Getting an interview is an achievement in itself. Only a small proportion of applicants are selected for interview (often about 10%) so you have already made a positive impression to have got to this stage! Many people have a fear of interviews, so here are some tips to help you make the most of this opportunity.
The purpose of the interview
Firstly, it is for the interviewer to see if you match the requirements of the job. These will naturally vary with different jobs but are likely to include:
- Your personal qualities
- How well you express yourself
- Your motivation and enthusiasm
The recruiters will already have an indication of these from your initial application but now the interview will assess you in person.
It is also your chance to meet somebody from the organization and assess them: are they offering what you want?
There aren’t any right or wrong answers to interview questions: how you come across is as important as what you say. Be yourself – if you have to put on a completely false act to get through the interview, is this really the right job for you?
Preparation for the interview
Preparation is the key ingredient for interview success. Careful planning and preparation will make sure that your interview goes smoothly and will also help to calm your nerves!
- Research very carefully the career area for which you are applying.
- Remind yourself why you are interested in this career, and this employer: enthusiasm is important.
- Re-read your application form as if you were the interviewer. Try and anticipate the questions they will ask. Think about any awkward points that might be picked up on, and how you will handle them.
- Prepare some questions to ask the interviewer.
- Plan how you will get to the interview. Leave plenty of time in case of traffic jams or delayed trains.
- Dress neatly and smartly.
- Take a small, neat notepad and pen to write down important information the interviewer may tell you, and after the interview, the questions you were asked, so you can work out better answers to any you fluffed.
- Research the employer – here are some things you may be able to find out from the employers web site or via Google.
- What is the size of the organization?
- How long has it been in business?
- What are its products and/or services?
- What sort of reputation or public image does it have?
- Who are its main competitors?
- Where is it based? Single or multiple locations? UK or multinational?
- What is the organizational structure like?
- What are its future plans and prospects?
- What is the organizational culture?
- What types of training, development and appraisal are offered?
Arriving for the interview
Try to arrive ten or fifteen minutes early. This doesn’t just give you the opportunity to visit the loo – time spent waiting in the reception area can be very useful if there are publications about the employer or their field of work to read. Be polite to everyone you meet, including receptionists, porters and security staff.
First impressions
These are very important – they set the tone for the rest of the interview. A survey of 273 managers by Monster.co.uk found that interviewers take on average less than 7 minutes to decide if a candidate is right for the role.
Factors influencing whether an interviewee is viewed as employable were
- A candidate’s timekeeping (96% of managers agree this is influential) blink.gif (2535 bytes)
- Level of a candidate’s interview preparation (93%)
- Ability to hold eye contact (82%)
- Personal appearance (73%)
- (two thirds of employers said they were put off by tattoos)
- Quality of banter or small talk (60%)
- Strength of handshake (55%)
The five most important factors interviewers considered when hiring were:
- Work experience (36%)
- First impressions of the candidate (24%)
- Education (12%)
- Professional qualifications (10%)
- References (9%)
According to a survey of 1000 recruiters by Fly Research three quarters of interviews are lost within three minutes of entering the room. Research by Springbett found that 85% of interviews were decided in the first two to three minutes:
- 25% of interviewers were put off by a weak handshake or lack of eye contact
- 24% by poor body language
- 18% by poor posture (e.g. slumped shoulders suggests lack of confidence) or presence
- Only 20% waited until the middle of the interview to test a candidate on their knowledge of the industry and aptitude for the job
- According to research selectors make snap judgments about your trustworthiness, attractiveness, likability, competitiveness and aggressiveness and spend the rest of the interview confirming or denying these opinions.
- Shake hands firmly and warmly, but wait to be invited to sit down. Handshakes are also commonly given at the end of the interview. Handshakes originated as a way for knights to show that they didn’t have concealed weapons. A firm handshake is perceived to communicate sociability, friendliness and dominance: normally desirable qualities in candidates whereas weak handshakes may communicate, introversion, shyness and neuroticism. Also as the handshake is at the start of the interview, it can set a positive tone for the rest of the encounter. In practice interviews with 98 students, those who gave a firm handshake were more likely to be offered jobs. Women who gave a firm handshake were perceived more positively than men who gave a firm handshake.
