idealpeople blog

As part of our recent visit to the University of Northampton, we were asked if we could run a workshop on how to succeed at Job Interviews, particularly at Graduate Interviews.

Now this was a tricky one. There is no set formula for success at job interviews. Every interview is different, every job is different and every interviewer different. Undeterred, we came up with a set of tips that – if applied in all cases – will significantly increase their chances of success in interviews.

Once again, we’ve made the presentation available for download from here.

If you weren’t there, or even if you were, then here’s a summary of our interview survival guide….

1 Fail to prepare, prepare to fail
Put simply, the best candidate isn’t guaranteed to get the job. The best prepared is. If you don’t prepare for an interview properly, there’s almost no point in turning up. The information you need to find out is

- As much as possible about the company – its ethos, its products, services and markets, it competitors and preferably its Unique Selling Points (USPs).
- As much as possible about the person interviewing you. Knowing a bit about the background of the interviewer helps you show that you’ve done and are capable of doing your research.
- As much as possible about the job in question.

To find this information, use (but don’t rely on) the company’s website, blog sites, review sites and – particularly when researching the interviewer – LinkedIn. Our top tip would be to sign up to LinkedIn today.

2 Identify what the problem is, and build a pitch to demonstrate how you can solve that problem
Companies recruit for a number of reasons, but primarily to solve a problem. That problem could be an increased workload, the desire to expand into new markets and/or regions, to replace someone who’s left – or something else. If you can work out what this problem is (i.e. the reason behind the hire), then you can work out what specific pieces of your career or academic history to stress when you’re in the interview. It can form the backbone of your pitch.

3 Link Features and Benefits
When you’re delivering your pitch in the interview (which you’ll do by answering questions), remember to steer clear of using purely subjective language and instead talk about what you’ve achieved and what benefit your work had on employers or other people.

4 Ask Intelligent Questions at Intelligent Times
Don’t necessarily wait until you’re invited to ask questions. When you do ask questions, make them relevant to the interview and the company. Ask about products, markets, clients, successes, career paths. Don’t ask about working hours, holidays and salary. Asking about these things suggests you’re more interested in these aspects than you are in the company and the job. You’ll find out about these things if you get offered the job.

5 Look good and steer clear of Coronation Chicken Sandwiches
It’s an obvious tip, but look good. Brush your teeth, don’t arrive smelling of cigarettes and polish your shoes. As for Coronation Chicken – it’s a challenging sandwich filling to control. If you need to eat on the way or shortly before the interview, avoid it. It has the habit of slipping from the bread and – unfortunately – looks like vomit when it’s spilled on a suit.

6 Try to remove nerves by….
Nerves can kill your chances in an interview, so mental approach is vital. Remember that interviewers get nervous too, and also don’t forget that the company is on interview too – so the interviewer should impress you as much as you impress the interviewer.

7 Learn from your experience
Always do a mental debrief afterwards – where did you do well? Where did you think it all went wrong? Learn from each interview you go to. If you’re working with a recruiter, ask for some detailed feedback and use that information to improve your pitch next time.

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