Understandably, interviews seem utterly daunting and terrifying. Much scarier than sending off your impressive and error free CV – check out scribbr.com for proofreading services - however, if you ensure that you’re properly prepared for your interview, then it will certainly help to improve your confidence and you’re less likely to be scared of messing up.
Read on for 6 simple and straightforward interview preparation tips that will help you nail that interview and get you the job you want!
Go back and check the job description
It might have been a while since you applied, so familiarise yourself with the initial job description. This is where you’ll find all the skills and abilities that your prospective employer expects of you. Run through these desirable and compulsory attributes and align them with your own qualifications, experience and skills. This will help you prepare for any questions you might get.
Do plenty of research on the company
Researching the company will give you an advantage over any other candidates. It’ll give you context when you’re answering questions about the role and how you would cope in the position, but it also shows initiative and an interest in the business. Make sure you’re up to date with the company’s ethos, their size, how old they are, who their customers are and how they expect their company to grow. You can check out the company’s website but also see if they have any social media pages that might give you an insight into the company’s culture.
Think about why you want this job
Spend some time considering why you applied for this role in the first place. You might be asked to explain why you’ve shown interest in this role and why you’re the best person for it.
Research common interview questions and practise some answers
Of course there’s no way to know exactly what you’re going to be asked in your interview. However, there are a handful on interview questions that do come up time and time again. Think for answers to the following questions:
- Why do you want to work here?
- What interests you about this role?
- What will you bring to this role?
- What are your greatest strengths/weaknesses?
Prepare your own set of questions
Typically at the end of an interview, the interviewer will ask you if you have any questions. This is a huge opportunity to show initiative, your dedication to the role and start apart from other candidates. Try some of these:
- What do you like about working here?
- What qualities to the most successful employees have?
- What are the next steps in the hiring process?
Research how you’ll get there
Make sure you know where the interview is taking place and make sure you get there at least 10 minutes early. If you have transportation plans, make secondary plans just in case the first ones fall through!