Every Stage of Attending a Job Interview

It’s the day of the interview, you’ve picked out your outfit and now it’s time to travel to the interview. Unless the interview is happening over Skype or the phone, you’ll probably be relying upon public transport or driving to the interview, which means you’ll need to leave enough time in case you hit traffic or other delays. It’s much better to get to the interview location early and sit in a coffee shop going over your application one last time, than leave it to the last minute and risk being late. Getting there early also means you don’t have to worry about being sweaty or flustered when you arrive.

First impressions count, so make sure you know exactly where you’re meant to go when you arrive for the interview and who you’re meeting with. Treat everyone you meet, from the receptionist to the person sharing the lift with you, with respect and friendliness, as it’s not uncommon for other people within a company to be asked for their opinion of candidates. If you’re rude or dismissive to a secretary, word will reach the people responsible for deciding who to hire. When you meet your interviewers, shake hands (ideally make sure you don’t have sweaty palms) and make plenty of eye contact.

OK, so it’s not as bad as an interrogation, but now you’re there in the room and it’s time to face some questions. We’ve covered how to answer some of the most common interview questions here, but it’s also worth realizing you won’t have an answer for everything. If something technical comes up that you don’t understand, ask for it to be explained. If you’re asked about something and you don’t know the answer, don’t try and lie: you’ll be found out. Interviewers are rarely looking for someone with all the answers, they’re much more interested in learning what you’re like as a person. Which leads us onto…

It’s fairly common for interviewers to also throw in some questions about you as a person, what you like to do in your spare time and what your passions or interests are. These questions might seem impossible to get “wrong” but some answers are still better than others. If possible, reference hobbies or interests that demonstrate skills your interviewers might be looking for (e.g. volunteering work will show your ability to work within a team and give a positive impression of your own character).

As the interview draws to a close, you’ll often be asked if you have any questions. Saying no is rarely a good idea, but you also don’t want to ask questions that have already been answered or you could have learned in your research before the interview. Good examples of things to ask include:

• What aspect of this role do you feel is the most important?
• What things are your company currently not achieving that you hope to accomplish in the future?
• What do you think makes this company a particularly good one to work for?

Questions such as these show an active interest in the role you’ve applied for and how you could improve the company if they hired you, as well as showing that you care about the opinions of your interviewer(s).

When the interview ends, repeat the cycle of handshakes and eye contact from your greeting and let your interviewer(s) know you’re looking forward to hearing from them. As you leave, make sure you avoid any pratfalls or slips which could tarnish your entire interview. Tripping over a chair leg or struggling to open a door could quickly escalate into mortifying embarrassments that cost you a job.

Once you’re out, that’s it. The interview is over, you can finally relax. Now you just have the nervous wait to hear back about how you did…

Lead image: HSGTalents (Wikimedia Commons)