- Smile and keep up good eye contact with the interviewer.
- You may be offered tea or coffee. If you feel this will help you to relax, then fine, but otherwise it is quite OK to refuse politely.
- Try to relax – don’t perch on the edge of your chair, but don’t slouch either.
- Speak clearly and not too fast. Give yourself a moment to think about your replies.
- Don’t fidget and try to avoid meaningless phrases like “you know”, “I mean”, etc.
Interviews are, in general, poor predictors of job performance. Schmidt and Hunter found that standard unstructured interviews only accounted for 8% of the difference in performance and productivity over chance when selecting candidates by this method. However structured interviews where candidates are all asked the same questions had a 24% selection accuracy: three times as effective as unstructured interviews.
The standard method of selecting candidates for jobs is to make list of key competencies required in the job and then to match these to the candidate’s application. However two US researchers (Higgins & Judge) followed 100 university students trying to get their first job. They analyzed their CVs for qualifications and work experience and talked to the interviewers afterwards. Surprisingly the main factor in deciding which ones were selected was whether or not the candidate appeared to be a pleasant individual.
Research by Sears and Rowe has found that interviewers tend to favor candidates with personalities, attitudes, values, and backgrounds similar to their own.
The successful candidates had:
- Smiled and made a lot of eye contact
- Shown a genuine interest in the interviewer and given genuine compliments
- Praised the company: find something you genuinely like about the organisation.
- Asked interesting questions: for example “What is your personal experience of working for this company?”
- Talked about subjects unrelated to job, but that interested the candidate and interviewer. See the panel to the right.
How to overcome interview nerves
Always remember you’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
-Winnie the Pooh
- You are expected to be nervous! If you are not, it suggests that you may not want the job very much. Having said this the interviewer will expect your nerves to diminish after a few minutes.
- Try to think that it’s not that important: there will be other interviews in future and it’s not the end of the world if you don’t get this job.
- Preparation is key – the more preparation you have done, such as working out answers to common interview questions, and doing careful research on the organization and job, the more relaxed you will feel.
- Some people swear by visualization. The night before, visualize yourself undergoing the whole interview, step by step, and imagine everything going really well, you answering questions confidently, and ultimately getting the job.
- Dress smartly but also comfortably as this will make you feel more confident.
- Adopting power poses beforehand can make you feel more confident at interview. Expansive body postures such as standing upright with hands on your hips, leaning over a desk with hands firmly on the surface, or steepling your hands can increase testosterone, decrease stress, and make you feel more in control, more confident and more assertive. Practicing power poses right before an interview can also increase performance. Research at Harvard Business School found that holding power poses for two minutes before interview led candidates to be evaluated more favourably and increased their chances of a job offer by 20%. So if you’re worried about a job interview or presentation, strike a power pose a few minutes beforehand (not of course at the interview!) but in the washroom, or before leaving home. See our body language quiz for more about this
- Start the interview in a positive manner and it is likely to continue in the same way.
- Don’t worry too much about making a mistake: nearly everyone fluffs one question and research suggests interviewers prefer candidates who come across as human to those who appear “plastic perfect”.
- Professor Sian Bellock investigated why our performance reduces under pressure. “Getting people to write about their worries beforehand ….. can really help …… Writing about your worries almost “downloads” them so they are less likely to pop up and impact your performance.”. So the day before your interview spend some time writing down everything about it that you are worried about.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and neurolingistic programming (NLP) are powerful techniques which help you develop a positive mind set for interviews.
- Mindfulness techniques can help greatly in reducing stress in interviews and similar situations and can also help with many other aspects of life by increased attention, focus and clarity.
- Listen to empowering music beforehand. A research study suggests that this could help boost your confidence and feel more powerful and in control.
