It's that time of year again - Interview season.
As students around the country prepare to take the first step in their long careers, the daunting interview stage looms. If you're lucky, you've spent a summer working in a company you found enjoyable and have secured an offer for after you graduate. If you're even luckier, your college course has a work placement option and they've also offered you a job for after graduation. However, this is only applicable to a lucky few. The rest of us have to go through the dreaded interview process once more.
You've done well, one must remember, to get this far. You've secured an interview. You must be doing something right. All of those hours preparing, perfecting, rewriting your CV have paid off. Your perspective employers have seen potential on paper. Now it's time to show them who you really are, and nail the interview!
The following are tips and tricks to navigate your way through the interview process and secure that dream job.
1. Be Punctual and Dress Appropriately
It's so important to have a positive first impression.This sounds like a given, but trust me it's detrimental if you get it wrong. Usually you should aim to be at the interview 15 minutes before the scheduled time.
This will allow you to check in at reception, relax, and afford you the opportunity to have one last glance over your CV (or even do some last-minute research on the company!). Understand the business you are interviewing for; you're expected to dress in full business attire for interviews.
2. Be Prepared and Do your Research
Know as much information about the job as possible. Be confident in the information that you've learned about the company, too. An interviewer will be very impressed that you know their company has been nominated for awards and it will show that you have a desire to work for them. It's easy to find out information about companies nowadays, and it could be the difference that makes you stand out!
3. Sell Yourself - Don't Hold Back!
So far, the interviewers have only seen you on paper. They might not even know what you look like yet. Now it's time to show them the real you. Pull out all the stops, and back yourself. You've only got a small window in an interview to show them how much of an asset you can be to the company, and you need to let them know what they'll be missing out on if they don't hire you! Be confident, trust your gut, and show your interviewers all of the facets that make you who you are.
4. Prepare Anecdotes - P.A.R.
Prepare scenarios from your past experiences that you feel might be helpful, and make sure that they're relevant! An easy method to get control over your anecdotes is to break them into three parts; Problem, Action, Result. Define the problem, was it a time you dealt with unhappy customers in your part time job? Was it a time you needed to show great leadership on your sports team? Next, explain what actions you took in the face of this adversity, and finally explain the result. Don't be afraid to tell a story that didn't work out in your favour, but be sure to show how you learned from the experience regardless.
5. Make Notes
Directly after your interview get a pen and paper, or use your
phone, and jot down everything you think went well in the interview, and the areas that you feel could do with some improvement. These are probably some of the first interviews you'll be doing and so learning from mistakes and learning how to prepare properly for future interviews is so important at this stage. Try to be honest with yourself when you're making these notes, it will help you out when it comes to doing interviews for different jobs in the future!
At this point in your career, the most important part of interviews is learning from them. The jobs you're applying for are graduate positions, or traineeships, and while they're an important step on the ladder to success you will most certainly have more important interviews in the future. You need to use these experiences now to familiarise yourself with the interview procedure and learn how to perform to your best ability going forward. It's important to keep your chin up too if interviews don't go according to plan - it's a highly competitive environment! What's for you won't go by you.