Interview Preparation

The employment Industry caters to employment needs of individuals on a provisional, contract, and enduring basis into firms around the world. We are implicated in the HR staffing sphere of influence with several clients. Our ability to cater to diversified corporate domains has made us a chosen choice among a number of our clients. 

This is as soon as you need to think about all the reasons you are applying for the job and what you have to offer the organization. You will have to put in order to discuss both short and long term career goals. If there are any gaps in employment on your CV that is over a month you will need to be prepared to explain what you have been doing during these gaps. If you worked on temporary assignments but did not log them on your CV you will need to explain what you did, who you worked for and the length of the assignment etc. If you were just unemployed and job searching it will look best to give some examples of your research.

Always research the job you have applied for before attending the interview because you may find that the employer could fire all sorts of questions at you. Try to familiarize yourself with the following:

• Check if the Company has a website and find out the history, about the Company, and how long they have been operating.
• The Company’s services and products or even the Company’s goals and aims.
• Company news updates are always good to read, as you can demonstrate familiarity with subjects that are important to their business.
• Ensure you know where you are going and allow time for any delays that might occur. Arrive early as this allows you time to relax and gather your thoughts.
• View the job description, pay particular attention to the skills required and the main duties. If you do not meet some of the required skills then think of what you can offer as an alternative or how you think you can still do the job without these skills because there may be other candidates that meet all the criteria so you need to make yourself stand out.
• Always prepare some questions; these questions are generally to help you get more of an understanding of the Company, whether there are any changes to come, how you see the Company developing in years to come etc.
• Don’t ask about benefits and salary – always let the employer mention this first.
• Use positive body language, i.e. using an open posture, smile, speak clearly and speak carefully and listen to what is being said and asked.
• Always leave positively, smiling and shaking hands and thank them for taking the time to meet with you and to contact you if they need any further information.

Examples of Standard Interview Questions

Here is a list of standard job interview questions, however, for each job you may be asked questions relating to it such as HR, Finance, Management, Medical etc. so it is always worth researching questions for that specific role.

• What interests you about this job?
• What qualities can you bring to this job?
• What do you know about the Organization?
• What are you looking for in a new job?
• In previous jobs what did you do on a day to day basis?
• What did you dislike about your job?
• What were your greatest achievements in either your job or personal life?
• How did you make a difference to your last Organization?
• What motivates you?
• How do you handle criticism?
• Can you work under pressure? How do you overcome pressure?
• What are your ambitions?
• Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Remember: Everyone has a weakness in something, and you won’t impress your interviewer by saying that you are great at everything. This is actually a trick question. Instead use your honest evaluation of yourself to build an answer that states you have a weakness, you recognize it as such, and that you are taking positive steps to overcome it.

Interview Tips

If you have been chosen for interview, you still have to compete against numerous candidates to provide evidence you are the right person for the job. Use our guide to help you find out how…

This means in your own personal presentation as well as doing some research to show you are keen and have shown interest in the company.

Body language can also point toward the level of your interest in the role you are being interviewed for. If you appear very alert, involved and animated whilst the discussion centers around what you have done, your achievements, what you enjoy, what you want etc. and then lose all interest and display appalling listening skills when the interviewer goes on to talk about the company, the role, their needs, etc. then this shows that you can be self-centered.

Therefore, interviewers may assess your body language at this point of an interview and is often a good guide as to whether or not you are really interested in the job. Body language can also assess how you would behave in the role in question and how you would be perceived by your peers and customers, both internal and external.

Therefore, you can also tell how the interview is going by observing the body language of the interviewer and if you are smart can adjust your presentation if you feel it is not going so well.

Some useful tips for a good, and hopefully successful, interview are:

• Find out about the Company by doing research on its history, mission statement, financial accounts, company brochures, company website.
• Ensure you know where you are going and allow time for any delays that might occur. Arrive early as this allows you time to relax and gather your thoughts.
• Use a firm handshake, as a ‘limp handshake’ can affect what follows.
• Be attentive, don’t stare out of the window or fidget and maintain good eye contact.
• Use positive body language, i.e. using an open posture, smile, speak clearly and speak carefully and listen to what is being said and asked.
• Be positive about previous or current employers and don’t divulge confidential information.
• Always ensure you have one or two prepared questions to ask and ask them at the end if they have not been covered in the interview.
• Also, if they haven’t told you when to expect an outcome then take the opportunity to ask them this.
• Always leave positively, smiling and shaking hands and thank them for taking the time to meet with you and to contact you if they need any further information.

CV Advice

Your CV is your opportunity to sell yourself to a potential employer. Remember that your application will be one of many, and the reader will often skim read to form an initial shortlist. Follow our tips to help yours stand out at first glance. You must not send a generic CV for every job you apply for. You need to review what the employer is looking for and fine tune it and the covering letter each time. Employers know when they receive a generic CV, especially if it is photocopied and remember if you send it via email, readers can view the properties set up and see when you created and amended it. You can be eliminated at the initial reading of your CV because it does not reflect the skills and experience the employers is looking for they wanted to see were there but not clearly expressed as you may have buried this in the text somewhere or simply the CV was difficult to read.

CV Tips

Covering Letter

When applying for a job all the time put a covering letter with it as this is your selling tool and should outline your skills and experience that is relevant to the job.

It is always worth stating in your covering letter where you see the job advertised as this shows it is not a standard letter you have used for any employer and what you say next is written for them.