Job Hunting Tips — Interview Preparation — Part 2

The first part of this article discussed the necessity to research the company background, the industry competitors and the industry trends before attending a job interview. In this, the second part, (click here to read the first part) we will focus on the preparation required to communicate at an optimum level with the interviewer.

1) Determine the questions you are likely to be asked

You need to put yourself in the mind of the interviewer, acting on behalf of your prospective future employer before attending the job interview. This will give you the best chance of being prepared to answer all the questions. It will also reduce the chance of being ‘floored’ by a question that you hadn’t even considered before.

Key questions that you shouldn’t have any problem answering include, “Why do you want to work here”, “Where do you see yourself in five years time”, “What do you think are the key skills for this job” and “What key skills would you bring to this job”. You need to practice pre-prepared answers to these questions until they sound natural, believable and confident.

Next, you need to think about questions that you are likely to be asked that relate to the existing or future politics within the organization. For instance, if the original entrepreneur that started the business runs the company, then the interviewer may try and find out if you are comfortable working in a fairly reactive environment.

2) Prepare your own questions

You need to prepare you own questions about the role and company before the interview. This shows that you are keen on the job role and are proactive in nature. In addition, it shows the company that they perhaps may have to ‘sell’ the role to you should it be offered.

The questions that you need to ask should be about the future business strategy, their opinion of their own competitors and current operational and technological procedures. Other good questions to ask include promotional opportunities or personal development opportunities, however these two areas need to be touched sensitively as there may not be any such opportunities available at present, and the company may simply want to ensure that the individual that they recruit will want to stay working in the same role for a reasonable period of time.

3) Be prepared to ‘close’ the interview effectively

If you ‘close’ your job interview effectively, you’ll be ensuring that you know when a decision about a job offer will be made, when a second interview will be conducted, or the likelihood of you being offered the position.

If a prospective future line manager is interviewing you, then the chances are that you will be able to get good feedback on what your chances are of being offered the job. If you ask questions like “Is there anything that you feel I haven’t gone into enough details about” or “How do you think I’d personally fit into the organisation”, it demonstrates your keenness for the role.

If, on the other hand an HR department is conducting the interview, it may be more worthwhile to close the interview by saying something like “I’d like to confirm that I’m very much interested in the position. Do you conduct second interviews or make a decision after today?”

The bottom line is that you have to leave the interviewer with a feeling that you’re keen on the position and that you’d be happy to stay in the job role in question for a decent period of time.

Written by David on November 27th, 2006 with 1 comment.
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Job Hunting Tips — Interview Preparation — Part 1

So many people blow their chances of getting their dream job before the interview. They aren’t armed with the basic facts that make them feel properly prepared and informed at the interview stage. So what information should the interviewee find out before attending a job interview?

1) Company Background

The Internet has to be the key for finding about the company. First of all have a look at the company website. What kind of tone is the website setting? What kind of consumer is the company likely to be targeting?

Have a good read through any mission statements, financial results or ‘about us’ sections on the company website. As well as getting a better feel of the company paradigm, you will be able to discuss future company strategy from a more informed perspective at the interview.

Remember to have a search for other websites that offer a neutral perspective on the company as well. Companies House provides information on previous years’ accounts. Also, the Chairman, CEO or Managing Director may have appeared in the news in the past, so remember to search for their personal names on websites like Google News.

2) Industry Competitors

You need to know who your future competition will be if you get the job. In addition, if you can inform the company at interview stage of things that they don’t already know about the competition, it gives you a significant advantage to getting the job.

First of all, search for your prospective future company name on a search engine like Google. (Don’t type the URL straight into the address box at the top of the page.) Secondly, assuming you find the company’s website listed on the search engine, there should be an option for viewing ‘similar sites’. Click on this option and you should be able to view a list of websites belonging to companies in the same industry.

Once you find the competitors’ websites, it is a good idea to do a very quick ‘SWOT analysis’ of their product and service offering. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. All you have to do is write down five quick bullet points on each SWOT heading about each company. It should take no longer that an hour to focus on the three most likely competitors, but it demonstrates a superb amount of personal preparation and keenness for the position at the interview.

