The top 4 essentials of Interview Preparation
As a leading recruitment agency in Banbury, we handle a lot of interview feedback on a day-to-day basis; from the sublime to the ridiculous! As a result, we’ve become very experienced in what employers are looking for and how best to prepare and sell yourself in an interview.
At present, the UK jobs market is candidate driven. This means that candidates are far more reluctant to move jobs and businesses have to work harder to attract new employees. As a result, companies have to invest a lot of time and effort to sell themselves to candidates. But while you as a candidate often have the upper hand, the importance of impressing and selling yourself has and should not change.
Based on our experience, here are some key things to remember when preparing for your interview that will hopefully enhance your chances:
Anecdotal evidence
Each interviewer will be different from the next in how they approach an interview. However, the majority will almost certainly ask some competency-based questions. These will require you to provide real-life examples to back up your answers. It’s all very well saying, for example, that you are great with customers, however where is the proof? Back this up with an occasion where you have provided excellent customer service and perhaps went over and above to please a customer.
Know what you’re applying for!
It sounds obvious, however it is not uncommon for candidates to go into an interview not knowing enough about the job they have applied for. So before going, insist on getting, ideally a job specification, outlining information on the purpose of the job, the key responsibilities and the skills/experience required. Without knowing this information, how can you sell your skills if you don’t know whether they match what the job requires!
Who are they?
Most interviewers will put you on the spot and ask you what you know about their company. This is usually to discover how serious you are about wanting the role and how much preparation you were willing to put in for your interview. But what do you need to know? This does depend slightly on what type of role you are applying for, however generally we would recommend:
- What does the company do?
- Where are they based?
- When were they established?
- Who are their competitors
Questions
It is definitely important to have several questions to ask at the end of an interview. It shows your interest in the role and company, giving a good first impression of yourself. Also from a selfish point of view, surely it is a good idea to find out as much as you can to decide whether the job and company are a good fit for you too. For some ideas on what to ask, see here and here.
Prospect Personnel are the leading Recruitment Agency in Banbury. We deal with Permanent and Temporary jobs in Banbury & the surrounding area.
Please give us a call on 01295 817669 to see how we can help with your job search!
