To ask for some interview help

[BluebellsareBlue]

I have a job interview on 1st June. I've just retired last week from a job I've done for 22 years (public service) and I havent had an interview for a job since 1994!!
This job is a million miles away from what I've done before (except for being public facing) as it's a trainee pharmacy dispenser for a large UK chain.
I intend to go to one of the branches (not the one I'm getting my interview for) and see if anyone has time to speak with me about the role and I've also googled some stuff about the company and the role.

Does anyone have any advice for me?? Actually crapping myself and amazed I've got an interview

My above would be try not to think about it til the day or you will drive yourself crazy.

Harder to do though I know!

I went into a group interview and straight away thought 'nope, I'm not getting this' because the others looked better and had more experience. I did get it though.

Don't put yourself down, go in and show them you are the best person for the job. Fake confidence if you have to, it works

Thanks PBM, you're right, I got the email an hour ago and I'm stressing already!!

Sounds like you're already doing some research into the company you are interviewing with which is good. If they have 'key values' or anything, think of some examples where you have displayed the values. For example I'm interviewing next week and their values are 'Caring, Expert, Quality' so I'm thinking of times I've demonstrated them..

I always try and think of a few questions for when they ask the inevitable 'do you have any questions for us?' because I'm useless on the spot. You don't have to ask them all but sometimes they answer one or two during the course of the interview.

Re-read your application the night before (if possible) so that if they ask you for examples of a time you have blah blah you can pick some different from what they've already seen.

Good luck! Try not to stress about it :)

I'd probably mention things like ability to be discreet, and patient confidentiality and stuff, as you will be dealing with people's health issues, and some of your customers will have just come from their GP. Other customers may be coming to you as an alternative to their GP.

It's normal to be nervous for an interview but try and remember it's also an opportunity for you to find out more about them/the company and if you would like to work there...having that mindset helps me sometimes, it takes a bit of pressure off. Other than that:

-do your research into the company (like you already are doing) - what are the company values/strategy and how can you evidence you would fit in?
-go on something like reed.com and look at the competency-based questions, print them off and have a practice (those ones like 'describe a time when you did xyz' - if you don't have actual examples, just say so but say 'if I was faced with that situation I'd do this...'
-never lie on your cv or in the actual interview
-it's fine to say 'let me think about that for a minute' rather than rush into an answer that you aren't sure about
-prepare some good questions for them beyond the 'what is the training plan like?' (things like 'if I was successful, what could I do to make an impact here/what are you looking for in a candidate/what are the best and worst things about the job?')
-prepare for the curveball questions! Things like 'if you were an animal, what would you be?' or 'sell me this pen'. To be honest, I've never been asked these or asked them myself but you never know and remember it's just a test to see how you handle yourself, not the answer that counts!

Above all, be confident in your abilities, smile and make eye contact and if you can, chat to them on the way to the room to put yourself at ease. Interviewers are usually looking at how people conduct themselves and visualising how they could fit into their team so if you come across as approachable, friendly and enthusiastic it always goes down well. Depending on the job you are going for (and if the interviewers seem friendly!), you could say something at the start like 'it's been a while so apologies if I'm a little rusty on my interview technique hahaha' - in most cases they will rush to reassure you!

As an interviewer myself, I always try to make people feel relaxed at the start as I'd rather find out as much about them to see if they are the right person for the job, I'm not judging them on their nerves but when they are obviously terrified, unfortunately it just means they wouldn't be right if you see what I mean. So just pretend to be confident even if you don't feel it!

Oh and eat beforehand! Don't want a rumbly stomach halfway through!

Good luck! x

Thanks everyone!! This is all great and really appreciated!!!

Best advice I ever read (and took) was to interview 'like a man'. Don't be shy of telling the interviewers of all the great things you've done in previous jobs, sell yourself, know your background inside out so whatever questions they ask you're ready for. Women (generally) feel that 'boasting' about themselves is uncomfortable- but men (in general) don't. Be prepared to boast in a good way about what you are good at. Also, be ready for the 'what attracted you to the role', 'why should we employ you' or 'what can you being to the role' or 'what do you know about the company ' generic questions that you can prepare for easily ahead of time. Good luck!!

There's a great ted talk video about 'power poses' or something. m.youtube.com/watch?v=TdU2l0i2Wh0 good body language just before the interview will help you handle the nerves and improve body language while you're talking.

Be prepared to exemplify what you say you can do. E.g. I can lead a team. In my last role I line managed three people and had to lead a project team of eight for six months. We achieved X in Y timeframe. Specifics always help.

Thinking about this some more, it's important when I've interviewed people that responses are not garbled and following the STAR model helps to shape answers coherently. So when a question is something like "tell me about a time when you had to overcome a difficult time in work" (or whatever) then you think of the Situation (one paragraph to explain), what the Task was (one paragraph on this), what Action you took (couple of paragraphs here) and the Result (one paragraph) you can also add a Learning paragraph (what would you have done differently next time). This helps you keep you answers succinct and as un-garbled as possible.

Also, bear in mind that interviewers are in general looking for reasons to employ you. They want you to be a good candidate and very few are deliberately trying to trip you up.

One question I always ask is something along the lines of "what does a person who is good at this job do to make them good at it? What does success look like for whoever gets this role?". Interviewers seem to quite like that one.

Guys, this is all fantastic and I've got it all noted down in my new notebook 📓 Thanks so much!