How To Prepare For An Interview

Well done! You’ve been invited for an interview for you dream job. Now, here comes the hard work, combining your research and all the work you’ve done decoding the job requirements. Here’s how to prepare for your interview including how to write and answer interview questions.

Create a portfolio

Before the interview, compile all of your certificates, awards etc (most recent/relevant items first) in a clean tidy folder or portfolio – this will keep your certificates clean, tidy and organised. This folder or portfolio, known as a ‘brag-book’, should contain any letters of recommendation – including print-outs from LinkedIn – written references and details of all awards, achievements and accomplishments. It is worth leaving a duplicate with the employer after the interviewer as, due to some employers strict interview scheduling, you may not be able to use it during the interview.

If you have a linked in account, it would be useful to add the url to your profile. Overall, this, along with the rest of the interview will help provide the all important proof – employers need to know you can do it, not just hear you saying you can do it. It is also useful to take a couple of copies of your CV, your covering letter and a photo –which you could offer to the interviewer afterwards to help them remember you.

How to answer questions

During an interview situation, of course, you are going have to answer questions. It may feel a bit like an interrogation but if you remember four things, you’ll smash it:

• When you answer questions, lean forward slightly in your seat, showing you are enthusiastic, open and helps you seem less stressed, see below for more about body language.
• Answer passionately – this shows you are passionate, obviously.
  
• Remember your research, link it to your answers – this is your opportunity to impress the interviewer with your knowledge.
• Remember the work you did writing your experience and achievements into CV style statements. The STAR system.

There are a plethora of approaches to interview questions, you could answer the question directly, as below, or you could create a STAR answer, more on that later. Either way, do not leave it to chance as, whatever the industry, many of the questions will be the same or similar and good preparation helps boost you confidence.

Common interview questions

Below are a number of common questions and examples of how to answer them. Why not draft up and practice some of the answers to these questions, it’ll put you one step ahead of the other candidates. This list is by no means exhaustive and some of the questions may differ depending upon the industry or role –use your knowledge to adapt them to your industry or role.

If you can think of any more probable questions, jot them down and prepare the answer. Of course, you will get asked about your previous employment – one great way to write down all of your achievements and write into covering letter type statements which you can refer to easily.

Q: Why do you want the job?

Obvious, but highly important, the answer to this question should demonstrate your research, knowledge and link to the specific strengths and interests which encouraged you to apply for the job. This is your chance to demonstrate your specific knowledge on the company –during your research; did you discover a specific feature which makes the company stand out as an attractive prospect for employment?  Be specific to the individual company, rather than the industry. For example, pick out features such as training schemes, their prestigious clients or even the companies individuality.

A: I enjoy taking responsibility in my job, as {insert company name} is a small sized company; I feel there is more scope to build closer relationships with colleagues and clients. I feel, with your market share (or similar detail) there is scope for me to expand upon this – in competition with {competitor company}.  Furthermore, with your training scheme, I feel there would be a great opportunity to build upon my skills, allowing me to help {improve the business in some way}.

Q: Give an example of a situation where you were responsible for leading a team.

This question is to ascertain your leadership and planning competence – especially if you are interviewing for a managerial role. To answer this question, you should outline a situation where you took control of a project, task or group, the problems, how you overcame them and the result and what you learned from the project – is there anything you would do differently next time?

Your example could be anything from event management from a previous position, whilst volunteering or even organising a gig – to university projects. Leadership requires a number of skills and virtues such as persuasion, project management, listening and motivation. So, to answer this question successfully you should aim to give examples where you used each one. If your dream job  requires leadership, planning, project management, people or budget management, be prepared for this question.

Q: Describe a situation where you were involved in teamwork.

A: Pretty much every job requires teamwork, so chances are you this question will come up. The best way to approach it is as per the above question – outline the task, your role etc.

Q: Where do you see yourself in X number of years?
This question lets the employer know if you have researched the company and the industry, so be specific rather than answering, ‘in a managerial position’ etc.  Your answer should demonstrate you know what opportunities are open to you in the role and in the industry on the whole.

A:‘ hopefully having entered {company training scheme} and {professional body postgraduate award} I will have obtained the knowledge and skills to specialise in either  {role} or {role}.’
This answer shows the employer you know your industry and the company, your destination or desired further role, but show you know which industry bodies/ or qualifications you need to obtain a certain position or role. Try not to pin yourself to one role, keep your options open as this shows flexibility.

Q: How would X describe you?

This question is really asking two separate questions in one:  what, would you say are your weaknesses and what are your strengths?  The best approach is to break you answer down into the two separate aspects. Firstly, let’s focus on weaknesses. Don’t say:’ I don’t have any’-  you’ll risk coming across as arrogant, and it may  cause the interviewer to assume you lack self awareness. The best way to answer this question is pick a real weakness which you have taken steps to improve. Such as:

‘I tend to lack confidence when making decisions however, in my last role, I ensured to take on more responsibility to help make confident, assured decisions.’ 

Then give an example.  Many, crafty interviewees try disguising strength as weakness such as, ‘I am a perfectionist’ but beware, employers know this tactic all too well and it may not work to your advantage.

For the strengths aspect, you need to give 3 or 4 of your specific skills or unique selling points (USP’s), skills and other attributes which will help you stand out from the other applicants, and give examples.  You need to remember the job description {link} – the skills required for the specific role – and link them with your personal attributes and skills – these are the major strengths the employer will consider, rather than ‘I’m a grade 8 pianist’ when interviewing for an accountancy position. Of course, the interviewer may ask you if you have any hobbies and interests, and, if you do have any skills such as above, do mention them as they show dedication and a well rounded personality.

