Your Recruit for Good consultant will assist you with your preparation, however you should also conduct your own research.
Know the organisation - Study their website, understand their purpose, vision or mission (if they have one), read their blogs, look at their social media sites and research relevant articles on their recent activity. Have they won awards recently? Who are their competitors? Do you know any employees, or ex-employees of the organisation that you could talk with?
Know where you are going - Check the address and save it in your phone. Work out how to get there the day before. Give yourself plenty of time and aim to arrive 10 minutes early, particularly if you are relying on public transport.
Know what is in your CV - It is important to be able to discuss any aspect of your CV such as why you studied a particular course at university, or the part that you played in a particular project.
Have questions for the interviewers - As well as ensuring that you ’sell’ yourself, you should also be considering questions for the interviewer on aspects of the role, such as:
Why has the position become available?
How would you describe the culture of your organisation?
What is the policy of your organisation on training and development?
What are the future plans of the organisation?
At the end of the interview, it is worthwhile asking - What is the next step from here?
Know who you will be meeting - Check the profile of the interviewer via the organisation’s website and LinkedIn.
Prepare for typical interview questions that often come up such as:
Why do you wish to leave your current organisation?
Why are you interested in joining this organisation?
What do you like most in your current position?
What do you dislike most in your current position?
What do you bring to this position?
What types of people do you work well with/not work well with?
What would you say have been your greatest successes in your current position?
In hindsight, is there anything you would have done differently in your current position?
Could you please describe your most challenging day? How did you resolve the challenges? How did it all work out? Was there anything you learned from this? Is there anything you would have done differently?
Give us examples of how your management style has been effective?
How would a colleague describe you?
If I was to ask your manager, the question – What is the one thing that you could work on that would help you going forward – What would they say?
If I was to ask someone who likes you to describe you, what would they say?
If I was to ask someone who disliked you to describe you, what would they say?
What do you expect from your manager?
What do you expect from your colleagues?
What is the most difficult thing you have ever done at work?
What are your long-term goals?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Depending upon the role you are applying for, be prepared to answer questions with examples to demonstrate stakeholder management, conflict management and problem solving.
The Interview
Here are some pointers that will help you to make a good impression during the interview:
Make sure you are dressed appropriately. ie Suit? Business Casual? If in doubt, it is best to dress more formerly
Speak clearly.
Don’t waffle.
Try to avoid buzzwords.
Make good eye contact.
Be friendly.
Be positive and polite.
Conduct yourself in a professional manner.
Never be derogatory to former employers, or other people, as you never know who knows who.
Answer questions using examples where possible.
If you do not understand the question, ask the interviewer to repeat the question.
Closing the interview
It is important to leave the interviewer with a positive impression - thank them for the opportunity to meet with them and for their time. If you are still interested in the position, make sure they know. If they ask you whether you are interested in the position, avoid statements such as “I’ll think about and get back to you” – It is best to be decisive. If you are interested, tell them “yes”.
It is also good practice to ask the interviewers what the next step is from here. This will show that you are interested, and it will help you to understand the hiring process a little better.
Immediately afterwards, note down your thoughts on the interview and any questions that you might have while they are still fresh in your mind.
Call your Recruit for Good Consultant as soon as possible with feedback. The sooner you do this, the sooner we can speak to the hiring organisation to obtain feedback from them.