Congratulations! You have been called to an interview! The employer is interested in you so now what!!
The employer wants to know can you do the job, will you do the job and will you fit into the organization or team.
So you need to:
1. Research the job
- What knowledge, skills, qualities are highlighted?
- What are the key functions of the role?
- What kind of person is required to do the job?
- Match the job description and person specification to your own strengths
2. Research the employer
- Learn about the services/products offered by the organization.
- Where do you fit into the picture?
- Check their website (if they have one), ask around about them, watch out for news items or ads in the newspaper
- Know their industry or current challenges they face that are relevant to the job you are looking for
3. Research yourself (self assessment)
- Know your application and CV and ensure you can elaborate on each item
- Identify your key strengths for the job (ability to get on with others, disciplined attitude to work, ambition, responsible attitude, willingness to learn, readiness to accepting change etc)
- Be aware of your weaknesses but present them in a positive way (eg willing to work on…., planning to take a course to improve on…., etc)
- What can you offer? Unique skills, abilities, experiences.
You must be able to back up your statements with concrete examples! Think about a specific time you used a skill or strength, identify what the results of using the skill were and link this to the new job.
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
- Tell me about yourself/ Take me through your CV/ Talk to me about your CV/work history
- Why are you leaving your current position?
- What are the most important rewards you expect in your career?
- What are your long and short term goals?
- Why did you choose this profession?
- What are your strengths ?
- What are your weaknesses?
- How would you describe yourself?
- What has been your best achievement?
- How can you contribute to our organization?
- What subjects did you like best in your courses/education? Why?
- Why did you decide to seek a position with this company?
- What do you know about our company?
- How did you hear about the job?
- What do you know about this type of work?
- What qualities should a successful candidate possess?
- What countries have you visited?
- Why do you think you are suitable?
- What activities do you take part in?
- Give me an example of a time when you showed …. Teamwork, initiative, sales ability, networking, relationship building, communication skills and so on
- Scenario questions – how would you do this, explain that, deal with a difficult situation etc