Interview Tips

Do your research

Before going into any interview you should know as much as possible about who you’re meeting and this means research. Start with the company’s website – learn a little about their history, their products and services, what countries they’re in, who their partners are, any recent news releases, etc. Then do a search (www.yahoo.com or www.google.com) on the company and their market – read any other news articles, find out about their competitors, find out about developments in the market that may impact them. You might want to call some people in the industry that you know to get the inside story.

Finally do some research on the person you’re meeting – their background, any articles they’ve been quoted in, etc. If not accessible on the web your agency should be able to give you at least some information.

Why do you need to do this? Because you will come across as prepared and knowledgeable. You will be able to ask informed questions and spend precious interview time getting a much deeper perspective on your potential employer. You may pick up a very small bit of information that will enable you to build a high level of rapport with your interviewer. You may even be asked what you know about the company. In summary you don’t necessarily know if or how it will help you but being prepared is the first step towards success.

Note: It is possible to over prepare so generally we recommend doing your research a few days in advance and coming into the interview clear headed. You should always try to be focused on listening to / reading the interviewer rather than trying to remember endless facts and figures.

Understand the role

Your agent should be able to give you a good perspective on the role but if not, ask for more information before the interview. Research is another good avenue to understanding how a role traditionally fits into an organisation. An internet search on similar roles will normally turn up some good information.

If you have a good, basic understanding of the role you will be able to ask informed questions that show that you know what you’re talking about and that allow you to glean more detailed information.

Be prepared for behavioural questions

Some interviewers will use behavioural questioning techniques so it’s always useful to prepare for these. As a guide have a think about things such as your proudest achievement, your biggest challenge and how you overcame it, a time you bent the rules (without being unethical!), a time you had to resolve a conflict with a customer, etc.

Make sure when answering these types of questions you are very specific about your involvement. Answering the question in broad terms, e.g. “We won a large deal with BHP” doesn’t give the interviewer any information about you and can lead them to think that your involvement was actually minimal.

Prepare your own questions

If you’ve done some research you’ll probably have a bunch of questions for the interviewer about the role, the company, etc. It always helps to write these down although we don’t advise taking the list into interview with you – writing them down simply helps to remember them.

A step further than this is to prepare questions that are appropriate for the person you’re interviewing with. As an example you might prepare questions for an HR Manager about career progression, employee retention strategies, training, the culture of the organisation, your potential manager’s management style, etc. You might ask a CEO about strategic grow plans, financial performance, investors, etc.

Know where you’re going and arrive early

There’s nothing worse than rushing for an interview and / or turning up late. Being flustered can throw you right off and it’s very difficult to get back on the front foot after a poor initial impression. We always recommend printing out a map (www.whereis.com.au), figuring out where you need to go and aiming to arrive 10 min early. Your agent should inform you if there is parking, give you some directions, etc. If you’re going to be late, call your agent ASAP so they can let the client know.

Greet the interviewer properly

First impressions are critical and the small things go a long way. It sounds simple it can be easy to forget to shake hands firmly, look them in the eye and SMILE! It’s amazing how easy it is to forget to smile but it goes a long way to creating rapport.

Build rapport

Before and after interviews there’s often an awkward moment where you need to engage in small talk. A good technique is to pick up on something small to comment on or ask about. It doesn’t have to be an amazingly insightful comment as conversations usually get started with something pretty mundane and it’s a lot better than awkward silence!

It pays to smile, be courteous and friendly to everyone you meet. You’d be surprised at how many candidates are declined because they were arrogant towards a receptionist. Conversely it can be surprisingly helpful to have a receptionist tell your potential manager how nice you seemed.

Remembering someone’s name is critical – try not to go overboard but using someone’s name when talking to them is a great rapport building technique. If you find it difficult to remember names, try to concentrate when you meet someone for the first time and repeat their name immediately.

Matching your interviewer’s body language is another great technique. Just try some simple things like if they lean forward, you lean forward; or, if they cross their arms, you cross your arms. As an example if the interviewer is leaning forward to engage you and you’re sitting back in your chair with your legs and arms crossed then there’s a fair chance you’re not doing a great job of creating rapport.

Ask questions

There’s nothing worse than a candidate who doesn’t have any questions at the end of the interview. Questions show you’ve been listening, that you’re interested, that you know enough about the role to know what you don’t know, etc.

Show your enthusiasm

Some people seem to think that they should hold their cards close to their chest and not seem to eager for the job for fear that they will lose leverage when it comes time to negotiate salary. We recommend the opposite approach.

In our experience, employers want to hire people that really want to work for them. Passion and enthusiasm go a very long way to ensuring you get offered the role. This can be conveyed in a number of ways such as the questions you ask, your level of energy, how you describe yourself and your goals, etc. The key thing is to have the interviewer walking away thinking you’re the best person for the role. Once they’ve made that decision in their own mind, you’re in a position of strength at the negotiating table.

Note: this doesn’t mean you should bend over backwards to accommodate the employer in everything they ask for. You can still be very keen to take a role but at the same time very clear on what conditions you require in order to accept it.

Ask for feedback

In sales they call this “pre-closing”. At the end of every interview you should ask for feedback and what the next steps will be if you’re successful. For example, ask questions like:
“Do you think my background is suitable for the role?”
“Is there anything you’re not sure about?”
“How do I compare to other candidates you’ve spoken to?”
“Is it likely I’ll be asked back for a second interview?”
“What’s the process from here?”
“Who makes the final hiring decision?”