Get in touch for mock interviews or training courses for expert advice: Phone: +353 (0)87 108 6412 Email: info@interviewprep.ie

Advice Centre

The very basics

Typical questions asked at an interview

Video interviewing

Competency based interviews

Preparation is the key to a successful interview

Your job interview has the potential to be a turning point in your life. In the Advice Centre, I have put together some tips, guidance and general advice that will get you thinking about your interview. It will make you think about the type of questions that you may be asked, and it will hopefully point you towards areas that you need to work on to fulfil your potential. Some of the information contained here is very basic, but sometimes we overlook the very obvious and that can trip us up.

With the arrival of Covid-19 into our daily lives, video interviewing is likely to become the norm for many positions being applied for, and I have included a separate section in the Advice Centre dealing with this. It’s obviously a different way of recruitment but most of the rules and guiding principles that apply to regular interviews still apply, so any decent advice you have received in relation to the more usual face-to-face interview should still apply.

The very basics

Know what the job entails

It is surprising how many people turn up for interview and do not have detailed knowledge about the job that they are applying for. When a job is advertised, there is often a job specification provided but that should not be the limit of your research. Particularly with the internet these days, there is no excuse for not finding out more about the position that you are applying for. If possible, talk to somebody who is doing the job or a very similar job for their advice. You can always contact the company, tell them that you are applying for a position with them and you are interested in finding out more about the position. If the extent of your knowledge of the job is to repeat at the interview what you have read from the job specification, then you will not be impressing the interview board.

Research the company/organisation

A question often asked at an interview is: “What do you know about the company?” Similar to the job itself, you may be given some details about the company when the job is being advertised but you need to do your own research. The position that you are applying for will dictate the level of detail that your research will involve. Looking at the company’s website is a good start. If it’s a senior position you are applying for, look at their annual reports for the previous few years, if they are available. If you are applying for a sales and marketing position, research the products that they sell. Tailor your research to the position that you are applying for. As you find out more about the company, keep one thing in the back of your mind – is this the type of company that you want to work for?

Be yourself

Don’t try to be someone that you are not at the interview. Many people make the mistake of trying to guess the type of person that the company is looking for and framing their answers accordingly. It’s true that there are certain skill sets that a company may be looking for and it’s important that you display these during the course of the interview, but it’s also important that the “real you” comes across at the interview. Don’t take credit for something that you did not do or over-exaggerate your role in any examples of the work that you have done – if the interview board determines that you are being less than truthful on any particular aspect of the interview, then it will undermine their confidence in the other answers you have given.

Dress appropriately

There is no particular, correct way to dress for an interview. It can depend on the type of job you are going for. However, you should dress in a manner that is appropriate to the job that you are applying for. Remember, first impressions are important and you are not dressing up to go out to a party. I recommend that you should always err on the side of caution when going for an interview, and wear business attire. If you remain in doubt over what to wear, you can always contact the employer and enquire as to what the dress code is for the interview.

Arrive in plenty of time

This is stating the very obvious but time your arrival for at least ten minutes before the interview is due to commence. In advance of the day of your interview, you should time how long it takes for you to get from your home to the location of the interview – time it on a workday and preferably at the time your interview takes place. Buses or trains can run late so factor that into your arrival time. It’s better to be half an hour early and have a relaxing cup of coffee than running at the last minute to make your allotted time. If you are late for an interview, company policy may be not to give interviews to candidates who fail to turn up on time.

Typical questions asked at an interview

First of all, the bad news. Nobody will be able to advise you on every possible question that you will be asked at an interview. Interviews can take on a life of their own and as the interview progresses, questions will often be dictated by the answers that you give to preceding questions.

The type of question will depend on your level of experience. For example, if you have just left school or college, the interview board will spend more time questioning you about your time spent there and the benefits that you will bring to the job from your educational experience. If you have been working for a number of years, there will probably be more of a focus on your working life than on your educational background, although this may depend on the job that you are applying for.

However, you can prepare yourself for the standard questions that are commonly asked such as the following:

Initial questions

How are you? Did you have any trouble finding us? Lovely/awful weather, isn’t it? (It’s Ireland – we always talk about the weather!)
What are your hobbies?
Briefly tell me about your career to date.
How did you enjoy college life?
What job did you like the most in your career to date?
How did you get on with the people that you worked with?

