference calls make sure you have a quiet space where you won't be disturbed, make sure you have the required Wifi or phone signal in this space and make sure to check your equipment (laptop or phone is charged/camera works/head phones connected etc.).

Tip 3 - Look the part

This tip ties in to the previous one of making a good impression in that you also want to look the part. Nobody is saying you need to go and break the bank on a new outfit ahead of an interview but it is important in most professional environments that you present a neat appearance. What you wear obviously depends on a number of factors including the type of role you're going for and the company you're interviewing with. First and foremost I would say wear something you are comfortable in as you don't need to be adding any undue stress to yourself on the day of an interview. Most people will have a relatively good idea on the type of attire required for an interview in their field but if I don't I would always rather be thought of as being dressed too formal rather than too casual.

Tip 4 - Maintain good posture and body language

Without wanting to sound like some of my primary school teachers scolding me in the past, make sure to sit up straight with your shoulders back and relax into your chair. By doing this you will project confidence and start the interview on the right note. Eye contact is also important as it shows you're interested, paying attention and will help develop a connection with the interviewer.

This also goes for video calls as well. Make sure you have good posture and have the camera front on where possible, as opposed to off to one side. Bonus tip is to look into the camera, it's the video call version of eye contact!

Tip 5 - Answer questions with examples

Where possible try to avoid one word or one sentence answers. Interviewers will use open questions to allow you to share your skills and experience with them. Some examples of this type of questioning include "Can you tell me about your experience working with XXX?", "When did you need to exhibit this skill?" or "How did you manage this type of situation?". This is your time to shine so make sure you flesh out your answers and use examples of where you exhibited particular skills and used a particular tool.

Tip 6 - Answer questions concisely

This tip may seem at odds with the one above but they actually go hand in hand. While we want to answer questions with examples where required, we don't want to go on and on about a topic, talking for the sake of talking. Answer the question asked, use a suitable example and move on to the next question. You don't need to labour a particular point as the interviewer will follow up if they'd like to know any additional information. This will also make the interview feel more like a conversation and less like you giving a lecture on your experience.

Tip 7 - Only speak on what you know

When interviewing for a job, especially if it's a promotion or a change of industries, you may not be able to answer every question the interviewer throws at you. This is OK. Everyone has some area that they are less familiar with or system they haven't worked on. My tip here would be to avoid the temptation to try bluff the interviewer into thinking you know more about a topic than you really do. If you do this you are only one or two follow up questions away from looking silly and potentially derailing a good interview.

One way to answer a question on a topic that you're not too comfortable with is to admit you're not familiar with it but quickly follow up with a similar topic that you are familiar on and answer their question on that topic. As an example, if I were interviewing for a role as a recruiter and an interviewer asked me to speak about my experience with high volume recruiting I would answer by saying "I actually don't have too much experience with high volume recruiting. In my career to date I have focused mainly on recruiting technical specialists but a lot of the skills transfer ...". This may not always work and lead to you landing the job but it will show that you're honest, confident enough to admit when you don't know something and have the ability to think on your feet.

Tip 8 - Have questions prepared for the interviewer(s)

The interviewer has likely spent the last 30-60 mins asking you a number of questions about your background, skills, experience and why you want this job. The questions section at the end is your chance to ask 2-3 questions to the interviewer about the job, team and company. You may have prepared questions before the interview or thought of some on the fly but it's an important part of the interview process and shows that, much like Tip 1, you've done your homework. If you need any suggestions on what type of questions you should be asking just get in touch and I'd be happy to share my top prepared questions with you to get you on the right track.

Tip 9 - Sign off

I would always encourage candidates to sign off by shaking hands (where possible) and thanking each of the interviewers for taking the time to speak with them. It's something small, granted, but you want to leave them with a good impression as a nice little bow on top of your strong interview. Another bonus tip I would offer for F2F interviews, is that you're interview starts as soon as you enter reception of the building and runs until you're walk back out the front door.

Tip 10 - Look for feedback

My final tip for interviewing is to always look for feedback, whether it be good or bad. Interviews are a great opportunity for us to learn more about ourselves in terms of how well we know our stuff and how well we perform under stressful situations. Most companies will provide you with feedback following an interview but if they don't, don't be afraid to follow up with your recruiter or the company rep that scheduled the call to request this.

Just want to say thanks to those of you that stuck with this article to the end. I hope you find it useful and it helps you with an interview in the future. If it does, please let me know. If you do find it helpful I would greatly appreciate a like or a share.

-David