• Confirm to the Company that you will attend
• Research the job. Work out what the employer will be looking for. They may use a Job Description (list of duties and responsibilities of the job) and employee specification (list of what skills, abilities and characteristics the job holder should have) to decide on the qualities of the ideal candidate. It helps if you get a copy of these - though not all Companies have them. If the job was advertised, try to work out from the advert what their requirements are likely to be.
• Research the Company. - Re-read any information you have gathered from your contacts, company literature, company directories, trade journals, newspaper articles etc
• Research the interview - find out what the procedure would be, e.g. how many interviewers? Will you have to take a test?
• Re-read your CV/Application Form before the interview
• Think about what questions you are likely to be asked and practise your answers. Remember that the interviewer is trying to find out:

Can you do the job? Will you fit in?

• Make a list of the questions you want to ask.
• Choose smart and appropriate clothing.
• Make sure you know exactly where the interview will be held.
• Check your route and if necessary do a test run for the journey at a similar time of day.

First Impressions

• Arrive on time - that is, 15 minutes early.
• While you are waiting, make sure you are polite and friendly to the receptionist, they are often asked for their impressions of the candidates.
• Use the time to read any literature on the Company which is lying around have a last look at the information you have on the job, or chat to the receptionist and see if they have any useful information about the Company. Also take the opportunity to find out the name of your interviewer if don’t know it.
• Relax - breathe deeply.
• When you go in, smile and say good morning/good afternoon.
• Shake hands with the interviewer, make it firm.
• Use the interviewer’s name if you can.
• Look the interviewer in the eye - without staring!
• Don’t smoke, even if you are invited to.
• It’s safer not to accept a tea or coffee during the interview Drinks tend to interfere with answering the questions and make it more noticeable if your hands shake.

Conversation
A good interview is a two-way process; a conversation and not an interrogation. Interviewers are human too and can sometimes suffer from interview nerves. They can dry up if things go badly. If there is a silence, don’t feel that you have to fill it, if you have said all you want to say.

You should be as close as possible to your normal self. Be friendly and let your sense of humour come out, as long as you don’t overdo it.

Listen carefully to what the other person is saying. Smile to show interest and enthusiasm.

The key to the interview is to:

9;Think positively about what you have to offer.

Use every opportunity to show the employer you have what they are looking for.

You will already have spent time working out what you think the employer is looking for. Once you are in the interview you can make sure - by asking them!

For instance,

;"What sort of person are you looking for?"

"What type of experience is expected?"

They may not be willing or able to answer, but if they do you can spend the rest of the interview showing how you meet their requirements.

• Avoid straight yes/no answers where you can. Unfortunately you cannot rely on your interviewer to give you helpful openings, but most questions can be turned to your advantage.
  
  The interviewer has only your past career history and way you put it across to go on. If you do not say much, they probably will not offer you the job. For instance, if you are asked something like "so you left Thompson’s to work for Jacksons'. Instead of simply saying "yes", you can explain why you moved and what new responsibilities and experience the move gave you.
• Listen carefully to the question.
• Speak clearly and stick to the point. Leave out things which are not relevant to the question or which don’t help to sell you. Avoid rambling and being vague.
• Show the interviewer you have prepared by bringing in your knowledge of the job and the Company.
• Check if you have given the interviewer enough information, e.g. "would you like to know a bit more about that?"
• Ask for clarification if you don’t understand a question.
• Give examples to back up your claims where you can, e.g. "I have always been successful in meeting targets, for instance in the last 6 months"
• Take time to think before answering. You can allow yourself time by repeating questions.
• The interviewer may appear to be asking information you have already given on your CV or Application Form. You should still answer, rather than saying, "that is on my CV". They may be double-checking or may not have had time to read in detail.
• Be positive about your skills and achievements. There’s no room for false modesty during an interview.

You will probably be asked towards the end of the interview if you have any questions. Asking intelligent and considered questions during the interview is one of the best ways of making a good impression. It is another chance to show off your knowledge of the company and the job (reading the company literature may help).

Some example questions:

• What sort of induction training would I receive if I got the job?
  
• Would the opportunity arise for me to develop for me to develop skills in other areas?
• Do the latest developments in this area mean you will be buying new equipment?
• I hear you have introduced a new system of quality control - what effect has it had on the results of the department?
• I understand you are opening a new branch in stoke. Will it be selling the same products as this branch?
• Are you planning any now products now the 93 model is so well established?
• I read in the paper about the opening of ABC Ltd near here, how is this likely to effect you?

Write your questions down - there is nothing wrong with bringing out a list during the interview and admitting that you noted a few questions down.

Am I the person you are looking for?
There is one very important question you should ask in every interview you attend - the one which tells you if the employer thinks you have what they are looking for. You can ask it in various ways:

"Have I got the sort of experience you are looking for?"

"Am I the sort of person you have in mind for this job?"

If you don’t ask this question, you cannot find out if they have any doubts about you (or have the opportunity to deal with these doubts).

• Make you sure you know what happens next. That is; will they phone or write? How long before they contact you?
  
• Smile, thank the interviewer for their time and shake their hand

Then reflect on the interview and your performance:

What did you do well?

What you could have done better?

Now you have to wait for the result. If they promised to let you know by a certain date and don’t, it doesn’t hurt to ring and ask.

If you weren’t successful this time, try to work out why. You could even ask the interviewer.

Try not to take a rejection to heart. We all know how much competition there is in today’s job market. There may simply have been another candidate who was better qualified or more experienced.

Think of an unsuccessful interview as practice for the next one.

Note: it is always worth writing to thank the interviewer for their time and asking to be considered for any future vacancies.

The most common form of selection is one to one interviews, but it isn’t the only form. Here is a summary of some other selection procedures:

Multiple Interviews
E.g. first with the Personnel Officer, the Line Manager, the Head of Department. Whichever is first is probably a screening interview. Treat it in the same way as any other interview.

Panel Interviews - with two or more interviewers

• Don’t be intimidated by this, all the same rules apply to panel interviews.
• One of the panel will be in charge of the interview, but they are not necessarily the one with the final say on who gets the job.
• Make a mental note of all their names and who does what.
• Address your answers to the person asking the question, but acknowledge the other by looking at them.
• Don’t be put off if the panel takes notes, they will have done the same for everyone else.
• When it comes to questions, try to ask them to the most appropriate person.
• At the end of the interview, look at each of the panel in turn, thank them and shake hands.

Some companies will ask you to take one or more tests as part of the selection process, as well as attending an interview.

The most common types are:

Ability Tests - to check skills and knowledge eg by asking a mechanic to demonstrate a particular task or asking a secretary to type a letter

Aptitude Tests - e.g. tests of mental ability or IQ, show your general intelligence and ability to learn. They involve tasks such as spotting patterns or odd ones out in groups of shapes or numbers

Personality Tests - where the Company is looking for what they see as the right characteristics for the job

It can be useful to practice tests, especially if you are unsure what to expect. There are books of example tests available - ask in a library or bookshop.

The main things to remember are:

• Read the instructions carefully. If you don’t understand, ask.
• Some tests have no right or wrong answers, just answer them honestly
• If you can’t answer a question, leave it out and come back to it later if you have time
• Don’t worry if you don’t finish, some tests are designed that way
• If you have time at the end, go back and check your answers

The importance of preparation for interviews cannot be stressed too much.

If you do not plan and practice what you will say and how you will say it, you almost certainly will not get the job.

You must:

• Take time to research the Company, the job and the interview process.
• Think about likely questions and plan your answers.
• Be clear in your mind what you have to offer and how you will put that across to the interviewer.

And remember, if you do all this you will eventually be successful !!!