Should you mention a weakness at the start or end of an interview?
If you have a potential difficulty (e.g. poor exam results or a disability), should you disclose this at the start or the end of the interview? According to research by Jones and Gordon of Duke University, candidates appeared more likeable if weaknesses were disclosed early in the interview and strengths towards the end.
Candidates who disclosed potential problems early on were thought by interviewers to have more integrity and strength of character and thus were not attempting to mislead them. Candidates who mentioned strengths (such as having been awarded a scholarship) later in the interview appeared more modest than those who blurted it out at the first opportunity, thus seeming boastful.
Types of interview
Competency-based interviews
Many large graduate recruiters now used competency-based (also called “structured” or “situational”) interviews in which the questions are designed to help candidates give evidence of the personal qualities which are needed to perform well in the job. Usually, you will be expected to give an example of how you have demonstrated these qualities in the past in reply to questions such as:
Describe a situation where you had to…..
- show leadership
- make a difficult decision
- work as a member of a team
- shown initiative
- change your plans at the last minute
- overcome a difficult obstacle
- refuse to compromise
- work with others to solve a problem
Structured interviews can seem unfriendly and off-putting to candidates. They do not give opportunities for discussion – when you have answered one question as far as you feel able, the interviewer will move on to another topic. The advantages of these interviews is that they are standardized – important when many different interviewers are assessing a large number of graduate applicants – and that they are based upon the skills essential for the job.
“Traditional” interviews
These are more like a conversation – but a conversation with a purpose. It is up to you to show that you are the right person for the job, so bear this in mind when replying to the questions. These interviews will probably be based largely around your application form or CV. The interviewer may focus on areas of particular interest or relevance – such as vacation jobs or projects.
Interviewers often expect interviewees to talk much more than the candidates themselves expect to. So don’t be too brief in your answers – but don’t rabbit on for too long either. Watch the interviewer and pause from time to time – he or she will either encourage you to continue or will introduce another question.
It’s OK to pause briefly. A short gap to gather your thoughts shows thoughtfulness, assertiveness and self confidence.
Be polite, but don’t be afraid to enter into a discussion and to stand your ground. Some interviewers will deliberately challenge your replies in order to stimulate this kind of discussion.
How to handle questions:
Typical questions at traditional interviews:
Questions about yourself: your background and your future ambitions:
- Tell me about yourself
- Why did you choose the University of Kent/ your degree subject?
- Explaining gaps on your application form – e.g. year out; unemployment; travel
- How would the experiences you describe be useful in this company?
- What are your main strengths and weaknesses?
- What other jobs/careers are you applying for?
- Where do you see yourself in five years time? (This is quite a common question: read the employer’s brochure to get an idea of the normal pace of graduate career development. Be ambitious but realistic)
- Tell me about your vacation work/involvement with student societies/sporting activities
Questions about your knowledge of the employer, or career area:
- Why do you want to work for us?
- Why have you chosen to apply for this job function?
- Who do you think are, or will be, our main competitors?
- What do you think makes you suitable for this job?
- What do you see as the main threats or opportunities facing the company?
- What image do you have of this company?
Following up
After the interview, jot down some notes of the questions asked and anywhere that you felt you could have responded better. You may want to work on these points before your next interview.
The interviewer will probably let you know when you can expect to hear the result of your interview. This may be within a couple of days … or weeks.
Not every interview will result in an immediate job offer: the next stage may be a second interview or selection center.
If you are turned down for the job, you may pick up some useful tips to improve your performance next time by telephoning your interviewer to ask politely what – if anything – you did wrong. Not all interviewers are willing to provide this feedback but it’s worth a try. Sometimes the information you get will be vague and basic: often along the lines that you were a good candidate but others were slightly better.
You can console yourself that at least you were selected for interview. Less than one in five of applicants are typically interviewed, so you were probably in the top 20 percent!
Reproduced with the permission of Bruce Woodcock of the University of Kent Careers and Employability Service www.kent.ac.uk/careers who own copyright.