Your guide: everything you need to be interview ready!

Congratulations on securing an interview! Here’s my guide to ensure you have everything you need to give you the best chance of acing it...

1.?????Research the company. Let’s start with an obvious, but important one. Do your research on the company and go the extra mile with it! Reading up on the company beforehand will never be a bad thing. You’ll really stand out against the people that didn’t do it, or only did the minimum. Delve a little deeper… scroll through the company’s LinkedIn page (or other social media), find out if they featured in the news recently, maybe there’s a charity that they support? The fact that you took time to do this will really impress the interviewer and only demonstrates further how interested you are in joining them.

2.?????Research the interviewer. If you can, try do a little research on who you’ll be meeting with before the interview. If they’re on LinkedIn, you could even have a look at their background, understand their role in the company and if they’re a regular poster, perhaps get an insight into their professional interests. TOP TIP: If you’re being supported by a recruiter, this is usually something they will be able to help you with! Feel free to ask them questions about the interviewer; their role in the company, personality, and interviewing style (they might have some insider information that could be invaluable!).

3.?????Prepare yourself for those questions. Of course, we can never know exactly what an interviewer might ask us, but there are usually some typical questions that get asked during an interview such as “Tell me about yourself?” and “What are your greatest strengths/weaknesses?”. It will take some stress away knowing that you’ve prepared for these questions to come up and allow you to focus more on the questions you perhaps weren’t so prepared for.

4.?????Utilise the job description. Spend some time going over the responsibilities that are outlined in the job description and really build an idea of what they are looking for. Then think about your experience and how you can demonstrate that it aligns with this. Get ready to talk about your skills, studies, and examples of what you’re doing in your career so far that are relevant and valuable to this specific role! This also gives you an opportunity to identify any gaps in your experience, and take a moment to plan how you will address these. It’s normal to not meet the criteria 100%, but how you handle the questions about these gaps are key. Showing a willingness to learn and awareness always goes a long way!

5.?????Arrive early. If you’re going for an on-site meeting, plan your route ahead of time and be prepared for delays/traffic. It’s much better to get there early and give yourself time to have a drink and a last look through your notes, than to get there five minutes before and arrive flustered. The same advice is applicable for virtual meetings too.

6.?????Get ahead of technical issues. We’re starting to see interviews conducted online more than ever before! If you are meeting for the first time online, make sure you test for potential technical issues beforehand – are your webcam and sound working? Is the internet connection strong enough? Give a friend a test call the day before and check, as you don’t want to get caught out by these things last minute.

7.?????Fuel yourself! It can be easy to skip a meal when you’re busy prepping for an interview, but don’t underestimate the power of treating yourself to a nice breakfast (or lunch) before your meeting. It will only increase your alertness and ability to focus!

8.?????Ask questions. Have a few questions ready to ask (usually at the end of the meeting) – not only will this show that you’re engaged and genuinely interested to learn about the company, it helps to avoid an awkward silence at the end of the meeting. The interview process is just as important for you to determine if there is a good fit, as it is for the company. To learn more about culture, development potential and the team, you must ask questions.?

9.?????Okay, final one… Try to stay calm and just be yourself! As much as you want to impress a potential employer, don’t overthink things too much and cause yourself extra stress (I know this is easier said than done sometimes). See this as an opportunity not only to showcase how you could be an asset to their company, but to generally have an interesting conversation, and learn something new. Don’t forget, you’re also gauging if you get a good feeling and could see yourself being happy within the team.

Do you have any other helpful tips for interviews? If so, I’d love to hear them!

If you need some support with an upcoming interview, please feel welcome to contact me at [email protected]

I guess all I have left to say now is: good luck, you’ve absolutely got this!