Once you have been briefed on a role by a professional recruitment agency and agree to have your details submitted to the client, you could then secure a job interview for a position, but what next ? Does the thought of being analysed by an employer you do not know send you into nervous sweats?, Do you suddenly feel under pressure to perform as you really want the job vacancy or are you checking out the recruitment marketplace and will approach the job interview with a casual arrogance ? Whatever the situation here are some points to note to ensure your interview for a new role goes as smoothly as possible.
Hints
Always research the employer’s business you are going to see, a bare minimum should be to go on their website and get a flavour for the company, looking at their products and services to understand the key elements of the business. Most companies have a mission statement attached to them, so I would recommend finding out what it is as it could give an insight into what culture the company has and whether you feel you will match the ethos of the business.
Whatever type of job you are going for or type of industry sector you will be working in always dress in a suit and be as smart as possible. I do not feel ties are necessarily appropriate now but would always have a smart suit on. It is much better to be overdressed than underdressed as no one will mark you down for a suit but you could lose a job if you do not have the correct attire A lot of employers are picky about the state of your shoes so make sure they look shiny and smart – leave the hush puppies at home!
If you feel the interview has gone well and only if you genuinely think it has always close the employer at the end. By this I mean ask him if he has any reservations about your application put them under pressure to see if they have any reason as to why you are not suitable for the role. Normally if it has gone well they will state they have no reservations at which point you can say you are very keen and would be available to start as soon as possible. This just finishes the meeting on a positive note and the employer will give you credit for doing so. Some candidates fail to get an offer on a position by purely failing to close so don’t lose out for such a simple thing to do.
Don’ts
One of the biggest mistakes potential candidates and recruits make is to speak negatively about their current/previous employer and offload a lot of disparaging comments about them which may be completely true but will always put a future employer off. They will adopt a “no smoke without fire” attitude and think that should you not work out with them you will spread negative comments about their business when you leave. With social media and google reviews being key to a business establishing credibility they will not want to jeopardise this with a “risky” recruit.
Never be late to an interview, always leave plenty of time to get to your location and do your research in terms of parking facilities and the cost of parking. You don’t want to arrive with 10 mins to spare in a busy car park , only to find you don’t have enough change for it and you go off elsewhere to get some more money out leaving you in a stressed state upon arrival. If you have a long journey, make sure you allow for rush hour traffic and leave plenty of time to get there with ample time to spare so you can collect your thoughts before you go in. Arriving late immediately puts you on the back foot and with first impressions being invaluable you are playing catch up to impress.
If you know of someone who works in the business do not mention it unless they ask. You may think it will be a good way of getting approval and a “foot in the door” but you don’t know whether the interviewer likes that person or what the internal politics are within the business that may detract from your application by you stating the connection.
Do not be too familiar with the interviewer. It’s best not to ask any personal questions like which football team they support or where they go drinking on a Saturday night. It could easily get their back up and ruin your chances of success as they may hate football or feel you are going to spend too much time in the pub and arrive late with a hangover on a Monday morning. Let common sense prevail and you will maximise your chances of getting that role to accelerate your career.