Posts Tagged ‘job interviews’

If you are to have any chance of standing out at job interviews you need to be prepared.  As a minimum make sure that you:

1. Do some background research into the organisation you are being interviewed by.
2. Understand the key challenges facing the organisation or the industry in which it operates.
3. Have two or three really strong questions to ask the interviewers about the business and progression opportunities.

With information so freely available these days there really is no reason not to be prepared for a job interview.  So start setting yourself up for success at job interviews.

In any job interview there are two questions that are almost certain to be asked:

1. What are your strengths?
2. What are your weaknesses or areas you need to develop?

So how can you discover your strengths and development needs?

1. Self assess or reflect personally on your strengths and development needs based on your performance to date in different areas.
2. Seek feedback from others formally and informally
3. Take some form of assessment or profiling such as Myers Briggs

By taking these three simple steps you can give yourself a real edge in job interviews.

Selection interviews are still the most common way of appointing new staff.  If you are the candidate, your objective is to persuade those hiring that you are the best person for the job.  Having been interviewed many times myself and interviewed loads of applicants, I believe that there are 5 things that you must be able to demonstrate in job interviews:

1. Experience so that you can step into the role and make an impact from day one.  Remember you are unlikely to be able to show experience in every aspect of the job but look for areas where you have something similar to what is required.
2. Results and achievements.  Too often candidates focus on talking about their responsibilities rather than what they have delivered in terms of results.
3. Potential.   Recruiting someone is expensive so it is important to demonstrate that you have the potential to grow and progress within the organisation.
4. Fit.  Employers want to know that you can get on with others and work successfully as part of a team.
5. Confidence.  At interviews we are all nervous.  Being confident is about knowing and believing that you have something to offer.  The way you interact during the interview and handle challenging questions demonstrates confidence.

Job interviews are not always predictable but I believe that you can increase your chances of success by focusing on the above areas.