Tips and Tricks - Prepping for an interview
As a permanent recruitment agency we get a lot of feedback from both clients and candidates. So what are the talking points when prepping for an interview?
Be on time, an answer that may be so obvious to you that right now you are holding your head in your hands! But it happens, more than you would think.
Ideally you would want to be a bit early for your interview. To clear your head and make a good first impression.
Obviously there can be extenuating circumstances and not everything is under our control so if you are going to be late it’s important to call ahead to let them know.
You may be asked to disclose salary expectations you have for the job you are interviewing for, it is on the interviewer to disclose what the salary is and you are allowed (if it wasn’t already listed) to ask what the salary is and guide your expectation from there.
However if you were to use an agency like ourselves, you would know the salary, be able to negotiate and request a higher rate before you ever get to the interview process.
It is always a good idea to research the company or practice you are applying for so you can tailor your answer to the inevitable question – “So, why do you want to work here?” Also if you are moving to a completely new job out of your usual field to research the industry for the same reasons.
Clarify your “selling points” as early as you can in the interview, you want to be assertive and confident. You know why you deserve the job and its up to you to convey this to the employer.
Prepare for common interview questions, we have gone through a few of them here but you know the type of questions, “where do you see yourself in 5 years”, “what motivates you”, “why do you want to work here”, “what separates you from other candidates”.
We all hate them but they are commonplace and give employers an understanding of you as a candidate so you can expect them at most interviews.
“Tell me about yourself” this is always a dreaded question, but quite frankly is always going to be asked, so make the most of it.
Have questions ready for your employer! Every single interview will end with the employer asking for any questions so its always good to go in with a few prepared.
Bring copies of your resume to the interviews, this may sound obvious but its always good to have a few copies of your resume in case there are multiple people on the interview panel.
Rehearse, You can rehearse what you are going to say, what you think they are going to say and just have some responses and talking points and don’t worry about it sounding like you have prepped!
Body Language is more important than you might think, a lot can be said for siting up straight and looking engaged.
Thank you notes and follow up emails, this is something 0.1% of people do and can set you apart, especially if you are following up a rejection. Just because they don’t have something now doesn’t mean they wont in the future or have something else that might be in your remit.
Questions for our permanent recruitment agency?
If you do have any questions for the team you can give us a call on 0121 451 2707 or email [email protected]
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