How To Crack Job Interview

You have secured a job interview, great news, but remember so have another several people. The objective ahead is to secure the role and stand out from the crowd as on paper most applicants have the relevant skills in question to fill the role.

Research:

Research, research, research! Interviewers are always impressed if a candidate knows a lot about the potential role and company. Competitive intelligence is valuable information; you can demonstrate to potential employers that you have insight about their product, service and company. It is very important to evaluate and research your potential employer.

Contact your job recruiter:

Knowing as much as possible about your potential employer is a must.If you are lucky enough to be dealing with a job recruiter ask as many questions as you can, job recruiters work with a vast amount of companies and will have gathered plenty of information.

Find out who is conducting the job interview:

This will determine where to channel your preparation, if there are technical people interviewing be sure to have very detailed examples prepared. ?Likewise, focus on HR style questions in depth if it is a HR interview. However, be prepared for either HR or Technical questions in job interview.

Structure your ?interview answers:

Answering ?job interview questions in a structured manner will allow you to be concise and eliminate waffle which can happen to the best of candidates.?When preparing revert back to the age old ‘STAR’ technique of HR interview – simple and trustworthy.

• Situation/Task: explains the circumstances.
• Action: describes what you did.
• Result: describes the outcome of your action.

Answering ?job interview questions this way is much more effective than providing vague, general or theoretical answers. Learn the job’s requirements then write STARs that provide specifics about times you met similar requirements. Prepare your questions a couple of days in advance as better examples may come to mind in the days leading up to the interview.

Listen:

Listen attentively, in a job interview situation people tend to be ready to list off examples without even listening correctly to the question, relax take your time and listen. Interviewers are not impressed by questions being answered incorrectly.

Samples of your previous work:

If possible, depending on your type of work, provide additional material like a design portfolio of previous work, it allows you to ‘wow’ your potential employer. Be aware of the confidentiality clauses with your clients or previous employers while sharing your previous work.

Relax!

Did you know that 93% of communication is non-verbal? You have to be prepared, relaxed and confident and this comes from knowing your strengths and embracing them.

Be prepared:

Do not fall into the trap of trying to wing a job interview, anyone can plan this but more often than not it?s the ideal candidate who feels he does not need to prepare as he has ten years? experience in that particular role and thinks ?what could they possibly ask me that I wouldn?t know??

While preparing, pinpoint gaps in your skills or experience relevant to the role and think about how you can compensate for the lack of a certain skill.

 

This article is adapted from the original article written by Ross Cronin at?http://www.morganmckinley.ie/. Morgan Mckinley is?a global professional services recruitment consultancy, Morgan McKinley connects specialist talent with leading employers across multiple industries and disciplines.

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Jappreet Sethi