Interview Tips #CJTopTips

17 August 2016

1) Know your route to the interview

Yes, we know it’s obvious, but often the obvious stuff is the stuff we tend to get wrong! DON’T spend your morning sweating like an Olympic shot-putter running down through Oxford Circus - TFL it. Or, better still, if you have a smartphone get CityMapper and look at all the options the evening before.

2) Take a notebook and write 3 questions in it

These should be the key things you genuinely want to know. Also remember that you’re allowed to use it in the interview to take notes - yes, really! - and you can also refer to your questions at the end of the interview. Good examples are:

• What’s been your best moment in your role?
  
• What’s your professional background? (you could also Google the interviewer if you know who they are and drop in some knowledge about them/their job - very impressive!)
  
• What do you think the most exciting part of this role will be?
  

3) Remember 3 facts

No more, no less, or you’ll go blank. Don’t write them down. Yes use your book to take notes and ask questions, but DON'T use it to remind yourself of key facts in the interview - reading facts out from a book in front of you doesn't look great. You key facts can also be used to answer those broad difficult questions like ‘why do you want to work for us?’

4) Think of 3 key scenarios

Which you did things well in, you were challenged by, and you managed well. These can often be used to answer other more specific questions that begin with ‘Tell us about a time when you’ve …’

5) Finally: ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS!!!

• Start by repeating the question back to the interviewer. I.e.: ‘a time when I worked really well under pressure was…'
  
• Then give a good example: ‘...when I worked at Tesco’s and this guy came in and knocked the whole pickle display down and it was closing time, and there was huge queue’. (I'm sure you can do MUCH better than that…)
  
• Then close the question by saying how you took steps to resolve it: ‘I patiently ushered the customer out of the store then attended to the 30 people waiting’. Then repeat the question to signify you’ve answered it to the panel: ‘that was an example of a time I worked well under pressure’.
  

Et Voila!

A super interview…

For more information or support with nailing that interview contact us at createjobs@anewdirection.org.uk.