INTERVIEWS - what is your best tip(s)

[biglips]

please?

if they ask what you have been doing say - unapologetically - " i have been bringing up my daughter".

good luck, lady. let me know how you get on

It's a gazillion years since I had an interview but what always helped me was..well, acting, for want of a better word. I'm a lot less shy than I used to be but not exactly brimming with confidence and I get very nervous for interviews. But it suddenly occured to me that they don't know that - they know nothing about me other than what I choose to show them. When I got my last job (the one I gave up to have my kids) I got quite friendly with one of the people who had interviewed me and I asked her one day, months later, what she'd thought of me - "you were so confident and calm" she said I'd thrown up with nerves before that interview

Smile (not continuously of course because then you'd look like a nutter), eye contact. I agree with mazzystar about the sahm bit make it sound positive you could also swing it in your favour by saying now you've done the sahm bit but now you feel the time is right for you to step onto the career ladder again.

In order to cope with the completely left field questions make sure you sit down and think of all that they may ask you and how you should answer them. Rehearse them. Over and over. It really adds to confidence and it means that you know about the organisation and job backwards. Impresses every time. One thing that impresses people where I work is if the potential employee calls the person named on the ad for further info to get detailed info on the position, how it fits with the rest of the section etc - shows real interest in the position and they often give you inside tips that look good when you spout forth in the interview.

say this at the end of the interview:

"thanks for meeting with me, I hope I've managed to get accross how keen I am to work for you".

or something along those lines.

I've been told by more than one employer that it was the key thing that got me the job over other suitable candidates.

I've been asked about my child - 'where is he?' to which I have wanted to reply 'Tied up to a lamp post outside'.. It p*sses me off to get asked this, as I really think its none of their business...

But tips - if they ask you a question that makes you think 'What???' Say something like 'I'm not totally sure I understand the question/what you mean?@ - ie get them to rephrase and buy yourself somethinking time!

If you are nervous say so, suprisingly once you have said it you will feel much calmer and frequently they are too.. it can be a real ice breaker.

Goodluck