The 7 Steps to Interview Success!

Our guest author from last week – Susan Wareham McGrath has written another fantastic blog that naturally leads on from our recent blogs about Career Planning and Sudden Job Loss.

I thought it was sheer lunacy not to post it immediately!

There’s some brilliant advice here on how to achieve Interview Success, so take it away again Susan…..

Taking part in a face-to-face or telephone interview is an exciting but daunting thought for most job seekers.

Attending an interview can be even more stressful for people who are newly arrived in a country, especially if your first language is not your new nation’s first language.

So I’ve compiled a list of seven tried and tested tips to give you the best chance of impressing your interviewer or the interview panel.

1. Be Prepared

• Aim to arrive at the interview 10 minutes early.
• Check the location of the interview in advance, if you don’t know the area, make a trial run beforehand to ensure you arrive on time especially if you need to use public transport to get there.
• Factor in extra time for unexpected traffic or public transport delays. It’s better to get there early than late. Arriving late when it was avoidable creates a negative first impression which you want to avoid at all costs. If you do arrive too early go and get a cup of coffee and use those spare moments to take a deep breath and relax.

2. Research the Organisation

• As a well-briefed applicant, you’ll show the panel that you’re taking the job seriously and are keen to be part of the organisation.
• There’s no use researching though unless the interviewer knows you’ve made the effort to do so. So introduce your research into your answers to the interview questions wherever possible.

3. Address the Panel Members by name

• Take a notepad and write down the name of each interviewer after the introductions (if your nerves mean you’re likely to forget them).
• Refer to your notes and use their names throughout the interview.
• If an interviewer introduces themselves with their first and last name, for example “Hi, I’m John Smith”, it’s courteous to call them ‘Mr Smith’ during the interview. If they would like you to call them ‘John’, they will invite you to do so.
• If however they’re referring to you consistently by your first name, ask if they’d like you to call them by their first names. This is especially the case in Australia where people tend to be less formal (and are often on first name terms) almost immediately upon meeting. Be careful though and let yourself be guided by the interviewers’ own
  behaviour.

4. Ensure your Clothing Style Reflects what is Appropriate for the Job and the Organisation

• If you’re not sure what to wear to your interview (and you’re not comfortable calling the organisation to check), it’s best to dress too formally than too casually.
• If you’re being interviewed for a corporate or professional role; or in a conservative business environment, it’s best for men to wear a suit and for women to wear a jacket and skirt or dress trousers.
• For other roles in Australia it’s appropriate to wear smart casual business attire to interviews.
• Make sure that your grooming is immaculate even if you’re applying for a role that doesn’t require customer or client contact.
• If you’re a smoker, don’t smoke within half an hour of the interview. If you walk into an interview with the smell of cigarettes on your breath or your clothing, it could leave a bad impression.  To be sure, it’s a good idea to take a couple of breath mints just before going into the interview.
• Wear an outfit that you’re comfortable in so you’re not distracted by your clothing during the interview.

5. Answer the Questions Comprehensively

• Take a moment to consider each question that’s put to you. Stay calm, organise your thoughts and give a focused answer. It’s perfectly acceptable (and often preferable) for there to be a pause before you answer a question. It gives the interviewers a positive impression that you’re a calm, thoughtful and well considered person.
• Wherever possible in your responses relate your experience to the duties of the role you’re applying for.
• Answer questions comprehensively but resist the impulse to keep talking after you’ve addressed each part of the question.

6. Watch your Body Language

• When you’re introduced to the interviewer or panel, make sure your handshake is firm and confident. A weak handshake is as bad as one that it so strong it crushes the recipient’s hand. Neither will impress your interviewer.
• Make eye contact with the interviewer throughout the interview (but not so much that it would make them feel uncomfortable).
• If you’re participating in a panel interview, each interviewer will ask you one or more questions in turn. Respond primarily to the interviewer who asked the question, but include the others in your response by making eye contact
  with each of them as you respond.

7. Thank the Interviewers

• At the conclusion of the interview, thank the interviewers for the opportunity and follow up by sending a brief thank you note within three working days of the interview.

I hope these seven simple steps lead to success for you at interview.

After you give them a try we’d love to hear if you think they made a difference.

---

Need to get ahead of the pack for your next interview?

Get our free e-book The 7 Deadly Sins to Avoid at Job Interview!

Deborah Barit wrote this book. She is one of Australia’s leading interview coaches.

To get your free e-book and some of our best interview tips direct to your inbox, simply click on this link.

Here’s what happy readers said about the e-book and interview tips:

“Deborah Barit is a very smart lady…She is good at figuring out what an employer is looking for. It’s like she has ESP ,with her help in preparing, I found no surprises in a recent interview and I was prepared for every question….” Cathy, Leichhardt, NSW

“Because I read so many of your posts, I feel as if you were my personal employment coach. I start my new position in two weeks. I had so many obstacles to overcome and each day you posted a solution to my dilemma and how to improve my search. Thank you so much for your input and PLEASE continue to do what you do!”

Click here to get access to the e-book.

Tagged as: Behavioural Interview Questions, Interview Tips