I wrote a column a little while back on why prospective employers throw away so many CVs with little more than a glance. I got great feedback from other managers, so I feel emboldened to tackle the next big step in the job hunt… acing an interview. Because, again, I am gobsmacked by how many people make the same fatal mistakes.
Here are my top 5 tips:
1. Be on time, which means neither late nor early. Having to get you from reception 30 min before the interview is not showing me how keen you are, it’s showing me how you don’t care about the meeting I am currently in. Yes, it’s better to be early than late, and yes, you should build in spare traveling time… but use that extra time to sit in your car/ on a bench and take a last look at our company’s website until 5 min before you were asked to arrive.
2. Do your research. I am regularly appalled at how little effort people put into interview prep. I once interviewed an intern for a job assisting with website content, and she happily admitted to never having been to the site. The interview lasted 4 minutes.
3. Don’t tell me you’re a perfectionist. It’s tantamount to taking the piss. Either that, or you have no sense of humour. Either way, it’s not good.
4. If there’s an assignment, do it. Properly. Not with a ‘well, I’m not finished…’ or ‘I threw this together earlier…’ – both of which are horrifyingly common.
5. Don’t slag off your old job. It’s just tacky. Also, you just come across whiny.
Finally? Try relax.
I know it’s not easy, but a person clear incapacitated by nerves is not an easy person to assess, let alone hire. Do the prep properly and let that be it: once you’re in the interview room, it’s YOU – not your practiced responses – that needs to be on show… so let that happen.
I know? Easier than it sounds.
Luckily, practice makes it easier, so get out there.
Leave a Reply