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Interview Preparation – How to Prepare for a Job Interview

By Annette Lewis

Considering the positive impact a new job can have on the life of a successful jobseeker in terms of increased salary, satisfaction and status, I am constantly surprised by the volume of candidates who arrive at an interview insufficiently prepared.

In fact, a recent survey showed that 9 out of 10 interview candidates failed to prepare properly for their job interview. Not surprisingly they missed out on the job offer.

Interview Preparation is essential if you are serious about the job and there really is no excuse for just showing up to the interview without having done at least some very basic preparation.

How to Prepare for a Job Interview?

Well here are some simple and easy exercises which will help with your interview preparation and will boost your chances of interview success.

1. Know Yourself

This is all about being familiar with your skills and what you can bring to the role. To help clarify what those are, spend time completing these exercises:

a. Jot down what you consider to be your Key Strengths, your Unique Selling Points and your Positive Personal Qualities.

b. Review your CV, becoming very familiar with all aspects of it.

c. Select what you consider to be your Top Three Achievements and develop a story relating to each, which demonstrates what you did, the steps or actions you took and very importantly the benefits you delivered.

d. Finally, create a Personal Statement for yourself, starting with your name, your profession or job, your recent experience and achievements, your key strengths and how you can use your skills within the job you are being interviewed for.

2. Know the Job

This may sound obvious, but it is surprising how many candidates do not have a clear idea of just what they will be doing in the job. This is a key part of your interview preparation and it is vital that you know what is involved in the job, which skills are prized and what key competencies your employer is searching for.

3. Know the Employer

Early on in the interview, I will very often ask a candidate what they know about the company or what they think about our products or services. If they cannot answer these questions well, it becomes very obvious they have not done any interview preparation and I would have to wonder why they want to work here in the first place. While I would ideally recommend more time, just 15 minutes is all it takes to gather enough information to format a respectable answer to these questions and convince me that you are genuinely interested.

Expert Help With Your Interview Preparation

So, how would you answer tough interview questions such as 'What are your weaknesses?' or 'Why should we hire you instead of the other candidates?'.

And, how confident do you feel about answering Competency Based or Behavioural questions, both very commonly used at present.

For expert help with answering these difficult questions, we recommend InterviewGOLD™ a great online interview skills course that has helped thousands of candidates get jobs. Easy to use online system Video Practice Interviews Interactive Mock Interviews Questions with Model Answers All specific to your job and level Created by Recruitment Specialists

Job Interview Coming Up Soon? Click Here to Learn How to Make your Preparation Really Easy » 

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About the Author

Annette Lewis is an accredited interviewer and has recruited for many organisations within Healthcare, Education, Customer Services and Banking.

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