Getting to the interview stage means the employer is interested in your skills and background. Now all you need to do now is to confirm that they are right! The ball is in your court so optimise your chance of getting the role by following these five interview tips.
PRACTICE
Practice is the key to success! Many candidates go for an interview without preparation and find themselves struggling or hesitating when answering simple questions. To avoid that embarrassing situation, practise at home beforehand, reflect on your last experiences, successes, failures, key achievements, strengths, weaknesses, motivation…
Then, pretend you’re in an interview by answering suitable questions to either your friends, partner or even in front of the mirror.
Another great exercise is to look back at the job description and for each selection criteria, describe how your skills match the standards by providing detailed example.
Practice will help you being more confident and therefore less nervous at the interview.
RESEARCH
Do your homework and find out more about the organisation and the interviewers as well, prior to the interview.
So you can match your answer according to what you have found about the organisation and potentially relate to the interviewers. Employers are often impressed when the candidate showed that they did their homework, and went to the effort to find out more about them.
BE ORGANISED
Plan your trip in advance. Aim to arrive to the interview location 10 minutes early. Also write down the details of who you are meeting. Arriving late for an interview will give you the worst first impression and decrease your chance of being successful.
Also, have some professional clothes ready to go, you want to give a strong first impression it takes only three to five seconds for someone to form a good first impression.
QUESTIONS
Have a list of questions ready about the role and the company. It shows that you have done your homework but also it shows that you care and have an interest for the role.
SELL YOURSELF
The purpose of the interview is to sell yourself to the future employer. You want to leave with them believing you are the one they need! It is important that at the end of the meeting, you have demonstrated how your experience and attitude will match their requirements.
Do not simply answer questions with a yes or no, provide example and more details. Always keep in mind while answering questions how your expertise will benefit them.
Show confidence and take the time to answer the questions the best way possible.
To help you, there are different techniques to use to make sure your answer the questions appropriately: one of them is the STAR approach: Situation, Task, Action and Result.
Now it’s down to you!
Leila Boubahlouli, IT Recruitment Consultant
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