Preparing for interviews

Preparing for interviews starts before you even know you have an interview.

In this Chapter:
- the purpose of interviews
- preparation
- getting your paperwork in order
- researching the company
- researching yourself
- getting from your front door to the interview.

You can start your preparation before you even know you’ve been invited to an interview. Understanding the purpose of interviews, and being aware of the contents of your own curriculum vitae or application form is essential preparation for any interview.

You will need to assemble your job application paperwork carefully and put it in order so you can respond to short-notice invitations to attend interviews. Job hunting isn’t easy and you may be surprised at the amount of organisation it takes.

For example, you may need to assemble facts and figures about your salary history and financial requirements, etc. Once invited to an interview, you will also need to assemble some information on the company that’s interviewing you, but of course there’s no point in preparing detailed information on companies until you know you’ve got an interview with them.

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Is this you?

- Surely you can’t prepare much for interviews, apart from getting basic information on the company that’s going to interview you?

- Look, I know who I am and what jobs I’ve done. I don’t need to memorise my own CV – I was there!

- I spend ages preparing and getting organised, but it’s all wasted when I don’t get an interview.

- I’ve sent off so many job applications that I can’t remember who’s who. It’s all a bit of a mess, really.

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The purpose of interviews

There’s more than one type of interview – nowadays, interviews take many different forms (as we shall see) so that being aware of the different types of interview you may encounter can be very helpful. The How To book Handling Tough Job Interviews, also by Julie-Ann Amos, is very helpful in this regard but here are some of the main types.

Recruitment agency interviews

Recruitment agencies exist to place people in jobs. They make their money from the employer – the recruiter – and not from you. Therefore, the common assumption that recruitment agencies are there to help you may be something of a misconception.

Good agencies can be extremely helpful in looking after job hunters properly, by giving them help and support, and placing them in the right job. Others are purely serving the employment needs of the companies and organisations that pay their fees. They may be less concerned with meeting your own individual wants and needs, and more concerned with placing you in a job – any job – that will earn them a fee.

So recruitment agency interviews can be beneficial, as they will give you an opportunity to check out the agency and the way it operates. In an ideal world, the recruitment agency interview should be no more than a means of letting your agency know exactly what you want in a job – so it can tailor any applications it makes on your behalf specifically to your needs. Be aware of the way some agencies operate, however, and watch out for any attempt to ‘sell you’ a job that isn’t in line with your requirements.

With a good agency, an interview can give you tips and advice on presenting yourself well, information on your strong and weaker points, and advice on how to conduct yourself in interviews with potential employers.

Employer interviews

Employer interviews are designed to allow the employer to assess whether or not you are a good fit with their requirements. Usually, a first interview is very much a screening interview, with a second interview being held later for those candidates who pass this initial screening. Your performance at the first interview should therefore really be a matter of being seen to be right for the job. Later interviews are where you would prove yourself to be the best candidate.

Personnel or Human Resources (HR) interviews

You will often encounter personnel or HR interviews, as most larger companies insist on them as part of the recruitment process. These interviews are sometimes viewed as ‘easy’, as HR interviewers rarely ask very technical questions about your specific skills – as they are HR specialists and not usually business managers. Questions are far more likely to revolve around other, more personal areas. But these interviews are not to be underestimated – HR specialists are often very highly trained and experienced in interviewing, and they usually carry out interviews on a regular basis. They are therefore skilled at getting information from you,so be careful – never attempt to pull the wool over their eyes

Not all interviews are alike – be aware of the purpose of an interview, and this will help you do well in all circumstances.

Preparation

Getting prepared is really what the whole of this book is about. So what exactly is it that you have to prepare? The first two chapters of the book focus on things you can do before the interview, and the rest of the book details information you can consider and think over before the interview as a means of preparing yourself for it.

Here are some examples of what you should prepare, ready for a round of potential interviews.

Paperwork

This includes your CV, a copy of the relevant application form, and all documents relating to a particular interview. Have copies of everything to hand well in advance – don’t rely on technology (which can let you down) to print copies for you at the last minute.

Your ‘shopping list’

Too many people attend interviews with no clear idea of exactly what they want and need from them. Make sure you know what you do and don’t want in terms of salary, environment, benefits, role etc.

Research

Make sure you have ready access to any research about the job, the company or organisation you have undertaken previously (see later). It may help you ask questions at interview or help you identify areas you need to clarify to see if this job opportunity meets your wants and needs list – your ‘shopping list’.

What you will wear and take

All too often people leave these decisions until the last moment, rushing round looking for the right outfit on interview day. If you can, have your interview outfit cleaned in advance and ready to wear at short notice.

Transport

You need to research and plan the means of transport you intend to use to get to and from the interview. Thinking ahead will allow you to avoid running the risk of being late.

