All that preparation in putting together your resume has now taken you to the next step. You have been successful in gaining an interview.

Preparation

Know Your Subject
Interview success can come down to your preparation. Do some research; find out about the organisation and what technology they use; check out their website; refer to the Business Who’s Who; seek out recent press articles. If you take an interest in them they will take an interest in you.

Be On Time
Confirm interview details such as when, where and who you will be seeing. Plan your trip and consult timetables if going by Public Transport. You should allow at least 10 minutes free time prior to the interview. It is always helpful to have this time so you can check your appearance and collect your thoughts and composure. A well groomed, calm, composed and confident candidate will create a much greater first impression.

A Good Impression
Be well groomed and dress conservatively. Greet the interviewer with a confident handshake and smile. Once seated, don’t spread your personal belongings over the table. If you have a mobile phone, turn it off and keep it out of sight. You need to give the interviewer your full and undivided attention.

Relax and answer questions openly and honestly remembering to keep eye contact. Don’t try to dominate the conversation. Listen attentively and let the interview flow. Avoid yes and no answers.

Remember that your answers should be your own answers not what you think the interviewer wants to hear. This may lead to you being successful in getting the position but for all the wrong reasons as it may not necessarily be the job for you.

Ask questions about the position, what your key tasks will be, what projects you will be working on and seek clarification on the culture of the organisation and your career development.

Be pro-active, discuss your career achievements let the interviewer know how they will benefit by employing you, advise on your strengths and tell them what you will bring to the organisation.

Be mindful that there is the chance you could blind the interviewer with technical jargon. Judge your audience and tailor the responses to suit. Your interviewer may want to gauge whether you can adapt and speak in plain English to a non-technical audience in many cases.

Get an indication of when a decision will be made regarding the role and decide yourself whether you would accept the role.

Things To Avoid

Some negative factors evaluated during the course of an interview which most often lead to rejection include:

• Poor Personal Appearance
• Know-it-all Overbearing Behavior
• Inability to Express Thoughts Clearly
• Lack of Career Planning
• Lack of Confidence
• Over-emphasis on money
• Failure to ask questions
• Derogatory comments about previous or current employers

• Warmth
• Brevity
• Honesty
• Rapport
• Energy
• Enthusiasm
• Clear Communication

Behavioural based questioning is a style of interviewing that more and more companies are using in their hiring process. The basic premise behind behavioural based interviewing is the most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance in a similar situation.

Employers predetermine which skills are necessary for the job, for which they are looking and then ask very pointed questions to determine if the candidate possesses those skills.

In the interview your response needs to be specific and detailed. Tell them about a situation that relates to the question; tell them briefly the situation, what you did specifically and the positive result or outcome. Frame it like this:

1. Situation
2. Action
3. Result/outcome

• Organisational skills – ability to plan, set priorities, delegation
• Interpersonal skills – team player skills, customer service, relationship development
• Technical skills – problem solving, application of knowledge
• Communication skills – listening, written, verbal.

Tests are often a part of the interview process. Spatial and numerical reasoning tests are used as a quick assessment of how people think through problems these usually come in the form of a multiple choice exam. Numerical reasoning involves number sequences spotting patters in numbers (to see how you reason with logic) and spatial awareness looks at how you visualise objects.

Personality tests are still used in some organisations. An organisation may for example conduct a profiling test and compare the results to the benchmarks of its top-performing employees. Such testing is generally used as a re-enforcer not the selector. They highlight areas of strength but they also indicate areas that can be developed.