How to prepare for Interview Success
Regardless of your profession, skill level or experience, most of us can agree that the interview process can be a bit daunting. And, with the view of creating a positive, lasting impression to a potential employer, it’s important not to let nerves get the better of you.
Whether you’re actively looking for a new job opportunity, thinking about a career move or have taken the first step and landed a job interview. It is vitally important you prepare and set yourself up for interview success.
We’re in the business of matching people to jobs and with over nineteen years’ experience in the game, we’ve tried and tested, and seen first hand what works and what doesn’t work in that crucial first meeting.
What we know for sure is the best way to approach the interview process is to be well prepared, so we’ve compiled this brief Interview ‘How To’ to give you the best chance for success.
Prepare and Practice: We cannot stress this enough; practice interviewing yourself and then, practice again. Better yet, do a run-through with a friend or family member. If you know how to clearly articulate your skills, achievements and strengths to a potential employer you will appear more confident and likely to sell yourself better than the competition.
Research and Learn: Learning and being informed about a potential employer’s company demonstrates your interest in the industry and also the company. Do some desktop research and find out how big, what’s the specialisation, what are the current projects, its culture – the worldwide web is mine of information these days. Having an understanding of the organisation can give you an edge - you’ll ask more relevant questions while ‘crafting’ your responses to the potential employer.
Understand your Value: The biggest mistake you can make is to undersell yourself. If you have a clear understanding of your skills and more specifically how they match the criteria of the role, and how to express what value you would add to the organisation, you will undoubtedly impress a potential employer. Employers aren’t looking to simply fill a position, they are looking for an individual who can contribute to the company’s goals.
CAR Preparation… Context, Action and Result
Use this easy to follow, three-step process to best assess your skillset and determine when you have utilised these skills to solve problems, overcome issues or complete projects. Following this process; Context, Action and Result, ensures you are more prepared to impress your potential employer.
Interview question example:
Think back to a time where you had to inspect a design, found an inconsistency and had to provide variation detail
Context: A situation where you have utilised a particular skillset and the issues surrounding your performance
I identified that there was an error in the drawing that […]
Action: Outline what step-by-step action you took
The action I had to take was […] I directed the design team to re-design the […]
Result: What was the measurable outcome achieved? This is a vital step to demonstrate how effective your actions were.
This resulted in […] meaning that we saved the company/client […]
Anticipate the type of questions that may be asked, and prepare to answer these questions ahead of time, in order to be ready for the interview
By utilising these ‘How to’ prepare for an interview tips, you’ll understand how to convey your skills relevant to the criteria being sought.
If you’re a jobseeker looking for a new opportunity, get in touch with our team,who can also help your job search.
