Interview Tips
So, your expertly crafted CV has secured you an interview. All that you need to do now is prove that there’s some real substance to the person behind it. While not exhaustive, here are a few helpful hints for putting yourself in pole position.
Prepare
There’s no getting away from it - preparation is crucial. Think of an interview as a Pitch and you won’t go far wrong. We’ll always give you as much insight into who you’re meeting as possible - what they do, how they do it, what makes them tick. But it’s essential that you do your homework too….
The internet and associated industry press are all valuable information resources. Investigate the brand you’d be working on, how it’s positioned, the competition and any industry trends. Ask your peers about their perceptions of the brand. Use all of this information to formulate any further questions you want to ask. Remember, an interview is a two-way process and it’s just as important that you find out about the company and the role as it is for them to find out about you.
First Impressions
Look the part - in this industry creating a good first impression is vital. Give a firm handshake, smile, maintain good eye contact, be confident and just try to relax and enjoy it. Remember, they have shown interest in you so you should be flattered and excited rather than nervous.
You and Your Achievements
As with your CV, it’s important to highlight specific personal achievements rather than focussing purely on what your company did. So, talk about your responsibility on a given project, what you did, how you did it, and the results you achieved. Where possible, take along samples of work produced - not only does this provide a nice visual context to the interview, it also allows you to go into more detail regarding the rationale you applied, the stages you went through in it’s development and so on.
Listen
One of the biggest mistakes at interview is not listening to questions you’re being asked and instead telling the interviewer what you think they want to hear. Always ensure you’ve understood a question and take time to formulate your response - not five minutes (this would be bad thing), but interviewers will always respect you for engaging your brain, before engaging your mouth!
Ask Questions
Preparing well thought out questions before going into the interview will show that you’re prepared and that you are genuinely interested in the job. Never be afraid to take in a list of questions to ask - if you’re anything like us, by the time you’ve got to this stage of the interview you will have taken in so much information you’ll have completely forgotten what you were going to ask. But please don’t ever ask things like ‘what’s the salary?’ or ‘what are the hours of work?’ Leave that to us.
Second Interview Presentation Preparation
These days a lot of second interviews require some form of presentation. As uncomfortable as it may be, try doing a practice run with a friend/colleague - presenting in front of your peers is always more difficult than presenting to someone you’ve never met, so its great practice. We’ll also be happy to help in any way we can.
Wrapping Things Up
It’s always good to finish things with a positive statement about your interest in the role but don’t make it sound like a hard sell, it’s got to sound natural.