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!

Interviews - Be Early

"Better late than never" does not apply to interviews.  Being late for an interview is not acceptable and is not excusable.

Aim to get to the interview at least 10 minutes early.

If you are relying on public transport and you have the choice of arriving 30 minutes early or 2 minutes early, always take the 30 minute option. Even getting into the vicinity of the interview 1 hour early is better than arriving 1 minute late.

Obviously you do not want to arrive at the interview 30 minutes early, so take a walk around, clear you head, relax, read through your resume again, re-read the job description.

You could also use this extra time to see what’s around – lunch option, shops, child care facility, gym etc. You may see some facilities in the area that trigger a question in the interview or that may in some way help you to answer a question….. for example:
Q – “….you are returning to work after taking a year out to raise a family. What are your plans in the way of child care?”
A – “The childcare centre around the corner looks great. I popped in there for a brief chat and they have places and have long opening hours which would suit perfectly. Do you know if there are any other parents here that use the facility? Do you know anything about the facility?”

Tick and Tick – your answer shows that you are serious about the job, proactive, and also interested in their views and opinions. Small things like this can make all the difference.

Compare the above scenario to this:
Q – “….you are returning to work after taking a year out to raise a family. What are your plans in the way of child care?”
A – “Not sure. Haven’t given it much thought yet. I’ll look into it if I am offered the job.”

You have just Failed.

Using that extra 15 minutes to check out the local area could pay off.  Don’t waste it.

INTERVIEW DAY – Don't go hungry!

Have breakfast

As they say – breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Feeling hungry during an interview is not a good feeling – feeling hungry or thirsty can increase anxiety and it may slow down your ‘little grey cells’.

Having a healthy, nutritious low GI breakfast is likely to help your concentration and will eliminate any embarrassing grumbling noises from an empty stomach.

Don’t skip breakfast if you are running late – don’t run late. Give yourself enough time to eat before you leave the house.

Healthy lunch - balance your glucose
If you are interviewing in the afternoon, again have something healthy and low GI for lunch.  Try to steer clear of high GI and high sugar or fatty foods just before the interview.  Spikes in glucose levels can leave you lethargic, slow and tired - none of which are good in an interview.

Interview Tip - PREPARATION (3)

Refresh & Paractice

Before the interview, re-read:

• the job description/advert
• your application
• your cover letter
• your resume
• your selection criteria responses

You will be questioned on these.  There is also nothing wrong in taking a copy of any or all of the above documents with you on the day of the interview.

If you are not confident or do not have much experience of interview try to practice with a friend or family member.

It's not easy to role play in this way and it can be embarrassing, but it can help.

Treat this as a practice and not a rehearsal – don’t try to memorise answers, instead use this exercise to get you thinking.

Interview Tip - PREPARATION (1)

Always spend some time preparing for the interview – the extent of the preparation is up to you, but make sure that you are ready.

There is nothing worse than panicking the morning of the interview because you’re not sure how to find the office or you thought there was a bus at 9.00am and in fact it left at 8.50am – do your research and make sure that you can get there in good time.

Where to go
Do you know exactly where you need to go? Address? Floor? Contact name?
If you do not have all the information you need make sure that you ask.

Find your way
Do you know how you are going to get to the interview?

If you are not sure take the trip the day before if you can so there are no surprises on the day of the interview.

Make sure you know how you are going to get there and how long it will take you.  Check and double check bus/train timetables.

If driving, make sure that you know exactly where you will park.

Knowing where you need to go and how you are going to get there will mean that you have 1 less thing to worry about on the day of the interview.

Interview Tips - Top 10 Quick Reference Guide

Here are the top 10 quick reference tips:

• Prepare
• Dress well
• Mobile phones off
• No chewing gum
• Firm handshake
• If you use glasses, wear them in the interview
• Think before you answer
• Try not to use sentence filler such as “like”, “you know”, “right” and never finish a sentence with “eh”
• Be enthusiastic about the meeting
• Smile

 

 

Interviews taken care of during June 2011

Over the next month or so we will be posting daily information snippets that will help you with your next job interview.

These snippets come together to give you a comprehensive Interview Guide that is sure to give everyone at least 1 brand new piece of advise that may well make the difference on the big day!

Stay tuned during June for daily updates.