INTERVIEWS - what is your best tip(s)

[biglips]

please?

listen carefully to the question and try to keep your replies to the point, rather than rambling nervously

have a couple of questions ready to ask at the end but not can i still take the holiday I've booked for next month

Remember most interviewers make their minds up in the first few seconds. So appearance and greeting is vital.

Smile and be very very pleasant, even if asked stupid questions or questions you may find slightly offensive. Of course if very offensive, walk out !

Show interest in the organisation and ask relevant questions.

Do not say anything negative about past employers, even if they were complete a* holes.

Sorry, I am sure you know all this stuff already, but these are things that have all helped me in the past !

Good luck

Don't be afraid to blow your own trumpet - sell yourself (and good luck for whenever the big day is!)

Don't mention your children - if asked about them, act disinterested

Harsh but...

I've done a lo of interviewing and it's true you kinda make up your mind in the first 5 mins. Not set in stone but you have a mental image from their CV already and if they come accross well you think your impression from the CV was correct.

When they ask you if there is anything you would like to ask a good one is 'what is the best part of a job?' Once when I was feeling cheeky I asked 'what was the worst part of the job'. This really took the interviewer by surprise and I got the job. WOuldn't reccomend asking this though unless you are feeling really confident.

Also ask them to describe a typical day. Get them to imagine you in the post. Always use 'I' when talking about achievements. Know your CV backwards. They will ask you questions from it.

Remember interviewers get anxious too. It was the hardest thing I used to do. You are aware of a great responsibitity on your shoulders.

Good luck.

Look very smart
firm handshake but not bone crunching
smile but not madly
research the company and job thoroughly
think of answers to questions you'd ask yourself (look at your own cv and see what q's it begs - i.e. gaps/short jobs etc)
Have some questions ready to ask them, make sure you ask at least 2
listen to what they're telling you and answer accordingly - i.e. if they say 'we're looking for someone with experience of abc' when you get to talk about yourself you can say 'my main experience of abc was at xyz company when I did fgh'
listen and don't interrupt the interviewer
you don't have to answer immediately, it's ok to say I just need to think about that for a second
Be honest
Be yourself - no point in selling yourself int a job you can't do/where you won't fit in
don't mention children if you can help it, other than in an empathising with the interviewer kind of way if it comes up
Don't ask too many 'what's in it for me' questions, i.e. 'what time do you finish every night?' - you've got to show that you're interested in the JOB, not convenience/hours etc (even if it is the latter)
Reiterate that you're interested at the end (if you are)
Don't say 'thank you for your time' - your time is valuable too. And don't say 'see you again' - you may not, ever! You can say 'it was good to meet you'
Keep your right hand free at the beginning and end for handshaking and follow the interviewers lead on when final one happens. Usually in the room ime and before showing you out
Try to show you've done your research by asking a q that proves it - i.e. 'I read that you are thinking of buying xvs company, what would be the impact were that to happen?'
Think of examples where you can demonstrate the competencies they're looking for so if they're looking for someone who has experience of customer service they may ask something like 'give me an example of a situation where the inital result wasn't what you wanted but you managed to resolve the issue' You can think if some examples before using the STAR technique: the Situation, the Task at hand, the Action you took and the Result.

And remember, they WANT to find a good person who can do the job. They should be trying to establish whether you've got the right experience - your job is to convince them you have. Good luck! HTH.

Good haircut, clean nails, take no chances on your clothes, be classic
and
dont make jokes.

Depends on your field. In my field (sopcial care / charity sector) a big smile, smart appearance, ability to make them laugh in moderation, and the ability to make them want to be friends with you- because that's what you need in the job. That's the trick really, work out what you'll need to portray in the job (approachable, hyper professional, whatever) then portray that.

What not to do:

what DH did last time.

@excuse me, but i think you'll find you employment policy breaches the 1998 work time directive'

it did (no paid holiday) and he had already decided he wasn't working for the dodgy scrotes, but not a generally good tip imho!

got interview tomorrow to make role been doing for last 18mths substantive - still up against at least one other, so not in the bag, but glad to see some tips here.

oh goodness, hope i'm not one of them....! i've got an interview for a part-time job tomorrow.

have to say if you're already in the role the chances are that you'll get the job.

Okay - i have a question for people familiar with conducting interviews.....

What should you say when they pipe up with FLEXIBILITY related questions.

On two interviews i have been asked the very same question "If your colleague was off at short notice, would you be able to cover for them?"

Now, being the parent of two children under 3 i cant reasonably commit to that. If i said i could and the said situation arose upon taking the job - i doubt i could cover it.

Any ideas - sorry for hijack biglips but i think its pertenent

ms - maybe, is yours in nhs?

VVV I think a reasonable answer to that is 'I always do my best so it would depend on the circumstances but I'm reliable and blah blah' so not actually committing to anything.

Agree totally with nightynight on the orderly hair and clean nails. Polished shoes also a good idea.
And, if you are going for a job in eg. information work, my top tip is ffs read the organisation's website first, so if you are asked a REALLY basic question about its core business you can answer it. Interviewed six people for a nice, flexible p/t job late last year and the one who got it, who is super, was the only one who had checked our website.
SueW is right - a good 75% of the applications we received had large sections omitted, simple instructions about layout/chronology ignored, and essentials on the person spec supplied just not met. One was "attention to detail".

And I would not dream as a potential employer of asking that question VVQV - it would be my job as a manager to find that cover by negotiation with the rest of the team when the situation arose. I would quite rightly be carpeted by our HR people if I tried that tack.

oh wow

thanks everyone for your tips

Am thinking of omitting entirely at my next interview the fact that i have children and see if this flexibility question comes up.

The evil 'what not to wear' women say in their book that matching accessories make you look organised.
I think this is true.

VVV, I would omit it if you can. I can't because my cv has a large gap with 'raising a family' (bleurgh at that expression! An agency put it there) on it. I was once asked 'so if your child was ill you could just put him in the car and dump him at your mils couldn't you?' this from a childless old bag of a finance director. She was barking - I started and resigned a week later invoking grievance procedure because she'd screamed at me publicly, when I hadn't done anything wrong - mad as a bag of snakes. I hate that women get asked this stuff and men don't - neither of my husbands have EVER been asking ANYTHING about childcare in interviews despite the fact that they are fathers. I do agree it's inappropriate to ask. But sadly, it happens.

I will, and will report back here i think as an experiment.

And thank you WWW.

hi guys.. ive got an interview tmrw afternoon in town... your tips really helped me... but ive havent worked for the past 18 mths due to looking after my DD.. what do i say? (before i had my DD i was working for teh same company for 5 yrs before it went under - closed down)