1. Review your Resume and Cover Letter
Ensure that you review the information that the employer has seen in the form of your cover letter and resume. Prepare to expand on the articles of information within those documents in the context of the job on offer. Try to elaborate on the experiences that won you the interview in the first place. Think about the difficulties, challenges, achievements, professional relationships and dilemmas associated with your journey. You will most likely receive probing questions about these situations so it will be best to start recalling the high points so that they are fresh in your mind.
2. Revise your Career Plan
Be prepared to answer questions about your career plans. Ensure that you have sufficient clarity about how the advertised job and the organization fit into those plans. Don't respond with answers about your future that include "winning the lotto" or "retiring". Use positive language that includes the value to the employer such as "To climb the corporate ladder as a result of doing a fantastic job for you in this position". Whatever the case, have this path clear in your mind prior to the interview.
3. Prepare Yourself for Interview Questions about Past Employers
Be prepared to speak about your experiences with past employers. Identify positive experiences, especially key achievements. If relevant, relate the previous key achievements to the new job. Ensure that you address negative experiences or difficult past employers in an informative professional manner. Avoid emotive comments. It is likely that you will receive one or more questions about previous employers so have some situations ready in your mind. Include forward thinking comments such as "from that situation I learned that..."
4. Be Aware of Your Listening Skills
No matter how much you know or how good you look my number #1 tip for your interview is to listen very closely to the questions. Try to relate open questions to the job on offer and try to keep the content of your responses relevant to the role description. Listening closely to the interviewers will help to give them a good impression of you as a person and in many cases, their assessment also includes listening skills (as part of their communication skills assessment)
5. Revise Your Travel Plans
Make sure that you plan your travel for the interview well ahead of time. Take the time of day and traffic into account, as well as parking, the weather, public transport timetables and always take contact information with you in case you do get caught up.
6. Practice with Role Plays
It is amazing how much you can improve just by going through one or two mock interviews first. For this reason, we have uploaded a sample interview that you can use together with a partner of family member to go through a practice round.
7. Familiarize Yourself with the Employer
Use as many different sources of information as possible. Most businesses have a web presence so their web site is a good place to start. Your core knowledge should include:
- What is their core business?
- Approximate size and scale of the company? (how many employees and how many states/countries do they have a presence)
- Any recent media coverage? (a quick search on your favourite search engine may reveal recent public announcement)
8. Refresh your Area of Expertise or Your Role Duties
Refresh your memory on theory and appropriate technology knowledge. Review acronyms and jargon. Don't get caught up on committing minor details to memory. Review high level knowledge - use of appropriate terminology and understand of key concepts will give you many more talking points throughout your interview. Incorporate your key technology areas into tough questions if it is appropriate.
9. Check Your Appearance and Attire
Make sure that you get some good nights rest prior to your interview. Looking fresh gives a really good impression of energy and enthusiasm. Tired eyes and face gives the opposite impression. Try on your interview attire to make sure it fits ok and that it does not need a wash or iron.
10. Prepare Your Questions
Prepare some Interivew questions that you would like to ask the employer. Try to keep them positive and always aiming to give the employer value. For example, "how many holidays do I get" will most likely give a bad impression. "Do you think that the merger with... will be finalized soon and if so how do you think that will affect this position" shows the employer that you have researched the company before the interview and will give him/her the opportunity to speak about contemporary company affairs with you. That will help you connect and that is a positive outcome.
Find heaps more interview preparation tools here including practice questions and interview attire tips.
Top 10 Interview Preparation Tips
No matter what format the interview takes. A well prepared job candidate will address all interview questions with enthusiasm and confidence. This page actually contains 11 tips in total - but the first tip is so important that we wanted to draw special attention to it.
Our Golden Interview Preparation Tip
"Answer interview questions with reference to what you can do for the employer"
Example Question #1. Where do you see yourself in five years?
Example Response. "In 5 years I hope that I am reaping the career benefits of the hard work I do in my job today."
Example Question #2. Tell me about yourself...
Example Response. "I am (xx) years old and live in (yyyy). I enjoy (hobby #1) but most of all I am hoping to establish a career in (Careerpath #1). That's why I was so excited to see your job advertisement, it is well suited to (my lifestyle/ or my previous training in zzzz) and I look forward to gaining exposure to (technology bbbb.)"