Things to think about

In addition, you will need to think about:

- how you will introduce yourself

- how to stay calm and relaxed, in what is for most people a stressful situation

- how to deal with the interviewer’s questions

- preparing some sample answers to likely questions

- your body language, and how to establish a good rapport with your interviewer

- how to leave the interview gracefully and on a good note.

There are two stages to preparation – physically preparing, and mentally/academically thinking through the interview and potential difficulties you may encounter when you are interviewed.

Getting your paperwork in order

You need to make and have to hand copies of all your essential paperwork relating to the interviewer. You will need a copy of your CV, a copy of any job applications you send off, and the job adverts you are responding to. Of course, all this paperwork can be daunting and expensive to photocopy if you don’t have access to a copier – and it can be hard to manage.

Be organised

Consider some sort of filing system. A cheap solution is a simple file or ring binder, in which you can collate job adverts and information by filing them, cutting out job adverts and sticking them onto A4 sheets of paper as necessary. This is important – if you get an interview, you need to be able to read up what you have available on the job and the company, and you need to check exactly what the employer is looking for, so you can tailor your thinking and preparation to giving a good performance for a particular job interview.

The filing system you use isn’t important – what is important is that if anyone calls you to arrange an interview, you can find the information you need easily so you can prepare properly. You don’t want to be getting stressed and anxious looking for the job advert in a pile of papers – you need to be calm and to prepare your thoughts carefully if you want to do well at the interview.

Job adverts

Job adverts usually give you a good idea of the skills and abilities the employer is looking for, so you need to read the job advert carefully if you are to prepare properly for an interview. If you are applying for a lot of jobs from adverts, you will need to be very organised, and to keep copies of all the adverts you reply to.

Application forms or packs

You will also need to consider application forms. If you have applied for jobs which involve filling out application forms, ideally you should keep a copy of the form you complete. You don’t need to keep a copy of your basic details such as education, job history etc, as this is information that will be on your CV. But you do need to keep a copy of your answers to questions on the form such as ‘Describe how you fit the job description’, or ‘Outline why you feel you are right for this role’. Your responses to questions like these may well be discussed at interview, so you really need to read through what you said on the form before going to the interview.

It’s very useful that when an application form is sent to you, it will usually be part of a ‘candidate pack’, that will give you candidate information such as a job description, structure of the company department, etc. This is all good stuff that will help you to prepare for your interview. Again, it needs to be filed so you can find it when you need it – there’s no worse way of preparing for an interview than having to conduct a last-minute paper chase!

You have a lot of resources available to help you prepare for interviews, but keeping them all organised and easily to hand can be almost as stressful as the interview itself!

Researching the company

Application or candidate packs

As mentioned above, when you get an application form, it will often be part of an application pack or candidate pack produced by the organisation. These packs can sometimes be very scrappy and hastily put together, but many of them are very well-presented and give you incredibly useful information about:

- what exactly the employer is looking for

- whether the employer’s requirements are essential or desirable

- how the employer will test whether or not you fit a particular requirement

- special skills and abilities required by the employer

- information on working conditions at the workplace

- information about the organisation

- organisation charts setting out company/departmental structures

- background to the department and/or the job

- details of salary and benefits, etc

- the recruitment process, and timescales relating to the process.

These packs can be the single most useful thing you have available to you for interview preparation, so keep them safe and read them carefully before the interview. They can help you understand how to present yourself in the best possible light, and give you ideas for questions to raise and points to clarify with the interviewer. Most importantly, they can give you a real feel for the job and the company they describe, which can be very useful in helping you decide whether or not the job is really for you.

If the company doesn’t send you a pack, be proactive – call them and ask them for one. If you are invited to an interview, ask them to send you any information on the company they may have. Often companies send out a letter confirming an interview, and/or directions, so when they do, ask them to send you their company literature. If you don’t ask, you don’t get!

Other sources of company information

Even if you aren’t sent an application pack, you can still obtain useful and relevant company information prior to your interview. You can research companies through media such as the internet, reference libraries and papers/journals, for example. Look for any material that will lead to increasing your knowledge of the company.

It is absolutely crucial you understand the culture and environment of the company by whom you will be interviewed, so that you can make the right decision as to whether you would be happy working for them. Research the organisation’s history, its current market situation, clients, competitors etc.

The company website

Websites can give you a wealth of information about companies. If you don’t know the address of a company’s web site, look it up by using one of the major research engines such as Yahoo!, AltaVista, Google or Lycos.

The company website

Websites can give you a wealth of information about companies. If you don’t know the address of a company’s web site, look it up by using one of the major research engines such as Yahoo!, AltaVista, Google or Lycos.

