<h1>Preparing for an Interview</h1>

It is important to do some preparation prior to an interview. You do not know exactly what questions will be asked, so it is important to do some general preparation about you and your abilities. The preparation will give you the ability to quickly recall information when answering questions.

Depending on what you are used to you could prepare in different ways. You could write lists, or brainstorm. You could also sit down with someone you know really well and do some 'mock' interviews to practice your interview technique.

Some people are better than others when it comes to selling themselves but what you must be able to do is show self-confidence; that you are sure of whom you are and your ability to do the job.

Think about the following points and take your notes: -

1. Research the company
1. Mission statement
2. Long term objectives
2. Read and dissect the job description (look back at the tips for preparing your application)
3. List your strengths & how they apply to the aspects of the role
4. List your weaknesses and what you do to overcome them
5. Who you are as a person
1. Your behaviour
2. High standards
3. Friendly
4. Honest
5. Approachable, etc
6. What motivates you
1. Quality
2. Adding value
3. A challenging role
4. Doing something fresh; something new; something innovative
7. Have a clear understanding of what the expectations of the job are
1. Again, back to the job description - make sure you understand what the expectations are
8. Why you think you are the person for the job
1. Be honest - sell yourself!
9. Think about your experience
1. What have you achieved?

Example interview questions

You have to consider the role and the requirements. For example, if it is a management role or leadership role, then expect questions and your answers to contain elements of leadership; if it is a technical job, then expect questions and your answers to contain examples of your technical ability.

I have listed a few 'closed' questions here (i.e. questions that can be answered with 'yes' or 'no' - do not fall into this trap, always elaborate on your response with examples).

About you: -

1. Tell us a bit about yourself and your work experience
1. Tell us your best moments/not so great moments
2. What are your strengths & how do they apply to the job?
3. What are you weaknesses and how do you overcome them?
4. What motivates you to achieve; what drives you?
5. Are you a reliable person?
6. Are you flexible in your approach to work?
7. Do you feel passionate about what you do?
1. What is your favourite part about what you do?
2. What is your passion?
8. What are your aspirations?
1. 1/3/5 year plan - where do you see yourself in 5 years?

The role: -

1. What can you bring to this role?
2. Why should we hire you for this job?
3. What challenges do you think this role will bring?
4. What do you see as being the main challenge in this role?

Your development: -

1. Tell us the last training course you attended.
2. Do you actively pursue personal development opportunities?

Team Work: -

1. What are your strengths as a team member?
2. Do you have the ability to encourage and maintain good working relationships?
1. How do you do this?
3. What role do you play in a team environment?
4. Have you ever worked in a poor performing team? How did you cope?
5. Give me an example of when you had to be particularly supportive to others in a team.

Innovation: -

1. Give me an example of when you have shown creativity.
2. Give me an example of a time when you used a less common approach to work.
3. Do you feel that your ideas are always listen to?
4. Do you feel that you have good ideas?
5. Are you creative?
6. Can you provide a situation where your ideas have been criticised? How did you deal with this? Did you feel it was unfair?

Time management: -

1. Give me an example of when you had to work to an important deadline.
2. How do you manage your time effectively?
3. Describe a situation where you have had to deal with a high degree of pressure.

Policy and procedure: -

1. Can you tell me about a time when it was essential that you followed clear policies or procedures?
2. Are you capable of following policy & procedure?
3. Do you think it is important to follow policy and procedure? Why?
4. Has there ever been a time where you have not followed policy/procedure? What happened?
5. In your experience, have you ever had to complete paper work or reports as part of your role? How did you cope with this?

Communication: -

1. Do you think communication is important?
2. Would you define yourself as a good communicator?
3. Tell me about a time when you found it difficult to build an effective working relationship with a customer or colleague?
4. Describe a situation where you had difficulty persuading someone around to your point of view.
5. How do you manage difficult people?
6. Can you deal with conflict? How?

Performance: -

1. How do you measure your performance?
2. How do you know that you are successful?
3. Give an example of a goal you reached and tell me how you achieved it.
4. Give an example of a goal you didn't meet and how you handled it.
5. Have you ever made a mistake? How did you handle it?

Quality: -

1. How do you determine quality?
2. Do you believe in delivering the best quality?

The customer: -

1. Define excellent customer service.
2. Are you comfortable speaking to people you don't know?
3. What is the best way to deal with a customer complaint?
4. Give me an example of a time when you had to satisfy a particular customer or client need (this could be an internal or external 'customer').

Other questions: -

1. If you know your boss is 100% wrong about something how would you handle it?

Prepare some questions for the panel

1. Try to stay away from terms and conditions…
2. What are the future prospects of this role?
3. Who will I be reporting to?
4. Who will be setting out my objectives?
5. Can you describe the team culture
6. What are the organisations long term objectives, and how do they apply to this role?
7. How does this role fit in with the rest of the organisation?

Other tips: -

1. Listen to the question and make sure you understand what it is that is being asked.
2. Respond appropriately. Pause before you respond.
3. Think about projects that you have been involved in and what you achieved. What learning's can you apply to this role?
4. Some more info can be found at About.Com.

Click here to read 25 questions you probably won't get asked...but worth reading anyway!!

I hope this helps you to prepare for your interview!

Thanks,

Chris

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