Interview tips

Everyone is nervous at interviews. In order to reduce unnecessary anxiety it is best to prepare well ahead of the date. Here is a list of tips for you to maximise your impact at interview.

Appearance

Ensure that your clothing is clean and fits you whilst standing and sitting. Try on all of your intended outfits several days before. Unless you have an interview in the media, it is best to opt for business like dress. 

Gentlemen

A suit, white shirt with a plain tie in muted business dress colour is recommended. Business colours are black, dark brown, navy or grey. Loud or novelty/comedy ties can be very off putting and may offend. Ensure you are clean shaven or if you have facial hair make sure it is well groomed. Shoes well-polished and plain socks are recommended.

Ladies

Either a business suit or a dress in business colours. If wearing a skirt or dress ensure that it is knee length and does not expose any thigh when sitting. Ensure that you have ladder free tights and a spare pair just in case. Shoes should be in plain colours, clean and well healed. Hair should be clean and well styled. Make up should be minimal.

Jewellery 

Keep jewellery to a minimum. Wear plain bands, watches and earrings should be studs

Body Art and Tattoos

All body art should be removed and tattoos covered over

Research

All companies like you to have done some research on them, their competitors and the market place. You can gain this from several sources, however, it is usually best to go to the company website and follow the links to their 'about us' page. If you are able try to get the company annual report, read the Chairman and Chief Executive’s summary as these are great indicators for current and future strategy, market outlook and competitive landscape. Competitors and market are worth spending half an hour on researching

Travel and timing

Research several methods and routes to get to the interview venue, double check the interview time and leave at least quarter of an hour in hand by aiming to arrive early. Experience suggests that having more than one route and method will ensure that you get there on time and make the right impression. There are always issues caused by transport and travel, to reduce anxiety, make sure you have a fully charged phone, a contact number for your interviewer and recruiter. Should you know you are going to be delayed, call at the earliest opportunity.

Interview Performance

As difficult as it may seem try to be yourself, remember the interviewer may be nervous too. Have a copy of your CV to hand as if your mind goes blank you will have something to refer to. Have one or two questions prepared based on your research.

Smile and make eye contact, when answering questions try to be concise. Listen carefully to what is being asked and give an example which answers the question; explain how a result was gained and what the outcome was for example: I won a tender for new business worth £20,000, I met with the client and crafted the sales strategy, the company was able to gain a foothold into a new business area as a result.

IT skills

IT now forms the backbone of most business operations, we therefore suggest that you should expect some form of online test or requirement to use a PC either prior to face to face interview or during the stages of an interview. sjb medical specialise in the recruitment of clinicians for health assessment roles which require the ability to type whilst consulting with a patient or client. It would therefore be advisable to improve typing skills in preparation for any health assessment role.

A typical IT test can either be a test of typing speed, use of a PC for completing a written aspect of your interview which will subsequently be marked for length, content accuracy, spelling and grammar, or a psychometric test which may require multiple choice or free-text entry on to a computer.

In addition to the interview preparation advice above, it may be beneficial for job seekers less familiar to PC and typing to improve their skills through a course. There are online courses which can be undertaken from your own home and computer or Jobcentre and local colleges may be able to assist you further. sjb medical has provided a link below to a popular provider of online typing training which may be able to help you, as a job seeker, if you wish to improve your typing speed and accuracy.

Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing software http://www.mavisbeacon.com/

For more advice relating to interview preparation please see our The STAR Technique page and contact your recruitment consultant or email  

Link to further information:

Interview techniques and examples of competency based interviews are available online, we have found the following videos from trusted sources which you may find useful in your preparations:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18505318

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGk2XXdHnX4