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Interview Hints & Tips

The "P's" for a successful interview

Planning
Before an interview, plan for enough time to drive through traffic, find parking, or catch public transport.

Preparation
Prepare yourself for the interview. The more you know about yourself and the skills you possess the more confident you will feel. The more you know about the client the more knowledgeable you will appear. Prepare interview the client.

Practice
Practice interview questions, this will enable you to be confident, skilled and successful at interview.

Presentation
First impressions are often the strongest and an employer may sum you up in the first five minutes of an interview. You will maximise your chances at interview by presenting yourself, your documents and skills to the employer in a professional manner. 		 

Marketing

It is important to market yourself, your skills, achievements, successes and experiences. Ensure that you market what you, rather than somebody else has to offer the client. Your knowledge, experiences, attitude and personal qualities are what the client needs to hear. To market yourself effectively you must know yourself and why you are looking for this role.

  • You must know your goals, both long and short term.
  • Why you are looking for a role such as this one.
  • You must be able to effectively clarify your appropriate and recent workplace skills and experiences relevant to the particular job you are applying for, including:
    • Your specific skills
    • Your abilities
    • Your related experiences
    • Your education and related training (that are relevant to the role)
Successful Marketing
In order to be successful at interview you must know the client, their business, their drivers, what they are looking for and the type of person they feel will fit into their environment, including:
  • Know their goals.
  • Know their expectations of you.
  • Know their recruitment methods - how they recruit, where and when they recruit, their process.
  • It is essential to have some knowledge about the company their services/products and why you believe you can make a difference.

Most people go into an interview ready to present their skills. To be successful in your interview you must mirror, as closely as you can, the characteristics, qualities, skills and experiences the client is looking for. You must be able to relate your skills, experiences and achievements in such a way as to mirror what the client is looking for. This will allow you to meet the client's expectations. The following is a guide to ways that allow you to effectively market who you are and what you have to offer:

  • Know and be able to describe your achievements.
  • Demonstrate how you are able to motivate and work within a team or independently.
  • Establish that you have the capacity to deliver the results the client desires.
  • Demonstrate that you are able to manage different tasks and responsibilities within the position.
  • Illustrate by example how you are able to respond to problems, breakdowns and changes in the workplace.
  • Express that you are open to new ideas and knowledge and applying these to your workplace.
  • Demonstrate that you are able to generate ideas, collect information, analyse and display data and plan actions.
  • Importantly, talk about what it is that you have to offer the client above anybody else and why you should be given the position.
  • Remember, when you were put forward for the position you knew you could do the work. Be positive and confident of your successes.
Research
The more you know about the client and the project you are hoping to work on, the more likely you are to impress at interview. Knowledge demonstrates interest in the role and that you have an understanding of the role's requirements. It sends the message, that you can meet their expectations, because you know what they are looking for. Sources of information on the client and their requirements are available through a multiple of sources, including:
  • The Internet, including the Client Website and News/Current Events.
  • People / Contacts / Networking - people you know who have worked on the project or for the client / colleagues
  • Professional Associations
  • Training / Academic / Educational Institutions
  • Newspapers / Media / Publications
  • Libraries

Interview

Conduct
The following is a guide for how to tackle the interview:
  • First impressions are powerful.
  • Always shake hands firmly with the interviewer, not limply.
  • Sit with legs crossed and open arms.
  • Sit back in chair / good posture.
  • Make eye contact, smile, look keen.
  • Answer questions in a degree of detail
  • Do ask questions, it shows the client that you are interested in the role. Keep questions clear and simple.
  • Be a good listener, show patience, concern and interest.
  • Build a trusting relationship with the client from the first interview.
  • Avoid intimidation, both parties should feel comfortable.
  • Remember that the interview is not just for the client, it is an opportunity for you to find out more about the role.
  • Don't crowd an interviewer, or get in their personal space.
  • Never criticize a former or current employer.
  • Don't smoke before or during an interview, even if invited to do so.
  • Never claim a skill without illustrating how you used it.
  • Always dress professionally for an interview.
  • Never discuss rate at an interview.
  • Don't fidget.
  • Do Plan, Prepare, Practice, Presentation.
  • Relax, be yourself, feel confident. Remember you can do the role.

Take the following to the interview:

  • Spare hardcopy of resume.
  • Dairy / Calendar.
  • Pen.
  • Past employment dates, ready for completing application forms if required.
  • Photocopies of reference or recommendation letters if they exist.
  • Correct change for parking meters, if required.
  • Appropriate research about the client and their products and services.
  • A positive attitude and intention to win the role.
  • Samples of work.
Closing the Interview
Make sure you understand the next steps. Ask the interviewer when they plan to make a decision. If you are interested in the role, let the interviewer know you are really interested and that if they were to offer you the role you would accept. Thank the interviewer for his /her time and consideration of you. If you have answered the two questions uppermost in the client's mind you've done all that you can:
  • Why are you interested in the job and the company?
  • What can you offer and can you do the job?
After the Interview
Last and most importantly, call the Relationship Manager at GMT who referred you to the position immediately after the interview and let them know how you feel you went. This will assist in responding to the client.


 
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