Career Advice

Successful Interviewing – Part One

by Keith Robinson Sep 28, 2009

Prepare – Prepare - Prepare

Congratulations you got through, over under, around those first obstacles now for the real assault course, the interview.

Now some of are probably wondering about my “military’ analogies well to me it is a form of warfare, physical, logistical and psychological.

Physical; because you want/need this job, you might have to travel, you are out of your “comfort zone” and that can be physically tiring. BUT also because now you have to prepare, prepare, prepare.

Logistical; one of the great strengths of any army is to mange it’s logistics. You now need to adopt that approach. First on what you may ask; that I cover below.

Psychological; they want to find out about you and you want to find out about them. They want to hire the best and you want/need that job.

What to Prepare

Battles are won by being thorough, anticipating what the enemy will do next and being prepared with a response. A famous Chinese general Sun Tu once said “the most important solider in my army are my spies, they are my eyes and ears and give me edge”.

Today the internet can be your spy, it can give you insight into a company, it can connect you with people in the company and with real effort can connect with people in the same department.

What great information therefore can you gain today to prepare for the interview. So lets look at how we best prepare;

Rule one- use the computer and create a file for each individual interview and save all searches and links and important information save as, interview with xxx and file. Create a folder for all your interviews and the preparation notes you make.

The Company

Go to your favorite search engine, most likely Google but there are others, but same principle just type in the name of the company and it’s site if it has one should be listed, click on the link and your in… (if not listed plan b…the old fashion way go to the office, go to reception and ask for any information about the company and tell them its because you have an interview).

BUT lets assume site listed, open the site and look around, so what might you want to know;

About Us is not a bad place to start, what we do, see if they publish the company “mission statement”, look at Our People and all the time take notes, yes this is revision and a good way to remember is to take those notes.
Note number of employees, annual turnover, profit, offices/locations anything which helps/positions you in the eyes of the job seeker as a well prepared candidate.
Senior Management Team - start to note names of senior executives, but also look out for who you boss might be, or the bosses boss.
The Department – are their any details on the department you will working in or who the department head is, again note all information.
Your boss – who is your boss? Now with all these questions you may not find the answer you want on the company site, but it is good information the have. So if not available either send a note to the recruiter asking for the information or use “contact us”, drop them a line explaining you are preparing for an interview and can they help you.
Location – finally where will you work and where is the interview, any map or how to find us, download, save and print plus place in file.

So phase one of research is completed, now at this point you may have enough and this can/is dependent on; you, do you have what you need, for the level of the position (the more senior the role the more research I would do).

If you want to do more research, what next. This bit can be fun, headhunters today do lots of research online into potential candidates. What we will do is use the same tactics to find out more about the company and it’s management.

Map the day of the interview:

What time do I get up – get up early, get some food and allow plenty of time thought the day or leading up to the interview. Being late or rushed = stress.
Mental preparation – map the interview.
What do I wear – see article on dressing for success.
My travel – where is the interview? Down load a map – plan how to get their – car OK but parking do they have a space? Ring and ask, if not where is the nearest car park? Train or bus? Give plenty of time and plan all these travel arrangements. WHY? Being rushed/last = stress and you don’t want any more than you have.
Arriving – stand outside, big breath, map the whole meeting and walk in, confident – stand tall, stretch taller and introduce your self, simply – smile, name, here for interviewing and meeting xxx, sign in, sit if they have an area, if offered a drink unless very early don’t go hot a glass of water.
What time is my interview – they know and you are on time, prepared and going to enjoy the opportunity to pitch yourself. Read a paper or magazine, company brochure? To me seems too keen
“First Contact”- smile, handshake, hi I’m Keith pleased to meet you and thanks for the opportunity to meet up.
The long walk to the interview room – try to be led by them, if they want to chat go along BUT be careful you are still in an interview. Watch and listen what goes on around you, tidy or messy corridor, open plan or lots of offices etc. Tells you a lot about a company.
Coffee or tea – my personal opinion don’t, maybe water.
Get set, ready, go

BUT it can be fun, yes I know sounds mad, BUT it can be if you are ready, have prepared and know your stuff then enjoy it…maybe don’t relax over confidence leads to you getting “tripped” up but if you enjoy, you smile, you look relaxed that sends a positive signal.

Don’t forget you will be part of a team and we want to hire people who, yes fit the culture, tick all the boxes, but if they appear positive, nice and polite it can make the difference.

Those interviewing are human too, hard to imagine sometimes I know BUT true.

Other sources of background information:

Hoovers UK
One of the web's most renowned sources for company information, Hoovers UK provides company descriptions, financial figures, relevant links to news stories, share prices, details of competitors, short biographies of directors, contact details - all for free, at least for now.

Hemscott
The site also offers free information - mainly of a financial bent - on companies. You'll also find a wealth of financial news, analysis, columns and market information.

Financial Times/FT.com
The Financial Times is the bible of the business world and its website - which contains most of the newspaper content plus a lot more besides

Business.com
You'll find company news, financial data, product information and more. The site is American, so details on some British companies can be scarce, as can information on the British branches of multinationals.

Corporate Watch
So-called corporate social responsibility - whether sound environmental policies or good employee relations - is important to an increasing number of jobseekers.

Kompass
Kompass Register, which contains details on a large number of British companies. It will set you back a hefty £1,145 to buy, but there's a good chance you'll find copies in your local reference library.

Career Advice

Category

Date

Email a Friend