Is this what you’ve been doing wrong in job interviews? Learn our Top Tips to see you through

Is this what you’ve been doing wrong in job interviews? Learn our Top Tips to see you through

Following on from my last blog, keeping interviews as the theme; could this be what you’ve been doing wrong at interviews?

Have you been left wondering why you didn’t get the job even though you fit the job spec, AND you’re just a star candidate? Think you’ve got EXACTLY what every employer is looking for but for some reason, they just won’t hire you? In this competitive market it pays to be aware of what is going on and what you can do to secure your dream job.

So many candidates are left stumped after receiving the news that they were unfortunately unsuccessful at the interview they had last week; the meeting went really well, they got on well with the interviewer, and they had all the skills they were asking for. 

  

So why didn’t they get the job? Obviously you’re not the only person being interviewed for the role, and often with popular positions you’ll be up against 6-8 other candidates, possibly even more! The fact of the matter is, when there are 3 candidates who fit the job spec perfectly, they could all do the job with their eyes closed, and they all have a great personality; a choice needs to be made, and often it can be the little details that tip the scales.

So how can you be sure you’re doing everything in your power to ensure you get offered the position above everyone else?

 

1. Be yourself

This is such an important one – people buy from people, and ultimately an interview is your chance to sell yourself, but if you’re coming across as disingenuous or that you’re holding something back, you’re most likely going to either put the interviewer off, or end up in a job that is suited to the person you pretended to be in your interview. Relax, be true to yourself and let your personality show, it could make the difference between you getting the job or not getting the job. If you show what you’re really like in an interview, you’ll hopefully find yourself in a job with people who have similar values and personalities. Aside from letting your personality show through, remember that you are in an interview and always be professional.

 

2. Do your research

Now I know this is an obvious one, but you’d be surprised how many people turn up to an interview and all they’ve done is check out the home page of the company website before heading into their interview. You may not even get asked the standard ‘what do you know about us’ question, but if you do, you want to be able to show you’ve done more than memorise the ‘about us’ page. I advise all of my candidates to check out the company website, the social media accounts, read any blogs that they’ve posted, and also see if you can find out anything about them in the news. If you do get the chance to show off your research, this is only going to stand you in good stead.

 

3. Ask questions

It’s like an unwritten rule that you should always ask questions at the end of the interview but there’s a worry that you can end up looking disinterested by asking irrelevant or standard questions. Stay away from salary, hours, benefits etc. these are the fine details that should be negotiated once they’ve decided they actually want to hire you. At the first stage interview you want to be asking questions that show your interest in the company and the role, as an example you could ask where you see the company heading in the next ten years. In contrast, if you ask something like ‘what is the dress code?’ you’re going to sound like you really don’t care about the actual job, but you’re happy to accept anything that fits in with your wardrobe. It’s always a good idea to write your questions in a notebook and bring it out at the end; there’s nothing worse than forgetting everything right at the moment they ask if you have any questions!

 

4. Be prepared

There’s nothing like turning up to an interview late, scruffy, or without the interviewers’ name; going back the research point, you’ll do yourself a favour if you’ve looked up your interviewer on LinkedIn beforehand. Give yourself plenty of time to get there on time, suss out the route, get all of your documents out the night before and leave nothing until the last minute. You’ve only got one shot to show them that you are the best candidate for the role, don’t blow it!

 

We’ve got a thousand more tips that we could give you but you’d be reading forever. If you apply for a job through us and get to interview stage, we’ll go through in depth interview preparation with you so you’ll have the best chance in getting the job.

I hope you enjoyed reading.

Louise

 

About First2Recruit 

First2Recruit, are an owner managed recruitment consultancy providing a full recruitment service including; permanent and FTC positions in Accountancy Practice and Insolvency across the UK.  

Alternatively, visit www.first2recruit.co.uk or call one of their friendly team on 01722 440 168.