The way I see the interview process, it can be split up into three elements. I’ll sketch them out here and then do another blog on each so that you can take in the core ideas without wading through a long essay.
1. Housekeeping: these are the details of preparation that you need to focus on. Time-keeping, turning your phone off, getting first impressions right, strong handshakes, common courtesy to ALL involved, eye contact, doing company research. Good housekeeping properly won’t necessarily get you the job but bad housekeeping might lose it.
2. The Heavy Lifting: This is the main part of the interview process. This is when you’re in the room, the door’s closed and you’re ready to go. It’s essential to be able to talk the interviewers through your CV. It’s all about clarifying exactly what the role is, what skills are required and being able to pivot, if necessary, to draw out of your experience examples of how you’ve brought the key skills to bear.
3. The Mop-up: This is the tail-end of the interview where you should have questions prepared on what the company does and offers. The mop-up includes simple things like making sure to say “thanks” and trying to get some clarity of what the next steps will be and what time-frames are involved.
I know you’re probably going to think none of this applies to you and it seems a bit obvious but I promise you would be amazed at the number of times really good candidates trip up on totally avoidable things.
DON’T BE LATE: The only thing worse than being late for the interview (you will be starting at Love-Forty if you are late) is to arrive in a lather of sweat, flustered and apologetic. Aim to arrive 15 minutes early. Obtain clear directions and plan your route in advance. In fact, get there 30 minutes early, find a coffee shop, and sit down and have a good think about what you’re going to do. If you are delayed for any reason, contact your Consultant immediately who will phone the client on your behalf and bring them up to speed.
I was at a conference recently and the speaker asked everyone to raise their right arm. We all did. He then asked us to take the hand attached to that arm and use it to turn off our phones which we ALL DID except one person…. Cringe! Leaving your phone on is a rookie mistake and potentially not the sign of a future team-member.
MIND YOUR MANNERS: How many people do you meet in an organisation before you get to the interview? Reception, Security, Assistants? From the moment you arrive in the vicinity of the office your interview has begun. How you behave with the people you have engaged with along the way will get back to the hiring manager.
WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE: Body, tone, content – this includes handshake – it sounds obvious but how many times have you heard people comment on a weak handshake – I don’t know how weak handshakes are not a thing of the past. Eye contact – another old chestnut! If you know eye contact is a weak point – address it work with friends or colleagues to come up with a work-around that works!
DO YOUR HOMEWORK: Research the company and really understand the job description and have examples ready of all the ways that you fit it.
PREPARE YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH: You have to have an elevator pitch. What I mean by this is a solid three-minute introductory speech about yourself, highlighting your achievements. I’ll deal with this when we talk about “THE HEAVY LIFTING”…
