Interviews live - 9 silver bullets to slay the demons that cause bad interviews

Job interviews are always a stressful time; it's natural to want to give your best performance and therefore to be anxious about it, even haunted.  There are powerful demons at work to cause bad interviews: Arriving late, appearance inappropriate, not getting a good start with the interviewer, rambling on about how unfair it is you weren't successful in your last job, only asking questions about pay and holidays, not getting across your key strengths, running out of time and no follow up.

There are some practical things, however, that you can do to protect against a bad interview and we are going to examine some of them here. See our online course Get that job for a complete approach

9 Silver bullets to make interviews successful (slay those demons):

1. Before you start your journey to the interview:
   1. Write down why you want the job and 3 skills / achievements that qualify you for it.
   2. Make sure you have all the information about the job, two copies of your CV and some relevant questions to ask
   3. Have clear address details, a contact phone number handy in case you get delayed and need to call the interviewer + of course a fully charged mobile phone AND SET OFF EARLY!
   4. Have you got the look - your appearance and clothes - is it right for the interview?
2. First impressions count, a welcome smile and thanking the interviewer for the clear directions from them or their assistant to find the location is safe and polite to start an interview
3. Timing - ask how long the interview will last for, it's easy to run out of time and not get across all your key points
4. Ask permission to make a few short notes, important points you can refer to later
5. "Tell me about yourself" - A very common opening interview question which can be used by interviewers in two ways.  The first, obviously, being for the interviewer to hear about your experience, skills and knowledge.  The second, not so obvious, to see how well you communicate.  In both cases after a few short words about you personally a good approach is to use your CV as a guide when describing your achievements and capabilities.  Using your CV in this way will ensure you talk about major points that are relevant for the job and give structure to your answer.  Be sure to emphasise why you want the job, interviewers like applicants who are enthusiastic and have the right skills / experience
6. Key criteria - as soon as you can do so in the interview it is good to confirm the key requirements for the job, as this will allow you to keep relating your own capabilities back to them
7. Answering questions - make sure you understand the questions you are asked, if you are unsure repeat the question back to the interviewer.  We will deal with tough questions in a separate blog.  The interviewer is trying to find the best person who: fits the interviewer, fits the job requirements and fits in with the organisation or team. Make your answers informative, positive and short. 
8. Asking questions - good interviewers pay attention to the questions you ask as these indicate what you are really interested in
9. Feedback & summarizing - at the end of the interview ask for some feedback from the interviewer, this is an opportunity to correct any misunderstandings and learn about your chances.  Finish by summarising your interest in the job and your top 3 achievements / skills that qualify you for the job. 

Finally ask permission to contact the interviewer in case you think of any questions later, this is an important tool to allow you to ask about aspects of the job and re-sell yourself.  Also, timescales for decisions on jobs can change and you need to know after you leave the interview what is happening and when.

Richard Lowe
www.lets-begin.com