Interview preparation
A job interview aims to further assess your skills and experience in relation to the position. Interviewers are also considering whether your values and style will be a good fit for the team or organisational culture.
- Study the company website and other media so you know what’s going on in the organisation and/or industry. You may be asked directly about what you know, or you may refer to the organisation or industry in answering other questions. Employers consistently comment on how little applicants often know about their organisation and what a big difference this makes to their assessment.
- Re-read your application. Prepare to address questions about anything you have included. Take the employers point of view - are any gaps or obvious issues which an employer might want to follow up in an interview?
- Review the most common interview questions (see below) and think about the key points you would make in responding to these or similar questions. Don’t prepare answers, just key points.
- Be prepared to talk about your key strengths and assets in relation to the position. This is the key issue – what would you bring to the job? Why you and not others?
- Review the selection criteria and ensure you can provide interesting examples to demonstrate the skills that are listed – to use with behavioural questions in particular.
- Prepare a couple of questions to ask at the end of the interview – interviewers typically invite you to ask questions at the end of the interview. The best question is one that flows naturally out of the interview; however, just in case it’s hard to think on the spot, have a couple in mind eg perhaps asking about opportunities for training and development.
- Attend a Careers & Employment interview workshop – check Careers Online.
On the Day
- Know were you are going and how you will get there. Allow time for traffic and public transport delays. If you get there very early, take a walk – it can be bad for the nerves to sit for too long in the waiting area
- Be well groomed and wear appropriate clothes for the context and profession – generally business clothes are appropriate.
- Take a copy of any documents you have been requested to bring. Here are some tips to help you prepare:
Types of interviews
Interviews are generally face to face with either one interviewer or several on a panel.
Sometimes interviews are referred to as ‘Behavioural Interviews’. This means that most of the questions will be behavioural questions (see below). This is most likely with Graduate Employment Program selection or with large organisations generally.
Phone interviews are sometimes conducted. There are two types: screening interviews – where the interview is being used to select applicants to go through to the next activity, or full interviews – typically where a face to face interview can’t easily be arranged.
Employers approach screening interviews in different ways – some will focus on technical questions; others will use ask more general questions to assess your general communication style.
Some tips for phone interviews:
- Phone interviews are generally arranged so that you are expecting the call. Set up for the interview by organising a quiet space, advising others in your household, turning off mobile phones and other distractions. Dress as you would for a face to face interview – it helps to feel professional.
- Sometimes for screening interviews, you may be contacted without warning. If you are unable to converse professionally eg you’re on a noisy tram, it is best to explain and arrange another time.
- While it may be useful to have some information in front of you eg your resume or perhaps some prompt cards, don’t overdo it – you can be tempted to rely on this too much (some applicants have been known to read prepared responses) which distracts from the immediacy of your responses.
- Remember that the key difference is that there is no non-verbal communication. In face to face communication, non-verbals contribute significantly to the message.
- You need to compensate for this – for example by speaking slightly more clearly and slowly, and using more intonation (variations of tone, volume and pace).
- This doesn’t mean you should ignore your non-verbals – use the same positive non-verbal behaviours as you would face to face as this helps to generate positive tone and intonation in your voice. Particularly remember to smile!
- Sometimes interviewers themselves may not communicate clearly by phone – it is perfectly to ask for clarification if you don’t know what is being asked.