How To Nail the Job Interview
I’ve done a number of interviews for a couple of roles in our company in the past few weeks. If I had to sum it up in a word it would be - underwhelming.
Like most things, doing a great job interview isn’t rocket science:
- focus on the important things
- do them well
- and be yourself
I thought I’d help with the ‘focus’ by doing a short list here - and if a potential candidate is doing decent research in advance of a future interview then this will help. I have just realised the first letters of the 4 list items spell AREA. So let’s call it the AREA approach.
Attitude - tried & tested ‘hire for attitude, train for skill’. A positive attitude to life as well as a new job will take you far. It is the thing that will make you stand out from other candidates. Bring the positive attitude with you to the interview & demonstrate it throughout. Word of caution: don’t fake it or overdo it that will just make you seem weird, wired or both!
Research - do some, in fact do a lot. It’s not difficult it just takes time & if you want the job (harking back to #1) then you will do this and if you really want the job you will do something more than just hit google. One roll we have been interviewing for recently in an online content role - I can tell you the first person who brings a mock up of how something might look if they were doing the role would make an impression & that’s not happened yet.
Examples - I assume you have the ability/skills required if I have invited you to an interview. Now is the time to put meat on the bones of the CV with real world examples of things you have done, problems you have solved, the difference you have made. Anticipate what you may need examples of and have them ready.
Ask Questions - not lots of questions & not silly questions (i.e. those that are answered in the job ad or the website) but pertinent questions that show you have really given this some thought before showing up.
If you can nail these four AREAs (I couldn’t resist) then you’ll have given yourself a great shot at a new job.
Go for it! Oh, and if you can get the word armadillo into a job interview with me then I am going to give an extra point on the research front! Current vacancies are here although a story for another time is how we will improve this.
Tagged as how to, job interview, MediaWorks, techniques, vacancies + Categorized as general
Good solid advice Ande, I can feel your frustrations. Having been on both sides of the fence I have to say some employers as well as potential employees could do with a doing some research too. Now more than ever when employers can save themselves A LOT of money if they avoid using recruitment consultants - surely employing the right staff is one of the most important things for any business so why not invest some person hours in actually looking for the right candidates.
Good luck filling those roles.