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Finding the right job in a tough market – The Interview
Wednesday, 06 Mar, 2009
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The latest in a series of job hunting assistance columns for TravelMole by Angus Chisholm, managing director of C&M Travel Recruitment
After discussing the challenges of getting an interview in the current market place due to the dramatic increase in job hunters and the shortage of vacancies, we unfortunately face similar hurdles when it comes to the interview itself.
If you have been successful in getting yourself an interview then well done, however to ensure you don’t waste your hard work you must be extremely well prepared and ready for the interview itself or you will most likely miss out on the opportunity.
Potential employers are finding themselves with a glut of skilled and experienced applicants and are able to be a lot more meticulous about those they decide to interview and subsequently offer jobs to. To ensure that you are the applicant top of their list you must make sure you are better prepared than any of the others.
Basics will always apply:
Be punctual, lateness is rarely forgivable even with a genuine reason.
Be smart and be confident.
A thought provoking fact for you is human beings make 11 key subconscious judgements within seven seconds of meeting anyone new.
Your interviewer will have made judgements about your cleanliness, knowledge, professionalism, friendliness, helpfulness, courtesy, credibility, confidence, attractiveness, responsiveness and understanding in the first seven seconds…. that is quite frightening!
The good news is that you too will be making the same judgements about them and you can change their opinion of you over the course of the interview if need be.
Ensure you body language is positive. There are claims that it contributes up to 70% of the communication in an interview situation so it needs to be good.
Positive body language actions such as a friendly firm handshake, good eye contact, open palms, open-mouthed smiles are all positive.
Make sure you have as much information about the company and the interview process as you can. It is here that working with a reputable recruitment consultancy will give you an advantage. They will be able to ensure you are as well informed as possible and they can help you understand what to expect and how to properly prepare.
If not you will need to research as much as you can about the company, the role and the interviewer. Also who will you report to, what is the size of the team, is your role a replacement or expansion, what are the teams/departments/company’s goals in the short, mid and long term? As with any interview situation the more information you can get before hand the better your chances.
If you have more information than your fellow candidates, prepare thoroughly and can create good chemistry and rapport with the interviewer then you should stand a very good chance of being made an offer.
Remember that an interview is your opportunity to find out if you would like to take your application further, but it’s no good deciding that you very much like the sound of the role and company if you don’t get offered the job.
The interview is your chance to ensure you get the offer, and then you have the opportunity to decide, you want to ensure you have the choice.
Remember the three most important things in an interview are preparation, preparation and preparation.
This has become even more critical due to the fact that you will be up against very strong applicants who will be keen to get that offer too.
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