Thursday, June 9, 2011

Interviews - Reading while you wait

Your choice of reading material could be more important that you realise.

10-15 minutes before the interview go directly to the floor/office specified and notify the receptionist of your arrival.

Most offices will have a waiting area. The table will more than likely have some publications on it. Usually there will be a number of publications relating to the organisation – i.e. a departmental magazine/newsletter, an industry publication or annual report. These will normally be accompanied by a few general interest magazines such as ‘Home and Garden’, ‘TV Weekly’, ‘Women’s Day’ etc…..

Always pick up one of the publications that relate to the employer – i.e. the internal magazine or the annual report. You may learn something important in the minutes before the interview, or you may just get a better feel for the organisation. Even if you are not really interested, it is worth picking the magazine and pretending to read it. An interviewer will notice which publication you were looking at, and it could go in your favour.

Do not be afraid to refer to the publication during the interview if the opportunity arises. For example you could start a question in the interview with “I was just reading the departmental news letter in reception and it mentioned , I wonder if you could give me some more information about this?” This instantly shows the interviewer that you have a genuine interest.

Remember that interviews are very much about showing the interviewers what they want to see - so don't be afraid to put on an act and do things that you may not normally do - like reading a boring old annual report!