Tips on Interview Preparation

Is the thought of an interview making you put your job search on hold?

I speak with many people, some of them seasoned professionals and others who are newly qualified accountants that tell me the thought of interviewing for a new job makes them feel anxious and stressed. I often hear “maybe I should do a couple of interviews for roles that I am not interested in so I can get interview practice” – my advice is to not do this! By doing this, you are not only wasting your own time but that of the companies.

I have put together five key tips and pointers on what to do when an opportunity you have been waiting for comes knocking.

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1.??????Learn as much as you can about the company.

Firstly, if you are applying through a recruiter, he/she should give you very valuable insights about the company, the trajectory, the vision, the core values, the team, the role, and the interviewers.?After the call with your recruitment consultant, there should be very few questions left unanswered.

If you are applying directly then google is your best friend! Look at multiple sources such as company’s website, news & article releases about the organisation, and research on LinkedIn who the interviewers are and what is their professional background.

2.??????You know what you do, but can you verbally deliver it?

A lot of what we do every day we do on autopilot, you have been doing the job for years so, of course, you know what to do and how to do it, but can you articulate it in a way that really shows just how knowledgeable and experienced you are?

If you find talking about yourself challenging, then my advice is to make a plan the night before the interview and write it out. I am not saying to write out essays, but write bullet points, how will you start, what is your introduction to yourself, what you do every day, and what did you do in your last role which I am sure seems like ages ago, but relevant none the less.

Having that plan gives you structure and makes you feel more confident and prepared and should help to ease the nerves because you know what you’re going to say and how you are going to say it! It may sound silly but I often suggest standing in front of a mirror and practising this – trust me it works!

This plan is to guide you in your head so please if you are interviewing via Zoom, do not have it opened in front of you. It is not about how well and how fast you can read after all ??

3.??????Read the job description with your own experience in mind.

Now you would think this one goes without saying, but it is so important to understand what the role entails and how is your experience relevant. Go through that job description and tick off everything you have done to date. These are the first areas you will be highlighting to the interviewer when talking about your own experience because this is where you can demonstrate that you are the person for this job. These are the key bullet points in your plan!

There might be areas in which you don’t have experience yet, which sometimes puts candidates off from applying for the job or makes them feel nervous going into the interview. This should not hold you back as this is your opportunity to progress and grow professionally. The interview is not about focusing on the gaps in your experience, so first, concentrate on the areas you know you excel at.

Of course,?you never ignore the gaps and being aware of the areas you don’t have exposure to helps. Make sure to research and read about these areas. In my experience, 9 times out of 10 the hiring manager will appreciate the effort you have gone to, to ensure you have at least some understanding and/or knowledge rather than just saying no I haven’t done that before.

I recently worked with a candidate who didn’t have exposure to IFRS17 and so he made this part of his “homework” did the research and got the job! It was the fact that this person had gone above and beyond that impressed the hiring manager. He felt it spoke volumes about the type of professional they are, it demonstrated their enthusiasm for the role and proved that they were ready to upskill to succeed.

4.??????If you have done well this far, please don’t shoot yourself in the foot by asking unreasonable questions.

The interview is not the time to ask about the working hours, whether there is overtime and?the salary and benefits. If you have worked closely with a recruiter then you should already know the answers to these questions. If you have applied directly, these questions may still be unanswered for you but rest assured there will be time to ask these questions at the offer stage.?

Good questions and appropriate questions to ask are about the company culture, the challenges the team is facing, what challenges you may face in this role, what are key deliverables for this role in the first 12 months, are there any interesting projects coming up, why do they enjoy working in the company etc.

You might go into the interview and prepare really good questions but please don’t stick to asking them if they have already been answered by the interviewer in the process of describing the role, the team and the organisation. Simply say I had some questions prepared, however, you have already answered those for me in the process, thank you.

5.??????Professionalism

Dress for the job you want and always be on time. This is the last point simply because I work with highly skilled professionals and feel that I don’t need to state the obvious.

The above is part of my interview preparation with the people I represent and I hope you have found it helpful. If you are still nervous about applying for that role you wish you had please remember the interview is a two-way street, both parties are there to demonstrate “why them”.?