PREPARATION OF INTERVIEW

You need to prepare well for the interview, finding out about the history of the company, its structure, market position and management style, along with details such as: how big the company is, how long have they been operating, what are their key income revenues and core areas of business, who are their major competitors, and have they had any major upheavals or successes. The easiest place to start the research is the website, or calling the marketing department and asking for a company profile or press kit. This will not only help you show your enthusiasm to the company but also enable you to be more relaxed about the questions asked. If you are preparing for a specific job interview, you will need to familiarise yourself with the job description, so matching your attributes to their requested skills.

You will also need to prepare information about yourself by building up a personal profile to enable you to answer questions both quickly and accurately. The profile will comprise of both personal and business information. For example:

Personal: 'I am an ambitious, organised and highly-motivated individual who is goal driven and excels at building long-term customer relationships.'

Business: 'I am an experienced sales professional with five years specific experience in the automotive industry'... go into further details.

Be positive, if you are negative the employers will not believe in you. You need to remember that you have been short-listed, and therefore must stand a good chance. It is good to feel a bit nervous before the interview as it shows that you want the job.
DO AND DONT'S DURING INTERVIEW
Listen intently
Use strong positive language
Ask the relevant questions
Wear a smile at all times
Never indicate that you're desperate for a job
Don't get into discussions about your personal life, and decline any bait to mention secrets of your present employer, the interviewer should respect your trustworthiness and integrity
Ensure that you don't smell of any strong odours, e.g. alcohol, garlic or even perfume
Don't fidget or play with your hair, clothing, items in your pockets etc
Avoid negative phrases such as: 'I don't know'. I'm not sure'
Be persuasive, speak in terms of what benefit you can bring to the company, rather than the other way around


Psychometric Tests

Psychometric means tools for measuring the mind. There are two types of test:

Aptitude test: assess your abilities
Personality questionnaires: which build up a profile of your characteristics
Many employers believe that such tests give a good idea of whether you are able to do the job, and if your personality is suited to that of the job and the company.

Aptitude Tests: These test your critical reasoning skills under timed conditions. A typical test may have three sections each testing a different ability, such as verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning. The test would normally be about 30 minutes long for 30 questions.

Personality Tests: Questions tend to focus on; how you relate to other people, your work style, your ability to deal with emotions (your own and others); your motivations; determination and general outlook and your ability to handle stressful situations. There are no right or wrong answers, just be yourself.