Candidates talking themselves out of billions in the interview chair

Research reveals the true price of poor interview preparation:

Candidates have missed out on pay rises worth 2.3bn in the past 12 months through unsuccessful job interviews

One in three jobseekers failed to get a single offer in the past year

Poor interview skills are the top reason for lack of success

5% prepare for interviews by wearing lucky pants or taking a good luck charm

Jobseekers are talking themselves out of billions of pounds a year in potential pay rises through lack of interview skills, new research reveals.

According to the study of 5,000 candidates by www.jobsite.co.uk, one of the UKís leading online recruiters, jobseekersí inability to sell themselves in interviews means that they are losing more than 2.3bn a year in missed pay increases.1

Although the average amount missed out on is 750 ñ enough to keep an employee in early morning lattes for more than a year, and the equivalent of a three per cent pay rise for someone on the UKís typical salary2 ñ two fifths (43 per cent) have lost more than 1,000, and a quarter (28 per cent) more than 2,000.

And it seems that many candidates are struggling to cope with the penetrating modern interview, in which being asked to sell a bottle of water, tell the interviewer what they would have written on their gravestone, or reveal how their friends would describe them are not uncommon.

According to the research, one in three jobseekers failed to receive a single job offer in the past year ñ 10 per cent of the working population.3 Poor interview technique was the single biggest reason for failure (11 per cent), with falling victim to nerves (11 per cent) or being out of interview practice (nine per cent) other major factors.

The findings come as Jobsite launches BeMyInterviewer.co.uk, an interactive video based website, which lets jobseekers practise for interviews with some of the UKís leading bosses.

Keith Potts, CEO of Jobsite.co.uk, said: ìOur candidates tell us that itís one thing to find a job that matches your skills and experience, but quite another to be able to sell yourself in an interview chair. With 13.4 million people looking to change jobs in 20084, we have created BeMyInterviewer.co.uk for everyone that wants to be successful at interviews.

ìBeMyInterviewer is a completely new way to prepare for interviews. As well as giving users a chance to get a feel for the interview situation and what they can expect, candidates gain genuine insights from real business leaders into how they interview and what kind of answers they look for. Like it or not, interviews are a fact of life and unless we get better at them weíll continue to miss out on pay rises and promotion.î

Duncan Bannatyne, Serial Entrepreneur, Dragonsí Den and one of the interviewers on BeMyInterviewer says ìIíve built up a number of successful businesses and have interviewed hundreds of candidates. When Iím looking for people to run my companies, I want someone who knows the industry, knows my business, has looked at it, understands it, and knows what I want to do and where they are going.î

ìCandidates must do their research on the company and the industry, and make sure they are ready to discuss their experiences. A great resource for interview-hopefuls is BeMyInterviewer.co.uk ñ itís a sensible tool to help candidates practise their skills prior to an interview.î

The research highlights the widespread lack of interview preparation among candidates. Only 13 per cent practise interview questions with friends and family, despite a third (33 per cent) saying that knowing how to turn their experience into answers would make them more successful.

Instead, many candidates look to prepare by buying a new suit (16 per cent) or having a haircut (7 per cent). Others take a more alternative approach, with one in 20 wearing lucky underwear (five per cent) or taking a good luck charm with them (four per cent).

BeMyInterviewerís killer questions

ìTell me about your biggest success Ö now tell me about your biggest failureî - Ruth Badger, businesswoman, consultant and runner up on The Apprentice

ìIíve interviewed 20 people for this job, why should I employ you?î - Duncan Bannatyne OBE, serial entrepreneur and star of Dragonsí Den

ìTell me a secret youíve never told anyone beforeî - Andy Hart, MD of Associated Northcliffe Digital

ìAre you a natural leader or a born follower?î Jacqueline Gold, CEO of Ann Summers and Knickerbox

ìWhy are you the best candidate for this opportunity?î - Kirsty MacCulloch, Senior Project Manager for graduate recruiters Hobsons/GET

ìWhat does this role mean to you?î - Keith Potts, CEO of Jobsite.co.uk

BeMyInterviewer.co.uk lets users select streamed videos of job interview questions and answers from the likes of Duncan Bannatyne (serial entrepreneur and star of Dragonsí Den), Ruth Badger (businesswoman, consultant and runner up on The Apprentice) and Jacqueline Gold (CEO of Ann Summers and Knickerbox).

As well as viewing typical questions ñ including interviewersí personal killer questions ñ users can also hear each interviewerís personal insight into the question, explaining why they asked it and what would make a good answer.

Each interviewer has their own distinct style and area of expertise including competency based interviewing, and users can also choose interview questions based on key themes, for example; money, experience and ambition and selling yourself.