In a technology market where the demand for talent is high, job opportunities and job offers are in abundance, there seems to be a shift in many candidates not feeling that they need to prepare themselves for interviews, or put their best foot forward.
Let’s make this clear. This market will not stay like this. Organisations will remember those that attended an interview, but were not prepared, or didn’t seem to care. Organisation that want the best talent, will only hire the best talent – and that means waiting for those that interview well, can demonstrate their skills and experience, prepare for the interview, and have questions that outline their career aspirations.
So, in world where interviews are more commonly now ‘virutally’ but still can be face to face, the process of being interviewed is still important.
An interview is an opportunity to sell yourself as well as an opportunity to discover if the organisation and the role is right for you.
Get the basic right!
Be prepared……
- Check the location of the interview before the day and how you will get there. If the interview is virtual, make sure you have the link to the interview, and your home set up is ready
- Read through the position description and get an understanding of where the role fits within the organisation
- Expect the interviewer to do a CV walk-through or even Linked-In. Spend some time going through your CV, making sure you re-familiarise yourself with your previous roles, projects, and key dates.
- Be prepared for any technical questions that could arise from reviewing your CV.
Do your research……
- Find out as much as you can about the company you are applying to; their products and services, scale, structure etc.
- the company’s website and review their values
- LinkedIn look at the company page as well as the individual profiles of those that will be interviewing you
- Best of all, if possible, speak to someone who works for the company – this is always a useful source of information.
The interview is today…
- Plan to arrive ten minutes early, and always leave plenty of time to get there. Assume you are going to be held up and check traffic reports if necessary. If the meeting is virtual, enter the room 5 minutes prior so that you are there when the interviewers come on line
- Dress appropriately for the work environment. Many organisations now have business casual, or casual – whatever the case is, wear attire appropriate to the role and organisation you are interviewing with
During the interview
- Act positively and confidently, and give a firm handshake or a confident smile (if virtual)
- Be prepared for different interview styles, including:
- competency-based
- panel
- technical
- formal / informal.
Prepare questions to ask the interviewer
- This is a good time to find out more about the role.
Some questions you could prepare:
- Where do they see this role growing within the next few years?
- What are the expectations of the person in this role within the first 6 months?
- How would they describe the company culture?
- What challenges might the person coming into this role face?
At the end of the interview, don’t be afraid to ask how the interview went and when you hope to have feedback. Thank them for their time.
To also consider….
- Don’t apologise constantly. If you’re late, apologise once. If you don’t know something, don’t apologise; answer by explaining how you would go about finding the answer.
- If you have more than one interview, remember what you have said to each interviewer. It’s fine to duplicate information across the interviews, but make sure you don’t repeat yourself to the same person. Sometimes interviewers may have a short chat between interviews, and the second interviewer may be given the task of probing a particular area, so expect some repetition.
- Never say negative things about your current employer or reasons for leaving. Try to keep this brief and professional. Focus on the future, not on the past.
- Always call your agent after the interview with feedback.
- Never ask about remuneration – your agent will handle this. If you’re asked, feel free to answer appropriately if confident; otherwise, say you’d rather they spoke to the agent on that topic.
Konnexus – Recruitment Specialists across Data Analytics, Business Intelligence, AI & Machine Learning.
