An interview occurs if your application for a job has been shortlisted or alternatively you have applied for a course at University or for immigration purpose where border force wish to establish your intent. The employer will want to have a formal discussion with a handful of shortlisted applicants, before finally choosing who they wish to employ. The employer will ask you a series of questions to get to know more about your suitability for the job role. It is also your opportunity to find out more about the job and make sure that it is suitable for you, so be sure to ask questions too. Interviews are carried out either face-to-face, over the telephone or by Skype/video call.

Job interview questions are based on Person / job specifications. You need to sit down with the person specification and your application and develop some new examples of how you meet at least a few of the requirements. It is fine to talk about the examples on your application form or CV/covering letter, but it is useful to have a few new ones too. Describe the situation in one sentence or less, and focus on your actions, the results that you achieved, and how you knew you were successful.

It is also helpful to prepare answers for some of the standard icebreakers, such as ‘Tell me a bit about your current job’, or ‘Tell me why you’ve applied for this job’. Your answers should focus on your skills, and how you can use them in the new job, again based around the person specification. Do not learn them off by heart but have a good idea of what you want to say.

The more you practice this technique, the better! Using this technique ensures that you have given a good description of when you demonstrated the skills they are looking for, it helps you to structure your answer and not get confused and it helps you to remember focus on the positive impact that those actions had.

DOs and DONTs –

We can discuss general dos and don’ts of interviews including body language, appearance, language etc.