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Job Interviews: Prepare to be Questioned |
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Written by Martin Style
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Interviewing can be a tough process and I've had my share of being on either side of the interviewing desk, so much so that I actually quite enjoy going to job interviews now because I see it as an opportunity to take the next step in my career. Interviews for me now are more about finding out what the company has to offer me just as much as me selling myself to them, and I believe that once you've been through the process countless times, you'll start to think this way too.
As an interviewer, I've seen quite a few people that have just made mistakes from the moment that I've met them. One interview that springs to mind was for a Web Designer, where a young man turned up with a girl and when I asked him to go through to the meeting room where we would have the interview, he asked if she could come along. After a short uncomfortable silence, I said okay. Once we were sat down, my first question was "is this your girlfriend", in a rather incredulous tone. He replied that it was. Great. The guy turned out to come across as being quite arrogant and I guess you have to be to bring your girlfriend into an interview.
- Tip No. 1: Don't bring your girlfriend to an interview.
Another interviewee that I had the pleasure of meeting called me 15 minutes late to ask for directions. I guess if you discount the lateness, that's not so bad, except my office building is one of the tallest buildings in Sydney and he was practically standing next to it when he called me.
- Tip No. 2: Don't call and ask stupid questions that make you sound like an idiot.
Many interviewees that I've seen have blown it by being too nervous. This has meant that they haven't been able to give intelligent answers to questions. Overcoming nerves is very difficult but I've found that, just like public speaking, preparation is the key. If you're prepared for the interview and know roughly what you're going to say, you're not going to be quite as nervous.
One of the easiest ways I've found to prepare for an interview is to buy an interview question book with model answers. You can read through and then tailor answers to your own personal situation and it also gives you more insight into some of the potential questions that you may get asked at an interview.
- Tip No. 3: Like a boy scout, be prepared!
Another common interviewing mistake that I've seen is that people don't listen to what you're asking and start droning on about something totally irrelevant. This actually happened to me the other day, when I asked someone if they usually work on multiple projects in parallel, and then they decided to give me an in-depth analysis of the three projects that I wanted to know least about. Being the polite guy I am, I let him finish and then told him what I actually asked.
Another common interviewing mistake that I've seen is the way that people dress to these things. In a corporate environment, you usually have to wear a suit and so so many people don't. I've seen people wearing velvet jackets, summer dresses, sweat drenched open shirts, and t-shirts with rude slogans. I just end up thinking they couldn't be bothered to make the effort.
- Tip No. 5: Dress the part.
I hope these tips are useful and after all the hard work you may have put into your resume, applications and phone calls, you just don't want to blow it at the interview. I'd like to leave you with a bonus tip, which I have experienced once in a while after I've hired someone. There are some people that are great at the interview, but they oversell themselves and lead you to believe that they have the ability and experience to do the job but once they start, you find out otherwise. You can imagine how long these people stay in their new position.
- So my final tip: Don't lie!
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Job Interviews: Prepare to be Questioned