3) Industry Trends

From your Competitor SWOT Analysis, you will be able to determine whether or not the competitors have any unique selling proposition compared to the company that you have the job interview with. You can then establish whether or not the consumer market for such unique propositions are expanding or contracting.

Ways of determining whether or not it is worthwhile suggesting during your job interview for your prospective employer to consider amending their current product offering include researching consumer trends websites such as Mintel or business information websites like the Financial Times.

In Job Hunting Tips – Interview Preparation – Part 2, we will discuss the questions you are likely to be asked at a job interview, the questions you should prepare to ask at your job interview and techniques to ‘close’ the interview effectively.

Written by David on November 27th, 2006 with 1 comment.
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The Top 10 Ways To Improve Your Interview Body Language — Part Two

The following article concludes the top 10 ways to ensure that you show good interview body language. Make sure that all the preparation you do for a job interview isn’t in vain. Your body language is key to job interview success. (Click here to read part one of the article)

The final 5 of the top 10 ways to improve your interview body language are as follows:

6) Make sure that your eyes sparkle

It’s all very well having good eye contact at your interview, but if your eyes aren’t looking bright and interested then you’re making life difficult for yourself! Make sure that you have a good night’s sleep your interview. Remember – this is a very important day – you need to look your best and have no bags under your eyes! If you want your eyes to sparkle then it’s worthwhile getting some whitening eye drops. It doesn’t cost much but it will work.

7) Be engaged

It’s important to be subtly positive at your job interview. You need to demonstrate that you’re actively taking part in the interview. When your interviewer is telling you about the job role and company, make sure that you nod subtly. This shows that you are listening and are interested in what they are saying. It shows that your are engaged in the discussion process and want to be part of the organisation.

8) Breathe deeply

One of the best ways to relax before an important interview is to breath deeply. If you breathe deeply, not only are you relaxing by slowing your rapid, nervous heartbeat, you’re also ensuring that your brain has as much oxygen as possible. This means that you’ll be able to think clearly at your interview and be able to respond to difficult questioning more rapidly. Breathing deeply before an interview will provide you with the effective combination of being relaxed and alert at the same time.

9) Accept an offer of a glass of water

You may not feel like a glass of water, but taking a sip from a glass of water can have a calming effect on your interview performance. It can give you an opportunity to collect your thoughts while refreshing you. It will also give you a chance to get used to the surroundings while the interviewer is out of the room getting the glass of water. This will also give you’re the opportunity to gather your thoughts and decide upon any amendments to your interview strategy as well as reviewing your prepared responses to questions.

10) Practice your handshake

So many people haven’t got the right ‘professional’ handshake. Remember that this is part of the first and last impression that you leave at the interview. If you have a weak, limp handshake then this tells the interviewer that you may not have the ability to deal with confrontation. On the other hand, if your handshake is too strong, then you may not be a good listener. You may be quite confident about controlling a situation, but you may be less likely to be democratic in approach. To demonstrate the happy medium, have a firm but not hard grip, make good eye contact at the same time and mirror the style of the person whose hand you are shaking.

In summary, mirroring is the key. If you’re able to subtly copy the tonality of your interviewer’s body language, you’ll find it much more easier to communicate because you’ll be speaking the same silent body language. This will put you streets ahead of the competition in the race for your dream job.

Written by David on November 27th, 2006 with 1 comment.
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The Top 10 Ways To Improve Your Interview Body Language — Part One

The following article summarises the top 10 ways to ensure that you show good interview body language. Make sure that all the preparation you do for a job interview isn’t in vain. Your body language is key to job interview success.

The top 10 ways to improve your interview body language are as follows:

1) Eye Contact

There’s nothing more off-putting to an interviewer than the interviewee being unable to make regular, good, strong eye contact. The interviewer may think that because you’re unable to do this, you either have something to hide or you may not have the conviction of your beliefs. If you’re struggling to concentrate when looking straight into someone’s eyes, then try looking in-between their eyes. They won’t be able to tell that you aren’t looking straight into their eyes, but you’ll find it easier to maintain focus. Try it with a friend first to see what I mean.

