You Need To Know This About Job Interviews
Picture the scene. There is a role at the next level available. You believe you are ready to step up to the next level. After all you have been getting some great feedback.
You start to apply for roles. You get the invites to go along for interview. You go along. After the interview you hear nothing or get the standard response that you have been unsuccessful this time.
Right now you are at a complete loss as to why you are not converting those job interviews into job offers.
The thing is that when it comes to job interviews, it is not the best candidate who gets the job.
Many times it is the person that interviews best who gets the job.
You see very few interviewers (probably with the exception of those in Human Resources) do it enough to become rally competent.
As a result it can be easy for the candidate who may well be light on experience and skills but is well prepared to outshine much better candidates.
Now you might be saying that’s not fair. On one level I agree with you.
On the other hand I have noticed that the bulk of people fail to allocate enough time to prepare for a job interview.
From asking the question how long do you typically spend preparing for job interviews to hundreds of professional people, the most common response is between 4 and 7 hours.
Now you might think that this seems quite a lot. But let think about what good job interview preparation involves
1. Researching the organisation;
2. Researching the sector in which the organisation operates in;
3. Reviewing financial statements (particularly important for accountants);
4. Reviewing the job description and person specification;
5. Identifying what is critical to success in the role:
6. Identifying questions you might be asked;
7. Identifying answers to questions you might be asked;
8. Speaking your answers out loud, maybe even recording yourself on audio or video
9. Thinking about good questions to ask the people in the organisation you are interviewing with.
Looking at all this does 4 to 7 hours preparation not feel a little light?
Personally I suggest 10 hours as a minimum.
Spend at least 10 hours and ideally more and I know that you will increase the chances of successfully converting job interviews into job offers.
Duncan Brodie helps accountants to build successful careers. Discover the 7 biggest barriers to a successful career in accountancy in his free report
About the Author Duncan Brodie
Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.