Hit me with your best interview tips

[BananaCaramel]

And questions you have been asked recently?

DH has been looking for a better job for a while and not having much luck - tomorrow he has an interview for a job he really really wants and he is nervous because he doesn’t think he’s very good at interviews.

Shameless post for traffic - we are prepping this evening! 😬

Don't be afraid to take a breath before answering a question - give yourself a few seconds thinking space. Interviewers don't expect people to have the answers to questions immediately.

Have really specific examples for things which are in the job spec
how he would approach things in this role
Highlight great things the org is doing and how he could with his skills / in the new role being even more
ask engaged questions
be enthusiastic

My top tip is that it's worth practicing chatting out loud about yourself. Most of us don't spend that much time explaining why we're good at things - when he's thinking of examples of times he faced a challenge at work / dealt with conflict / effectively led a team (whatever might be relevant), I think it's worth actually verbalising.

Having interviewed people, receiving some decent question always felt like the person was keen. I usually prepare a few about the job specifically, plus a few general ones as sometimes the interview would answer the role specific ones naturally. So depending on the role, maybe asking about business plans, governance structure, reporting lines, team goals, how they've dealt with something that recently impacted the industry, impact of recent political changes etc.

Good luck!

Take a bottle of water in. When he wants a moment to think, take a sip. It fills the silence.

When / if they ask whether he has any questions, find his own words for "have I said anything during this interview that you'd like more detail about? I'd hate to leave and something bubbles that we could answer now".

I would also recommend, depending on the seniority of the position, that he pulls the last few sets of accounts from companies house. He will see from that what their finances look like, and that can lead to pointed questions. The interview is as much about him working out whether they are the correct company for him as it is the other way around.

In the unlikely event they talk about salary, they usually ask either what his expectation is, or what his current salary is. The best way to block the latter is to refocus on the value that he will bring, and the best way to handle the former is to say something like "there is obviously the rude reality of a base salary, however it is the total package I am most interested in. I was thinking of a base of around £x but this could go up or down within reason depending on annual leave allowance, flexibility of working, health care, bonus, stock options etc".

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Research the company thoroughly, its values and role you’re hoping to get. Keep in mind your findings in your answers/questions.

My top tip is to feed the JD and person spec into chatGPT and ask it to come up with sample interview questions, and prepare answers to those.

Have responses ready for three scenarios:

1. Where something you did went well and what your role in it was
2. Where something went badly and what you did about it
3. where you had to do something that you had no previous experience of and how you managed it

Also before you go, asking if are there any reasons why they think you wouldn’t be suitable for the job and if there are any questions you could answer now that would help. (Do people really use ‘bubbles up’ when they mean ‘comes up’?)

I usually tried to ask them a question that showed off my research - e.g. picking one of their values and asking how it is engrained in their day to day, or picking something from their accounts and asking a question.

The last place I worked (and interviewed as part of my role,) we wanted a really clear answer to why they wanted to work for us and if we didn't get that they probably wouldn't get to second interview.

If nervous, it's fine to reply with 'I'll just think about that...' or similar rather than answering straightaway. Maybe smile and say you're a little
nervous before the questions start.

Have a list of examples you can use to evidence your competencies and try to use the strongest ones first so you can be sure of getting the opportunity to include them.

Have a few examples that can be tailored to almost any question, even if not particularly strong, to avoid being unable to answer at all.

No real help but I can’t tell anyone in real life yet. I had an interview yesterday, first in about fifteen years, I prepped, I made notes and I was nervous as hell. Went in , admitted I was nervous, calmed down …not a single question on anything I could have prepped for. I was just myself in the end. Got the email offering me the job this afternoon. Gobsmacked doesn’t even cover it!

Well done! I think you did the right thing. All the stock answers are so obvious. If you get an interview you have the necessary experience and qualifications, the rest is whether they like you and can see you in the team

Get a copy of the job specification and prepare examples of when you’ve demonstrated those skills in the past. Take in notes if you think you’ll need a prompt.

Answer competency questions (“Tell me about a time you..”) with the STAR model. Situation. Task. Action. Result. Talk about what YOU did, not “we”.