2) Smile

You need to practice a strong, sincere, smile. A good smile has the power to say, “I’m a happy, confident person and I’d love to work here”. Try practicing smiling in a mirror. Practice a smile that puts people at ease. It’s just as much your responsibility to ensure that there is a relaxed atmosphere during the interview. If you’re embarrassed about your smile, see what a dentist can do about it. It might not cost too much to fix your teeth – and it will save you a lot of money if you get the job!

3) Open Body Language

Again, try practicing this with a friend first. Make sure that your legs are slightly apart if you’re a gent. Place your hands apart, on your thighs is good. Open body language is even more important when the interviewer is talking. It demonstrates that you are receptive to the question and actively listening. Remember when you practice your body language with a friend to take a note of what to do with each part of your body. Unless you do that – and remember – you’re leaving it to chance that your body language come across well at your job interview.

4) Don’t slouch

It’s easy to appear as if you slouch too much. This is especially prevalent if you’re asked to site in a large, soft seat. Try not to appear too relaxed. Not sitting right back in the seat is a good idea. If you sit forward, it makes you look more attentive and more interested. Some people slouch because they’re not very interested. Other people slouch because they have bad body language. Either way an interviewer isn’t going to be too impressed. Try practicing in a mirror at home.

5) Don’t be too erect

If you’re too erect then you won’t appear too relaxed. If an experienced interviewer is interviewing you then they might put this down to stage fright. They might just judge you on what you’re saying rather than how uptight you appear. However, if you’re interviewer isn’t too experienced then they might not feel relaxed either because of your posturing. They could leave the interview with a feeling that you weren’t as good as the other person simply because you were too erect. Try to relax… but not too much!

This article will be concluded in the ‘Top 10 Ways To Improve Your Interview Body Language – Part Two’.

Written by David on November 27th, 2006 with 1 comment.
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Ten Things Not To Write In Your CV — Part Two

This article is continued from ‘Ten Things NOT To Write In Your CV – Part One’. Your CV (Curriculum Vitae) – Resume for our American friends sells you to your prospective employer. It has to be straight and too the point. However too many CV’s contain irrelevant information. What are the ten things that you shouldn’t write in your CV?

6) Don’t be all things to all people

Some people with a broad range of experience or an eclectic background feel that this can’t be anything but good news for their employment prospects. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! In all but a handful of circumstances, unless you can demonstrate a clear, logical career progression in your CV then you’re diminishing your chances of future employment. This doesn’t mean that you should lie about your past on your CV. It simply means that you should try and find a common trail of experience in the bullet point summaries of your previous experience. Try not to highlight a vast range of skills from administration to sales unless you’re applying for a general management position.

7) Don’t mention every qualification you’ve every earned

This again stems from pride. It stems from pride and a willingness to demonstrate that you’ve achieved things in the past. Unfortunately gaining a basic qualification in Geography at school doesn’t mean a thing unless you choose to study the subject at University! A rule thumb should be that a better qualification replaces the one before. If you have a degree, you are generally better off not mentioning your school qualifications. Similarly, if you have over five years experience in your chosen industry then you’re probably better off not mentioning your school qualifications. Remember that people will only skim your CV and you only want relevant, important details to be read.

8) Don’t be too personal about your personal interests

You can probably turn people off more than you can turn people on when they’re reading your CV. The secret is to include nothing more important or appealing than your employment experience or qualifications. Sure, you should mention the fact that you enjoy playing golf in your spare time. Some people however talk about their favourite golf course or their best score. That’s going too far. Leave that for bonding with the interviewer if appropriate.

9) Don’t make your CV longer than 3 pages

No matter the quantity or quality of your experience there is no need to have your CV longer than 3 single sides of paper. If you are relevant for a job role, your prospective employer may ask for more information – but until then don’t take the risk of them not finding the most important information. Again, remember that the first and only purpose of your CV is to get you an interview. A CV by itself will never get you a job; so don’t expect it to contain everything about you.

10) Don’t add referee details to your CV

Don’t give out any reference details until you are asked for them. It is unethical and unnecessary for anyone to ask others for information about you before the interview stage. In addition, good references are hard to come by. Why bother your referees about a position that you may not be interested in? You want your referees to be bothered as little as possible and only contacted when necessary. Don’t take the chance that someone may contact them after seeing your CV ‘on spec’. Take their names and contact details off your CV.

Written by David on November 27th, 2006 with 1 comment.
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