Interview Preparation is the Key to Success!
March 9th, 2022
Interview Preparation is the Key to Success
I’m a big believer that preparation is the “Key to Success” and if you have prepared well, you will feel much better during the interview, be more relaxed and appear more confident!
Here are some key action points we have put together to help with preparing for interviews.
1) Research the company - This sounds obvious but I’ve often heard a hiring manager say, “They didn’t seem to know much about us!”
Check out the company website. Visit social media sites for example; Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin.
A great idea is to “Google” the company name prior to the interview. Find out what’s been going on recently and in their industry. Have they been in the local business news recently? Won any awards? You can choose to follow the company on Linkedin and then research historical Linkedin posts – this gives you an insight to the business and its culture! If you are applying for an accountancy role, I would recommend downloading and reviewing the company accounts via Companies house.
2) Know why you are interested in the job and match relevant experience preparing examples. Think about what appeals to you about the job not just the salary and benefits; it could be the varied job role, the industry or the organisations culture?
Read the job spec and then re-read it! As you must be happy with the duties and responsibilities laid out in the job spec. Write down any questions about the role and ask your recruiter before the interview to clarify anything. It is a good idea to write down your own work examples, next to the duties and talk about your competencies and experiences during the interview.
3) Interview them! Prepare your own questions you may wish to ask during the job interview. It’s as much your interview as the employers so ensure you come away knowing everything that you need to make a decision about the job.
Here are a few examples...
- Please can you expand on XYZ on the job description? Ask for clarification – or what does this mean? (Check with the recruiter first in case its internal speak/jargon)
- Prepare a few questions you have about the job spec for example details, volumes, systems, processes?
- Can you summarise a typical day/week/month on the job?
- If the role is accountancy related, you could ask, “when is the companies year end or particularly busy periods?”
- What challenges are the team or department facing right now?
- What systems do they currently use? How much is done on Excel or even manually?
- You may want to ask about the culture of the company and why the staff are happy and enjoy working for the business.
- The structure of the team and is there anyone else new to the team?
- You may want to know about how the company will train you and help you to hit the ground running or how will they set you up working from home if relevant.
- You may wish to know about long-term career opportunities and how they reward, motivate, and promote their staff?
- "What are the positive things about working here"?
- What are the next steps for my job application?
4) Prepare answers to “common’ interview questions before the interview. A few examples...
- What attracted you to apply for this role?
- What motivates you?
- How do you like to be managed?
- Do you have any development areas? / What could you improve on?
- What do you know about our business so far?
- Which parts of the job spec interests you most?
5) Finally, after the interview
Be open and honest - At the end of the interview if you are keen TELL the interviewers!
You could follow up with a thank you email, Linkedin message or ask your recruiter to do this on your behalf.
Questions and feedback to your consultant. Your consultant should be able to clarify key points for you and help you decide if the job is right for you and support you with the next stage of your application.
If you would like any further help preparing for an interview, we would love to hear from you.
Good luck!
By Clare Dear
March 2022