Tips on Interviewing

In the section we provide you with some guidance and rules as to what you can do, and what you shouldn't do, to ensure an interview goes as well as possible.

Obviously interview success depends very much on who you are and how you sell yourself.  However, your success is also dependant on who is interviewing you and how you respond to that person.  Different interviewers will require different responses.  Interviewers will vary from the HR representative to the hiring manager to a potential colleague or even the hiring manager's boss.  Each one will have their own thoughts on you and your Resume and on what they want to hear.  Some will try to work out if you will be a good fit with the company, some will be wondering if your profile fits their idea of the perfect candidate and some will only be concerned with whether or not you can do the job.  Therefore, whilst preparation is important and even vital in areas like knowing your Resume and having some questions ready for them, there are still some general things you can do to give yourself the best chance of success.

1, Research the company. 

It is not enough to just know about the role you are going for.  It is likely they will ask you questions about the company and their culture and values.  If you don’t know the answer then just say so.  There is nothing worse than a candidate trying to make up an answer when they know they should have done the research.  Every company has a website that has information about their history, their company and their culture.  In five minutes of reading their site you could know everything you need to know.  The interviewer is not going to expect you to know everything about the company.

2, Dress conservatively. 

Give consideration to what you are going to wear and what it says about you.  You don’t want to take any risks with your dress choice.  Unless otherwise directed wear full business attire and remember it is always better in these situations to be over dressed than under dressed.

3, Don’t be late. 

Aim to arrive 5 minutes before your interview time.  5 minutes is perfect because it is not too early to distract the interviewer from what they are currently doing nor will you run the risk of being late or running to the interview and arriving out of breath.  If you do have a problem and you know you are going to be late then phone and tell them you will have difficulty making the appointment on time.  If you can, try and phone at least ten minutes before your interview time to give them enough warning.

4, Confidently present yourself. 

They wouldn’t organise an interview with you if they didn’t think you could do the job therefore try and be confident in yourself and your skills and experiences, but obviously don’t come across as arrogant.  Ensure you have a firm handshake and that you make eye contact regularly.  They will most probably start with small talk so don’t be afraid to interact with them, just don’t over do it and lose your professionalism.  If you think interviews are an opportunity for them to interrogate you then you will go in there expecting it and you will be on the defensive.  Therefore remind yourself just before you go in that they asked you for this interview because they want to know more about you and want to discuss the job opportunity, so be professional but be as relaxed as you can be and as is appropriate.

5, Be honest. 

Don't ever undersell yourself and be open and proud to share you success but don't lie or over exaggerate.  In almost all cases this won't be the first time the interviewer has conducted an interview therefore you can safely assume they have experience in knowing when people are lying or making things up just to impress them.  Furthermore, if by any chance you do get a job based on lying about past experiences it almost always comes out down the track and it never ends well.


6, Be sure you fully understand their questions. 

Some interviewers will ask technically demanding questions and some will ask questions about you and what drives you.  You may find yourself struggling with one style of questions so take your time and concentrate on what they are really asking you.  A good technique is to repeat the question back to the interviewer and ask them if you have understood it correctly.


7, Remove negative phrases from your speech. 

In all circumstances try and frame your answers and descriptions of past experiences in a positive light.  Even if there were negative experiences and you can’t frame them positively then at least, after describing them, finish on a positive note.  For example, finish by explaining how it helped you change your work practices to avoid a repeat situation, or how you learnt from the experience.

8, Structure your answers carefully. 

Most interviewers will ask you about previous accomplishments and will give you space to talk about them in detail.  It is important that you answer them in a way that they can relate to.  Interviewers like to mentally file different pieces of information therefore use the following structure when talking about your previous accomplishments: fully describe the situation you were faced with and the problem that needed to be overcome; describe how you overcame the problem and what your thinking was behind your decision making; describe the results and tell them about the positive outcomes.  They may well ask you whether there were any negative results or outcomes.  If there were then explain them clearly and openly but, as mentioned above, try to bring the experience back round to the positives rather than letting them dwell on any negative results.

9, Don’t criticise past employers or colleagues. 

It sounds obvious but be careful even when describing past experiences that you don’t let anything negative slip out.  It will have such a detrimental effect on how they will view you if you sit there and continue to talk negatively about other people.

10, Prepare questions to ask. 

This is crucial because it shows that you are engaged in the process also.  Candidates who have questions prepared come across as people who care more about the role in question and the company they could be joining.  Also prepare more questions then you will use in case you find the interviewer answers some questions during the interview.  Whatever you do make sure you are concentrating so that you don’t ask a question already answered by the interviewer.  Also, don’t ask any questions regarding remuneration.  If it is appropriate to discuss it the interviewer will raise it.

11, Finishing the interview. 

Remember that the interview hasn’t really finished until you have left the building and turned the corner.  Don’t make the mistake of becoming informal and unprofessional too soon.  When the interview finishes stand when they stand, continue to make eye contact, have a firm handshake and leave on a positive note.  Thank them for their time and tell them that you enjoyed the opportunity to meet them and interview for the role; that you feel you would be a good fit with the company and be a success at the role; and that you look forward to hearing from them soon.