nterviews tend to cause people a lot of stress and that’s totally understandable, particularly if you’re applying for your dream job or even a job you just badly need. You will never really know exactly what an interviewer is looking for but there are a few things you can do in every interview to increase your chances of getting the job. Here are 3 secret weapons for nailing that job interview.
Practice
If you have a friend who is in HR, recruitment or anyone who fires and hires people, invite them over for dinner and get them to pretend interview you. One of the reasons why interviews are so scary is because no one really does them that often. Think about it. If you’re in a job for five years and you apply for another one that’s five whole years that you haven’t been practicing. Get some practice in. It makes the world of difference.
Flattery
Never go to an interview without researching the interviewer. Google them and find out about other projects they’ve worked on, their career highlights and how long they’ve been with the company. If you can make the interviewer feel good or proud during your interview, you will stick in their mind as someone they liked. Even if they didn’t particularly like you, the warm glow of flattery lasts a long time.
Timing
People can easily remember the first and last parts of events but they rarely remember the middle. If you’re the first or last interviewee you’ll stick in their mind. Try not to be the person in the middle. No one remembers the interview that happened right before lunch.
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Are you good at interviewing? Have you ever totally nailed a job interview?
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13 Comments
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Perfect timing! I quit my job of 7 years last week and will need to find a job and brush up on my interviewing skills stat! I’m lucky enough that I’ve never had many interviews – I definitely need some practice!
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Author
It’s all in the practice! Honestly that’s why most people don’t get the first job they interview for!
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I always thank the interviewer afterwards with a quick email that afternoon. Let them know how lovely it was to chat to them, and that you are looking forward to the next possible meeting. Manners go a very long way!
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Author
Oh yeah that’s a great one! That way they’ll also remember down the track if you go to interview with them again.
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Such a great post! Interviewers love asking you to provide examples of times you’ve had to show initiative, be flexible or adaptable, or solve a problem. My advice would be to come up with plenty of different examples you’ve done this sort of stuff at work and type them up into a Word document under sub-headings. This way you can memorise them for interviews and you also have a go-to document you can add to whenever you want! x
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I always get stumped on those ones so this is a great suggestion. Also coming up with a solid answer for ‘What’s your biggest weakness?’ is a great idea although I haven’t yet come up with a good answer to that question that isn’t ‘Other people being idiots?’.
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Great tips! I also used to have some questions prepared to ask them (about the company or future plans) and do some company research as well as personal interviewer research.
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I cannot believe how far flattering goes sometimes. It dead set shocks me that you only to have to listen to a person and they will love you forever.
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Mine would be ‘Be Prepared’ – I am always surprised, when interviewing people, how many people do not turn up with their application forms, CVs and other information they used to apply for the role (I come from a public sector background, so these are always required). If being interviewed in the public sector, anyway, the questions are always based on the selection criteria, which (incidentally), you need to address in the application form or covering notes.
So bring your application info – can really help if you have brain freeze and can’t think of an answer to a question, because chances are, you’ve already given it! (plus – always back up a claim with evidence – ie. ‘I am experienced in particular applications’ – I used these in order to process grant applications, and we managed over 40 during the time period). Also check if you need to bring other details as well – these are usually set out in the ad, or on line.
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Absolutely! I always have a cheat sheet of stuff I’m supposed to remember for interviews and I go over stuff in my head before I enter the room. I have had people come to interviews and they don’t even know my name! Bad start!
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I aced the last interview I had and I’m pretty sure the only reason was that it was via Skype and I was so distracted that I answered all the questions honestly and authentically ’cause my brain didn’t have time to come up with alternative ‘smart’ answers. In the background I had my rapidly becoming unwell baby who ended up in hospital 1/2h later, so my second thought was that it is like haggling – don’t care too much about the interview and you’ll win! I do a lot of interviews of people and my other key points are: research – the role, the industry, the region, the challenges. If you can offer solutions to problems before they think of them, you’ll rate highly.
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Oh god yes! That’s a great one. I’m an actor and when I audition for stuff I just don’t give a shit. Being nervous is a massive put off so it’s best just to go hell for leather and not give a shit what anyone thinks!
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[…] For some awesome tips about how to nail the interview – once you have your outfit sorted of course – head over to Smaggle and check out this fab article! […]
[…] For some awesome tips about how to nail the interview – once you have your outfit sorted of course – head over to Smaggle and check out this fab article! […]
