We 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.
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Interview Techniques
The interview is not only a chance for the interviewer to assess if you are the right person for the job, but it is also an opportunity for you to see if the job and the company are suitable for you.
During the interview you need to look for opportunities to be proactive and ask your own questions or try to lead the discussion where appropriate. Questions should reflect your keenness to work for the company. Generally you should limit yourself to just a couple of significant questions such as:
- What are the key tasks and responsibilities of the job
- What support and guidance is available
- What training will be available
- Other aspects to talk about are:
- Structure of the organisation
- Success of the organisation,
- it's profitability and product portfolio
- Future strategies and development
Keep your concentration levels up during the interview and make sure you listen to the responses the interviewer gives you. The worst mistakes happen when people end up asking questions about topics that have already been covered, or don't hear or understand what the interviewer has said.
Key points:
- Make sure you give the interviewer your full attention
- Wait for them to finish speaking, before you answer the question
- Make sure you ask open questions, to ensure you get full answers
- Check you understand everything that has been said
- At the end of the interview find out what will happen next:
- When will I hear from you
- How will I be informed
- Do you need any more information from me
Candidates can easily find themselves on the defensive, trying to justify themselves, rather than sell their attributes. A good interviewer will often throw all sorts of challenging questions at you, in order to see if you are suitable for the job.
To help you cope with these it is best to know the possible questions that you might get asked, these can be divided up into sections:
- Selling yourself (mention your strengths)
- What experience do you have to benefit this job?
- Can you work well under pressure?
- What is your greatest strength?
- What interests you most about this job?
- Why should I hire you?
- Do you have any questions?
Questions could include:
- what your first assignment would be,
- what type of training is required or given,
- requesting to see a job description, and
- who the company's major competitors are.
Information giving (information on your experience and skills set)
- Do you consider yourself to be a natural leader? The interviewer will be interested in your ability to lead when necessary
- Tell me about yourself. This is an open question, and is a good opportunity for you to reveal the strengths that you mentioned in your personal profile. This is also your chance to reveal your personality, so just be yourself.
- What are your biggest accomplishments? This should be job related, and is a chance to show your competency
- Where do you see yourself in five years time?
Dealing with objections
- How do you handle criticism? Try to portray the attitude that all criticism has a benefit, providing an opportunity for improvement. Also elaborate by giving an example of a poor idea that has been criticised rather than a substandard piece of work.
- How will you cope with a change in environment? Talk about how you can adapt and learn quickly.
Turning negatives into positives (change your weaknesses into strengths)
- What can you do for us that someone else can't? If you have understood the details of the job then try to answer this with a combination of your skills/experience which others are unlikely to have.
Describe a difficult problem you've had to deal with. Clearly explain how you have approached a problem, the result and how the difficult outcome was averted. This will show that you have a positive attitude to all challenges, and you were not discouraged or intimidated by the situation.
- What is your greatest weakness? This is your chance to show that you have identified and are working on reducing your weaknesses. Turn your weakness into strength.
- How do you handle tension/stress? Explain how you avoid stressful situations, and if not how you deal with it, for example: exercising and going to the gym.
- How do you take direction? Show by giving examples of how you can be briefed and finish the task without unnecessary disagreements/complications
- Do you prefer working with others or alone? Explain how you can work well in both situations.
- How do you handle rejection? Much of today's business is commercially orientated, therefore a good answer would tend to be that you move on but take on board what has happened and use it to benefit you in the future.
Always speak clearly in a controlled range of tones. Do not speak in monotone and always pause before speaking, this avoids instinctively reacting and saying the wrong thing.
Points you need to remember:
- Smiling is a good positive signal, as it reaffirms your good nature
- Maintain eye contact
- Relax do not rush or fidget
- Mirror the interviewers techniques, if they laugh, laugh with them
- Maintain an alert position, sit up straight, don't slump, but be comfortable
- Always have a confident and honest attitude.
Top Do's and Don'ts during the Interview
- Always adopt a professional and business-like manner
- 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
- Remain calm and don't rush your answers
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.
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