Examples of great USP’s include, great communication, project management, the ability to get on with anybody, any technical skills – such as C++, Sage, HTML etc, which are relevant to the role.  Remember to back up these skills with examples of where you have applied them.

A: What’s your greatest achievement?

Ideally, you need to give another example demonstrating some of the key skills from the job description. Otherwise, your greatest achievement should have implemented some of the general transferable skills and attributes most jobs require such as, determinism, leadership, organising, great communication, initiative etc.  However, your greatest achievement doesn’t’ necessarily need to be a work achievement it – you could have for trained and completed the London Marathon etc another example.

Q: Which other companies/employers have you applied for?

This question tests your commitment to the job and the consistency of your career. It is reasonable to assume you will have applied for all the similar roles vacant in London at that time. The game you need to play here is to make the interviewer believe that their company is your first choice, so go ahead and say just that. Then maybe list a few of the other, more prestigious, companies you have applied for. Another great trick is to tell them some other positions available, that you could apply for, but explain that you are yet to make any move because you are waiting to see what happens with this, your preferred, application.

The firms and roles who you name should be with prestigious/well known within that sector companies. Also, do not give any companies or jobs which are not relevant i.e. dissimilar to the one you are interviewing with.

• Remember, answering an interview question is your chance to show the interviewer what you are made of. The above approach is basically a freehand way of answering questions. If you feel you need more structure and guidance a great approach is by building STAR answers. 
• When preparing your answers to the obvious questions you will get asked, as above, remember thesefour points: Situation, Task, Action and Result.  For example,

Q:  Name a situation where you led a team

Situation:  Yes, during my last role as XXXXX when in a team working on XXXXX

Task: The project was critical due to XXXXX. One major problem occurred when the team leader became ill and had to leave the team.

Action: Having had a little experience leading university projects (etc) I nominated myself as the new team leader. Straight away I noticed some problems that needed ironing out (state problems and your solution).

Result: Even though the project ended up slightly over budget it was on time and resulted in X amount of sales X above expectation.

At every opportunity, you should use the STAR system to link the job description with your skills whilst answering the question.

You will need to practice these stories until you know them without the use of your notes – this looks more impressive. Also, to ensure you don’t go over three minutes – much longer and you will take time away from your other answers – three minutes is just right amount of time to get the message across.

Whether it’s using the STAR system or a less structured technique, you need to link your answers with the key skills in the job specification – this is the main objective.

What questions you should ask

For sure, the interviewer will ask you if you have any questions so you will need to prepare some questions of your own.  Not having any prepared questions is a pet hate of interviewers – it shows lack of knowledge and intelligence. Don’t ask about salary and travel card loans, this is completely off subject for a first interview, it’s all about the job not the money at this stage – salary negotiations may come in the second interview or after a job offer. Ask questions which you can show  off your research and your genuine interest in the company:

• Ask about what the job entails
• Ask about any training you could receive
  
• Ask about whether there are opportunities to move up the ladder
  
• Ask what it’s like to work at the company

Before the interview, prepare some questions which you would like to ask the interviewer – you can write these down and take them inter the interview with you.  Chances are, before your opportunity to ask questions arises, many of the questions will have already been addressed by the interviewer. In this case, and if you haven’t thought of any other questions, you should tell the interviewer what the questions were. For example:

‘Thank you.  I made a note to ask you about the training scheme (etc) but you did explain about this earlier and I really feel you covered everything I needed to know at this point.’

Think on your feet – make a mental note of any details which the interviewer mentions that you can expand upon and turn into a question – especially if, when it comes to the point, and all your prepared questions have been answered. For example:

‘I’d made a note about XXX which you have already explained but I wanted to know about {specific}.’

Questions are a great way to demonstrate your knowledge of the industry, demonstrating to the employer your intelligence. I once got a job offer from my questions alone – the interviewer had made her ten second first impression decision, she told me later,  and it wasn’t good, but on the back of the questions she changed her mind. The questions you ask really set you apart from the other hopefuls.

Below is a list of some great questions to ask. These are in no way specific to any particular industry so you will need to tailor them or add a few industry specific questions. If you are applying for a management or a senior level position, employers will be looking for you to ask complex questions which will show your problem solving and leadership skills.  And you don’t need to ask them all, only ask the moist relevant.

Can you give me more details about training progression/programmes within the company?
What would be a typical career progression for this role in this company?
How do you see the company developing over the next 5 Years?
Describe the atmosphere of the company?
What is your personal experience of working in the company?
What would the most important thing I could do in the first few months of my employment?
What does the company value most and how do you think I, and the work I would do, could add value to it?
Do you have any questions about my ability to perform the job?
What potential do you see in me?
What do you see are my strongest assets and possible weaknesses?
What concerns do you need me to clear up before I can be the leading candidate for this position?
What do you think I can bring to the company to add value?

This point in the interview is a great time to also tell the interviewer anything about yourself which has not already come up. Note, if there is a point in the interview where it seems natural to ask a question, do not feel you have to wait until this point.

As the interview progresses, there may be a natural opportunity to ask questions – wait until the interviewer has stopped speaking, or for you to answer their question then ask away. The interviewer may mention something specific which you could link to your research, you could then add, for example:

‘You mentioned your market share is XXX and XXXX, one of your competitors market share is XXXX, what measures are in place for the further to increase your own market share?’

This type of question shows you’ve done your research and won’t fail to impress. If you’ve really done your homework and researched the activity of the company’s competitors, you could then make suggestions based on what the competitors are doing.