​I don’t always think of the perfect answer in a job interview… but when I do, it’s 15 minutes after I’ve left – typical!

Interviewer: Tell us about yourself

Me:(unprepared) I was born at a very young age

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I don’t always think of the perfect answer in a job interview… But when I do, it’s 15 minutes after I’ve left – typical!

Confidence in an interview is so very important in today’s current job landscape. In order to be confident you need to make sure you PREPARE!

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Obviously, there are the basics:

• Eye contact – this demonstrates confidence in what you are saying…. But not creepily and remember to blink

• Talk slowly – if you’re like me, this is something I really struggled with... so remember to breathe

• Use your hands – but not too much that you look like a conductor or French mime

• Punctuality – don’t be late? (it’s a bit of a no brainer if you ask me!)

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The hiring managers are not just interviewing you; you are also interviewing them! Times have changed and nowadays an interview is just as crucial for an employee as it is an employer.

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I’m interviewing them… really?  

Yes – they will have questions that they have prepared to ask you, so why wouldn’t you have the same?
Take your time to gather these questions and really think them through! What do you really want to know?

Consider the day to day responsibilities – do you know what you will be expected to do?

How could you impress your manager in the first three months? I guarantee this will shock the interviewer, but in a good way! It’s also a perfect cheat guide, so when/if you are hired then you know the little extras you should do.

Ask more about the team and the culture – you WANT to know this! These are the people who you are going to be working day in day out with, so it’s crucial that you are familiar with the work environment you could potentially be a part of.

Think about key market trends, occurrences that can impact the organisation and challenges to really get a sense about the firms’ strategy and planning.

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Always be yourself… Except during an interview!

I hate this saying; they are hiringyou– not a fake, artificial version of you. If you state on your CV that you speak five languages, then you’d better be sure that you do – otherwise get practising with those cue cards.

The hiring managers are buying into your true self and if you’re going to be working there for a long time, you’d need to keep this ‘act’ up.

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Practise – let’s get this show on the road!

I massively recommend practising – nine times out of ten this will work in your favour. There’s nothing worse than attending unprepared and mentioning the weather every ten seconds.

How do actors and actresses learn their lines?  They practice so the lines come out naturally right? Well why wouldn’t you practice some answers to your own questions? A really good way is to sit in front of a mirror or even record yourself... yes, I know it sounds a bit strange – but it seriously helps. You can access your body language, tone of voice and how slow/fast you’re speaking.

I recommend having examples sitting in the back of your mind so you don’t feel put on the spot. The STAR interview method is a fundamental behavioural-based interview technique that enables you to break down your skills, key accomplishments or how you handled work situations and challenges. The acronym stands for:

Situation: Set the scene and give the necessary details of your example.
Task: Describe what your responsibility was in that situation.
Action: Explain exactly what steps you took to address it.
Result: Share what outcomes your actions achieved.

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Lastly, find out who you are meeting – do your research.

There is nothing worse than sitting in the reception area, scrolling through your phone or looking in the mirror, then you look up and someone is walking towards you but you carry on making yourself look pretty and become oblivious. Of course, that someone could be your next manager.

So, make sure you research on LinkedIn who you will be meeting and hopefully they have a photo on their profile so when you see them you’re prepared to smile, stand up and be ready to go!

Feel free to do a little ‘additional research’ if they don’t have a photo. Check out the company website as they may have a ‘Meet the Team’ page where you can find your future teammates. Even just by searching the hiring manager’s name online along with the company or taking to Google images normally pulls up some results!

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It’s no secret in how to be confident in an interview, it’s just a little mixture of20% preparation,20%researchand60%believing in yourself!

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Hey, if you don’t succeed, just think of the interview as a practice round and now you’re even more prepared for the next one.

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If you would like some essential recruitment advice and guidance from yours truly, then please do contact Louise@trustinsoda.comfor some expert advice or if you just want a confidential chat about your next career step!

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