Appearance:
Your appearance speaks for you before you say a word so:
Wear professional clothes you feel comfortable in, such as a suit or similar level of professional clothing. Do not turn up to an interview with your sleeves rolled up unless advised by your consultant that it would be appropriate to do so. Do up your top button, be clean and if you have a chance, take two minutes to cool down before walking into the meeting.
Don’t arrive loaded with shopping, it looks unprofessional
Preparation:
Find out about the company, check out their website etc.
What is the company’s business/product/service/specialty?
Number of staff?
Who are the company’s main competitors/suppliers/stakeholders?
Is the company part of a larger group? Who do they own?
Find out about the Job.
Learn all you can about the job in question and decide why you are right for it.
Some questions you may ask:
What is the reason for this vacancy?
Do you provide in house or external training sessions?
Who does this positon report to and what is their background?
If you are an experienced person you should talk shop and enter into some more technical discussions
Typical Questions
What are your strengths?
What are your weaknesses?
What motivates you?
How do you like to be managed?
Where do you see yourself in 2 – 5 years time?
What is the reason for leaving your current and most recent jobs?
What are your salary expectations?
Behavioural questions
Can you tell me of a time when…….. happened and how you handled that situation? Do not generalise, tell them about a specific event that happened to you that had a positive outcome
Please give me an example of when…….. happened and what the end result was. As above, be specific with an actual event that took place and ensure that your example has a positive ending.
Further Questions
Are there any further questions you would like to ask? Say YES! and come up with something intelligent that has not been discussed that would require a simple answer. It shows that you can think on your feet. It is a good idea to ask questions you know the answer to so that you are not surprised too much in the interview.
Ending the Interview:
When the interview comes to an end, ask what will be the next stage. Wait until the interviewer stands up, then say something like, “I really enjoyed discussing this job with you”. “I was very impressed with or excited about it”. Then thank them for their time, smile and shake hands again.
After the Interview:
Tell us at GAP what you thought
Are there any grey areas that need clarification?
Best of luck