Education

Why did you choose this particular college course?
What subjects did you find challenging?
What was your thesis about? Did you find anything particularly difficult in producing your thesis?
What have you learned from your degree/diploma etc that you will bring to this job?
I notice that you switched college courses – why did you do that? Did you find that you learned anything of benefit from the course that you left?
What was the social side of college like?

Work experience

Tell me about the job you are working at currently.
What are your main responsibilities?
What do you like/dislike about it?
Are you working as part of a team?
What decisions do you typically have to make during the course of your working day?
What do you find challenging about your job?
Tell me what skills you will bring from your current job to the job that you are applying for.
The same questions can be asked about any of the jobs you have worked at to date.

Specific questions relating to the job that you are applying for

What do you know about the job that you are applying for?
What will be your key responsibilities?
Tell me what skills and qualities you will bring to this job.
What do you believe will be the challenges that you will face?
Tell me what you know about the company that you will be working for.

General questions about yourself

What are your greatest strengths/weaknesses?
Give me an example of a big decision that you have made in your career to date.
Have you ever made a bad decision? What did you learn from it?
What one thing in your career to date are you most proud of?

Final questions at an interview

Why should we give you this job?
Is there anything else that you would like to add in support of your application?
If you are successful at this interview, when can you start?

Video Interviewing

Situate the camera so that your entire face and upper body is clearly visible to the interviewer. Your facial expression and body language are crucial elements in an interview and if all the interviewers can see is your face covering their screens, it can come across as almost intimidating and will not allow you to express yourself as you are talking.
Use a computer or laptop rather than a mobile phone. Turn off your mobile and also turn off all other websites, apps, videos, etc that you may have running on the device that you will be using. You don’t want any distractions!
Use a brightly lit room and keep your background clear of clutter. A plain background is ideal, although this may not always be possible. Remember – you are trying to create a good impression so this attention to detail is important.
Dress appropriately and in the same way as you would have if you were meeting your interviewers face-to-face. Subconsciously, when you dress up you will be getting into interview-mode and it will concentrate your mind.

This next one is important. While most employers are trying to be as accommodating as possible to enable people to work from home, it may be their first impression of you and you want no surprises.

Avoid possible distractions! You may be at home but, if possible, have someone available to answer any phone calls or callers to your home, or to prevent any unwanted guests coming into the room as the interview is taking place. We have all seen examples of people being interviewed on the news or elsewhere on TV where a young child appears on screen at the most inappropriate time. It makes for great TV but in an interview context, it will break your concentration and can unsettle you. Your interviewer may not have a great sense of humour and may take a dim view that you did not take the necessary precautions to ensure that you would be left alone for the duration of the interview.
Familiarise yourself with the technology being used for the interview. Zoom and Skype are the most commonly used – get familiar with the layout of the screen and the various formats that may be used.
Talk to your family or friends using the relevant software so that you get used to a video-style conversation. It is different from a face-to-face conversation, particularly if there is a slight delay in the connection.

Competency based interviews

Competency based interviews have become the most widely used form of interview. Also known as Structured interviews, Behavioural
interviews or Evidence Based interviews, they have replaced the more traditional style of interview and have enabled interviewers to ask more targeted questions which will enable them to make a more focussed decision on the suitability of a candidate, rather than sometimes relying on a gut instinct.

In preparing yourself for this type of interview, one of the most practical ways to approach it is to use the STAR method – Situation, Task, Action, Result.

Situation: Set the scene by giving the background to your example

Task: Explain the task that you had to complete and what your particular responsibilities were

Action: Explain what actions you took to complete your task. Concentrate on what you did, not on what anyone else did.

Result: Explain the result of your actions and how did you gauge its success. Outline what you learned from your experience.

In advance of the interview, you will most likely have completed an application form giving examples covering a range of competencies required for the job. Ensure that you are able to talk freely about everything that you have put down on the form. Remember – it is your experiences that you have given as examples on the application form so the interview board will expect you to be able to talk about them. Don’t put anything down on the application form that you think looks good but you are unable to talk about.

Advice Centre

InterviewPrep

Advice Centre