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Job Interview Preparation Tips

This free guide provides comprehensive job interview tips and advice to help you fully prepare for an all-important interview.

Preparing for a job interview takes time, careful planning and thinking, so it is important to schedule in some preparation time at least one week before the interview itself. This will enable you to ensure you have all of the information to hand as you start to consider how you best convey to the interviewer your skills and attributes necessary for the job you are applying for.

Company information: Gather as much relevant information on the company as you can. Most companies have their own web site which will provide you with information on the products they sell; how the company is structured, its people and their values.

Demonstrating in the interview that you have done some research into the company demonstrates to your prospective employer that you are genuinely interested in working for them. It also enables you to ask some relevant questions at the interview.

Job requirements: At this point you should have some idea of the job requirements, either from the company's advertisement or what the recruitment agency has told you, dependent upon how you heard about the job. However, most companies will have a written job description that they can provide you with if they haven't already.

Review the job description and any other documentation you have been provided with. What does it tell you about the knowledge, skills, desired behaviours and personal attributes for this job? Consider how you match up to these requirements.

What are your key strengths/talents that you need to highlight well in the interview? What are the knowledge, skills or behaviours that need developing? How could you develop these? For example, if the job requires the skills to use Excel and you are not familiar with the use of the package, you could find someone you know to teach you or consider a local college course. Showing a prospective employer you have considered your own development needs demonstrates personal drive and commitment.

Evidence of past achievements: At the job interview you will need to demonstrate to your prospective employer your most relevant achievements to date, so consider what documentation you could take with you to the interview that could provide evidence of those achievements. These documents could include:

Past examples: Many companies now use interview techniques such as competency based interviewing that ask you to share a specific example of how you have demonstrated a particular skill or behaviour. So consider in advance the best examples that demonstrate the skills and behaviours needed in the job. For example, most jobs require a degree of personal planning and organisation.

Think about how you plan and organise yourself each day.

Think about a project or a big task that you have had to plan and organise in the past.

Career plan: Most employers will want to know about your career path to date, the choices you have made and your rationale, as well as the career ambitions you may have for the future. Therefore, we suggest you take some time before the job interview to plan how best to convey this to your prospective employer. Consider what potential concerns or interests your potential employer may have with the choices you have made in your career to date.

If you are a graduate, consider the various experiences, both inside and outside work that have helped you acquire the skills, knowledge and attitudes you have today and how you can promote the most relevant experiences to the job application and your planned career.

Difficult questions: During a job interview there may be a question you find difficult to answer, either because you genuinely do not know the answer, or you haven't previously given any thought to the issue. If you do not know the answer, do not bluff your way through. A good interviewer will pick this up very quickly, and as many employers have Integrity as part of their core values, you will not help yourself. However, it may be helpful to identify any potentially difficult questions you think you may be asked, and consider your likely response.

Next > Preparing Yourself For Interview

Summary

We hope these job interview tips were useful in preparing you for your next interview and subsequent career move and we wish you every success in your chosen path. Please social bookmark this job interview guide for future reference.

You may find these links useful if you are job hunting or preparing for interview:

Invest In Your Career
Invest in Your Career offers professional career advice, CV writing and covering letter preparation services in the UK.

Resume Template
Offers resume and cover letter templates and examples to download, writing tips and an interview guide.

Executive and Senior Management Jobs
ExecutivesOnTheWeb.com is the No1 executive job board offering senior management and executive jobs across all industry sectors in the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

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