West Berkshire & North Hampshire

This is the third and final part of our mini-series of articles on jobs. Two weeks ago we wrote on how to write a successful CV, and last week we covered how to prepare for a job interview. Today the article is focused on what to do during a job interview to give the interviewer the best impression of yourself.

When you get to the interview
You may have to wait for the interviewer to become available, especially if multiple interviews are being held on the same day. Use this time to prepare yourself mentally, or take to other candidates – be friendly!

What happens in a job interview?
The interviewer has to discover whether or not you are suitable for the job. They may ask you questions based on your past experiences, especially past employment or things that you mention on your CV. They may also ask you scenario based questions, where they invent a situation and ask you what you would do, for example “Imagine you had to organise a company retreat. How would you go about this?” Take your time to think before you answer, and be confident with what you are saying.

Think about what they are actually asking you, i.e. “read between the lines”. In the example above, the interviewer is really trying to assess your organisation skills.

They might ask you motivational questions such as “where do you see yourself in five years time?” Be careful what you say – if you tell them that you want to own your own businesses in competition with them, that isn’t going to go down well!

Some jobs might require you to answer a test, for example some sales jobs may require you to answer some basic maths questions. Don’t let this worry you – they aren’t try to catch you out, they just want to know what you can do.

You are expected to ask questions at the end of the interview. This is why you created a list of questions before the interviewer. Chances are, the interviewer may have answered some of them already, but try and ask two or three questions. If you truly don’t have anything to ask, tell them what you would have asked, if they had not already answered them. Don’t ask them about your salary / money – this comes later, if you get offered the job.

Watch your non-verbal impressions. Shake the interviewer’s hand firmly (but not too hard!) and give eye contact when you meet them. Don’t fidget in your interview. Speak confidently – show belief in what you are saying! The interviewer is not there to scare you or intimidate you, although of course you are bound to be nervous. They will understand this, so don’t let your nerves hold you back.

After the interview, shake the interviewer’s hand again and thank them for your time before you leave.
After the job interview

Some companies may not contact you if you have been unsuccessful. If you haven’t heard anything after two weeks, try calling them to find out what is happening.

If you don’t get the job, you can call them and ask why you didn’t get it so that you know what you need to improve on for your next interview. Don’t get too discouraged – it doesn’t necessarily mean that you did anything wrong, or that you were bad for the job, it just means that someone else was better.

If you are offered the job – congratulations! Remember that you don’t have to accept it there and then, you can ask for a day or two to think about it, particularly if you have queries about the salary or details of the contact. It is a good idea to ask to think about it if you are also waiting for results from other interviews for different jobs, especially if you would prefer one of the other jobs.

The one thing you mustn’t do is accept the job offer, and then back out and turn it down a couple of days later. This is extremely unprofessional and frustrating for the company.

If you have any questions about the job or the contract, ask them before you accept / decline or sign the contract, as after that it is too late!

Finally… good luck!
We hope that this article is useful to you, and wish you every success with your future job interviews!