Smile and be enthusiastic about the role/ company. Tell them why you want to work there.

People hire people - remind him to let his personality show, don’t be too formal and almost robotic.

Also remind him that he’s essentially interviewing the company too to make sure he actually wants to work for THEM in this role. Reframing it like that may help to ease the pressure a bit.

Best of luck!

Look at your CV and application. That’s potentially all they know about you. If you were the interviewer, what questions would you ask- Is there anywhere you’d need reassurance? Gaps in employment, very short stint at a particular company, limited experience on paper in a skill from the job spec? Prepare for questions on these.

1. Shake hands in and out of the room with everyone,
2. Thank each person for their tome when shaking hands and leaving.
3. As other posters said, always talk about YOU. Its hard but it has to be ‘I did this, I did that’
4. Tell them as they wrap up the interview - right before thanking everyone- why he would like the job, why he thinks it’d be a great fit. Show energy, enthusiasm and want. I hire the most enthusiastic, not the best talker.
5. Be early, but not too early. 15 minutes coming in the door.
6. Don’t go into the room before a lady interviewer, hold the door - or at least offer
7. Make polite small talk with reception - one or two sentences - and thank them in and out too
8. If he gets nervous, have a drink of water - bring a water bottle in case none offered
9. If he realises he could have answered something better, consider saying ‘actually in relation to that last wuestion, i should also have mentioned x, y and z
10. Do not assume you know who the hiring person in the room is, looks can be deceiving

Ultimately I want to work with people I like, good energy, polite and nice to be around. Very best of luck.

This may not work in every context and for every person. When they offer you the job, say you will sleep on it. I've had them ring me back a couple of hours later with a better package 3 times.

Agree. My young adult DD had two interviews recently and I’d prepared her in the same way. She got offered both jobs .

Some bits that always work for me:

• write down the question, it gives you thinking time and if you get distracted when your talking you can glance down and get back on track
• before the interview think of what you'd do in the first 30, 60 and 90 days in the role, it helps you come across well as even if you don't mention it directly it helps shape some good questions
• spend 5 minutes before the interview in the wonder woman pose listening to amped up music... There's a bunch of psychology behind it that it helps you feel more confident
• if you've not got one good answer, give two answers that show different sides of the question e.g. tell me when you've lead a team to deliver a complex project... Can be broken into 'here's a complex problem I solved' and 'here's when I lead a project team to deliver anything at all'. Sometimes people get flustered if they can't match everything perfectly, but as a hiring manager most care that the person could do the job, not that they do that exact job right now

Oh sorry one other... When they ask 'do you have any questions' I always ask as my first question 'are there any areas I haven't been able to cover with my examples so far?' Normally they say no, but once someone called out a weakness in an answer per their criteria so I offered another example

Its ok to be energetic and confident.

Don't focus too much on content/technical info. At interview they've already seen your CV and assessed that your experience and expertise are enough. The interview is about:

• your communication style - can you be selective to deliver the right information in the right way to a particular audience
• your listening skills - really think about what you are asked, pause if you need to before answering, interpret what they are getting at
• your values and what you choose to emphasise
• are you going to rub along with the person hiring & the rest of the team.

Generally speaking someone reasonably calm, assured and relaxed is more likely to be hired than someone who rushes, is nervy, or flusters/panics. In my experience people who are warm, smiling and open in body language do well.

Remember they have chosen to invite you for interview, the odds are in your favour when you walk in in that you've already met the criteria.

Look at the interviewer(s) when you are talking to them. Don't be afraid to big yourself up, that's literally what the interview is for.

He needs to narrow down what about interviews he isn't good at. Is he getting asked questions he doesn't understand? Does he have insufficient knowledge to answer or experience to talk about? Does he struggle to verbalise what he wants to say? Mind go blank, then kick himself afterwards? When he's identified his weakness he can work on that specifically.

Oh and be interested/curious. Ask about the role, the team & structure, their priorities. Remember you are there to decide if you would want to work there too - I've turned down offers because the interviewer was a creep/weird/unfriendly/overtly hierarchical