Personal Interviews - Preparation
Make sure you are familiar with the job description before the interview and have done some research on the company. What are their values and mission statement? What new products, services or markets are they breaking into? Who are their competitors and what is their competitive advantage? You will probably already have done some research when you wrote your application but if not, don’t miss doing this step now, before your interview.
Knowledge about the company and what’s important to them, who you're reporting to and their background can be very helpful when building rapport and planning what questions you might get asked.
Questions you can ask yourself
Rehearse - Practice in front of a mirror. This will help you see what others see. Alternatively, you can record yourself so you can see and hear what others see and hear. Get someone to help you and ask for feedback.
Personal Appearance - Interviewers do place a large focus on personal appearance as this is their first impression of you. This focus on appearance relates to how you will represent their business. Will you create a good public perception? Do you look like you will fit in? Try and match your dress to the position. If unsure dress professionally. Visit the business prior and see what others are wearing and dress above that standard.
Ensure your clothes are clean, ironed and appropriate for the role, you have no body odour and fresh breath. Bold piercings & tattoos are okay for some roles but use caution and mask their appearance if you can. Revealing clothing is not acceptable and makeup should not be dramatic.
Be on time - Arrive 10 minutes early. Take into consideration traffic, parking, allow plenty of time and do a test run the day prior if needed.
What to take - Have a copy of your resume with you to give to the interviewers if they don’t have one and one for yourself to refer to. Bring any other supporting documentation, pictures, folios, testimonials. Make sure your phone is on silent or leave it locked in the car if you’re concerned you may forget.
Offer a solid handshake - It is traditionally Australian business culture to shake hands at the start and end of the interview but be mindful of the impact of COVIS 19, cultural sensitivities and use your judgement.
Your handshake should be firm but not too hard. Practise with friends and make sure you introduce yourself to new people to get used to the process. Practising shaking hands and remembering names in your day to day activities will help. Practice makes perfect.
Make eye contact - Eyes can often say as much as words. If you look at the floor, you may look like you have something to hide. Avoiding eye contact will be taken as a lack of confidence.
Be aware of your body language - Remember to smile. Consider how you are sitting or standing. What message is this sending? Don’t cross arms or slouch.
Be confident - Now is not the time to be shy about your achievements and skills.
What to Expect
An interview is a chance for an employer to find out about your likes, skills and abilities, your insight into the job and the company, your personality, your preparation and presentation, your fit with other employees and the business.
Employers want to know your motivation for applying for the role is. What technical skills you have that fit their role, what other employment skills and situations have you faced.
Interview questions often focus on people and conflict, communication up, down and across the organisation, stress management, deadlines & change. Prioritisation, business acumen, criticism, learning and mindset and technical skills.
Formal assessment via testing may also form part of an interview process.
Some organisations may require police checks and work with children checks and drug testing.
Most questions you will be asked will be behavioural or situational questions.
Behavioural questions might ask you to recall an example of something that happened, what you did about it and what the outcome was of it. Situational questions are hypothetical situations where they paint a scenario of something and ask how you would handle it.
Positive stories to share include information about your skills, qualifications, how you saved or made money for your employer, hobbies or volunteering experiences that are relevant. If you can put time frames, quantities and $ figures on these statements they are more impactful.
Make sure you tell the employer what you can do. If you can operate Microsoft Office Word and it is required for the role, explain to them what you can do in the program e.g. mail merge, formatting of documents etc.
What will they ask and how do I answer?
Think about the role to try and anticipate what they may ask you now you have an idea of what topics they will cover as part of your rehearsing.
This is a list of common interview questions people ask they may help you prepare.
Behavioural type interview questions
Draw on experiences to demonstrate your abilities and skills. You can use the SAR approach for this – Situation, Action, Result.
Examples of behavioural/situational interview questions:
Q. Have you ever been on a team where someone was not pulling their own weight? What action did you take and what was the outcome?
Q. If I were your supervisor and I asked you to do something that you disagreed with what would you do?
Example of a SAR response
Situation – set the context for your story. For example, “We were due to be delivering a presentation to a group of 30 interested industry players on our new product and Stuart, the guy due to deliver it, got stuck on a train.”
Action – what you did. For example, “I spoke to the event organisers to find out if they could change the running order. They agreed so we bought ourselves some time. I contacted Susan, another member of the team, who at a push could step in. She agreed to drop what she was doing and head to the event.”
Result – how well the situation played out. For example, “Stuart didn’t make the meeting on time but we explained the problem to the delegates and Susan’s presentation went well – a bit rough around the edges but it was warmly received. Stuart managed to get there for the last 15 minutes to answer questions. As a result, we gained some good contacts, at least two of which we converted into paying clients.”
Be honest - Do not lie about your experiences or misrepresent yourself. You will be found out.
Do not talk negatively - You will automatically be seen as unprofessional if you speak negatively about past employers, teachers or school.
Speak slowly & watch pace. This is particularly important if you have an accent or are nervous.
Seek clarification - If you get asked a question you are unsure of don’t be afraid to ask them to clarify what they are asking.
Ask Questions
You will most probably be given the opportunity to ask a question or two. This will show that you have done some research, really considered the position and prepared for the interview. DO NOT ask about salary or benefits at the first meeting unless the employer brings them up. You would be better to ask about training or something you’ve read about the company that you could get clarified. It’s okay to come with some prepared questions on cue cards if needed and ask if you can refer to these so you don’t forget what you want to ask.
Examples of Questions you might ask:
Q. What kind of continuing education support does your organisation offer?
Q. Let’s pretend you hired me and at my performance review you indicated that you were very happy with my performance? What would I have accomplished to get that review?
The Next Step
You will want to know what the next step is. When are they going to make a decision and how will they let you know if you’ve been successful. If this has not been covered you will need to ask.
1. Thank them
Thank the interviewer for their time and shake their hand and use their name when leaving. Remember to smile as you go.
2. Follow Up
A thank you letter, phone call or email is a great follow up tool, particularly if you wished there was something you had said during the interview but didn’t get a chance to mention it.
If you have the result of your interview and you were not successful its worth seeking feedback to try and ascertain what was needed to secure the position. Always thank employers for sharing this information with you and don’t get defensive if you feel they are not sharing.
Be Realistic.
Most people are nervous about interviews so take charge and prepare to reduce surprises. Visualise success and catch negative thinking.
The worst scenario is you miss out on the job but gain some valuable interview experience and that is a Win.