Other internet websites

Here are some other good internet website sources of business information (correct at the time of printing).

www.prnewswire.co.uk
This is a European news network that covers press releases and features. Allows searching for press releases by company name.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/companies
This is the BBC news service that will give you all the latest news on companies.

www.thetimes.co.uk
You need to register to use this, but registration is currently free. There are selected news stories, from the latest editions of the two papers. You can search the archive back to January ’96.

www.digitallook.com/dlmedia/news/company_news?
Another site with live company news feed, but not easy to search as with for example the BBC website above

Libraries

The reference section of your local library may have useful business directories such as Kompass, Dunn & Bradstreet and Kellys.

Papers/journals

Trade magazines are another useful source of company information.

Application packs are fantastic resources for interview preparation. Always ask for application packs where possible.

Researching yourself

Is this the job you really want?

As you have just read, application packs can help you decide whether or not a job is right for you. An essential part of your interview preparation should always be to evaluate your own needs, wants and desires. If you assess carefully how badly you want this particular job, you will approach the interview with the right mindset.

If you don’t really feel the job is ideal for you, but that it’s one you could settle for, you can approach the interview more as a means for giving you interview experience. But if the job is the one you really want – that elusive ‘dream job’ – then the interview becomes extremely important, and you will need to put all your effort into excelling at it.

Know your facts

You may be asked in detail at interview about your salary and benefits expectations. Make sure you know what they are as you may look rather foolish if you don’t. Check out your hourly, weekly or monthly rate (however you are paid) and when you last had a pay rise. Know what benefits you get. If you don’t know what you’re paid at the moment, you will weaken your negotiating power.

Know what you want

Look at the job, and before you go into the interview decide the minimum salary or pay you would accept, should you be offered it. The job advert may list a salary or salary range, but a company may sometimes pay more for the right person, so always do your homework and decide on your minimum requirements.

When deciding your minimum requirements, you need to factor in additional costs. For example, if you will have a longer journey, your travelling expenses may be higher than you currently pay. Factor in extra costs like this to your requirements, so you can define:

- your ideal salary

- your minimum acceptable salary – your ‘bottom line’.

It is absolutely essential that you know your absolute bottom line, so if you are offered a salary below this, you will know you need to decline the job offer.

Research salary requirements

Employers are very often open to a well-argued justification for a salary offer. If you have done your homework and are able to show it by justifying your salary requirements, they are much more likely to be met.

You can do this by looking at other adverts for similar jobs, or talking to people you know in similar jobs, etc. People who can produce evidence that they have researched their requirements are far more likely to get them accepted.

Take some credentials

Don’t go overboard, but if it is appropriate take to the interview some work you have done – drawings you have done, or papers, reports you have written, etc.

Research how badly you want the job, your current position and needs, and your salary requirements. Knowing the facts and doing the necessary research will almost always pay dividends.

Getting from your front door to the interview

One area you need to prepare in advance is how you will actually get to the interview. You need to check out, well in advance, both how you will get there – bus, taxi, car, train – and how long this is likely to take.

Be on time

Being late for interviews isn’t necessarily the end of the world – a pleasant apology and good excuse can prevent problems – but if an interviewer is working to a schedule, you may end up not being able to have a proper interview. Candidates turning up 30 minutes late for a 45-minute interview place the interviewer in a dilemma – do they give you a 30-minute interview and ‘steal’ 15 minutes from their next candidate? That isn’t fair! Or do they only give you 15 minutes, which more or less means you won’t stand a chance! Don’t put them in that position – be on time.

Check schedules

Don’t just plan to get a bus or train – actually check the departure and arrival times. Changes in schedule, repairs, etc can all stop scheduled services from running to plan. Check for last-minute updates, by using facilities such as train websites, AA Roadwatch on teletext, etc.

Be prepared for an emergency

Take a mobile phone, or change for the telephone with you – that way you can call ahead in an emergency, or if you are delayed.

Be generous

Be generous with your time. Delays, breakdowns, traffic, missed trains/buses, etc – all are reasonable, but at the same time avoidable excuses for being late. Allow sufficient time to get to the interview early, then find somewhere nearby to wait in comfort, so you can relax. Nothing makes people more stressed than a rushed journey, getting to the interview late or with seconds to spare. Plan to get there early and wait around – you can always use the time to prepare for your interview further, read through any notes, etc.

Plan your journey carefully, and allow extra time for unforeseen circumstances. Emergencies may be understandable, but getting there late can still mean you don’t get a proper interview.

Summary points

- Understand the purpose of interviews, so you can structure your preparation accordingly.

- Prepare all the necessary information – if you don’t need to use it, at least you had it ready.

- Get all your paperwork ready – organise it so you can easily find the information you need.

- Research the company interviewing you so you can ask them sensible questions and resolve any queries you may have.

- Research your own wants and needs – and be prepared to justify them if necessary.

- Plan your journey with military precision, so everything goes smoothly on the day.