Interview Preparation – How to Prepare for a Job Interview
By Annette Lewis
Considering the positive impact a new job can have on the life of a successful jobseeker in terms of increased salary, satisfaction and status, I am constantly surprised by the volume of candidates who arrive at an interview insufficiently prepared.
In fact, a recent survey showed that 9 out of 10 interview candidates failed to prepare properly for their job interview. Not surprisingly they missed out on the job offer.
Interview Preparation is essential if you are serious about the job and there really is no excuse for just showing up to the interview without having done at least some very basic preparation.
How to Prepare for a Job Interview?
Well here are some simple and easy exercises which will help with your interview preparation and will boost your chances of interview success.
1. Know Yourself
This is all about being familiar with your skills and what you can bring to the role. To help clarify what those are, spend time completing these exercises:
a. Jot down what you consider to be your Key Strengths, your Unique Selling Points and your Positive Personal Qualities.
b. Review your CV, becoming very familiar with all aspects of it.
c. Select what you consider to be your Top Three Achievements and develop a story relating to each, which demonstrates what you did, the steps or actions you took and very importantly the benefits you delivered.
d. Finally, create a Personal Statement for yourself, starting with your name, your profession or job, your recent experience and achievements, your key strengths and how you can use your skills within the job you are being interviewed for.
2. Know the Job
This may sound obvious, but it is surprising how many candidates do not have a clear idea of just what they will be doing in the job. This is a key part of your interview preparation and it is vital that you know what is involved in the job, which skills are prized and what key competencies your employer is searching for.
3. Know the Employer
Early on in the interview, I will very often ask a candidate what they know about the company or what they think about our products or services. If they cannot answer these questions well, it becomes very obvious they have not done any interview preparation and I would have to wonder why they want to work here in the first place. While I would ideally recommend more time, just 15 minutes is all it takes to gather enough information to format a respectable answer to these questions and convince me that you are genuinely interested.
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About the Author
Annette Lewis is an accredited interviewer and has recruited for many organisations
within Healthcare, Education, Customer Services and Banking.
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