Here we help you to succeed at your interview. Please feel free to use this as a guide:
Be Prepared
Interviews today are much more complicated affairs than they used to be, often including psychometric and aptitude tests. The best advice we can give you is to be prepared so we hope you’ll find this useful.
Not only will you be more knowledgeable but you’ll also be more relaxed and confident on the day.
Before the interview
Do some research about the organisation that will help you ask some intelligent questions. Company brochures, annual reports, websites and back issues of the trade press are all good sources of information.
Find out:
- How strong is the potential for future growth
- The organisational structure and how this could affect your promotional path
- What developments have occurred recently
You preparation should also include ensuring you know the interviewer’s full name, the correct pronunciation and their title together with the time and location of your interview. Remember, arriving late always creates a bad impression so allow sufficient time for heavy traffic, bad weather and parking.
The interview
Every interview is a two-way street. Prepare a few questions of your own – you need to evaluate the employer as much as they need to evaluate you.
When explaining your reason for leaving your present or former employers, limit your comments to those that explain your rationale and avoid making derogatory remarks.
After the interview
Afterwards make a note of everything you need to remember. This may include the name of the interviewer, the date you expect to hear back from the company and any questions you were unable to answer.
Aptitude tests
Aptitude tests are designed to measure job-specific abilities such as numerical, verbal, spatial, diagrammatic and abstract reasoning along with data interpretation skills.
Practice and familiarity with these tests can significantly improve your performance.
Psychometric tests
Psychometric tests assess personality. They help employers decide if the person and job fit together. Your responses will give an indication of your determination, perseverance, social skills and preferred working style – there are no right or wrong answers.
- Try to identify the personality traits that would impress your employer.
- Highly rated qualities usually include decision-making, leadership, problem solving and team building skills.
Finally, even if you’re unsuccessful, use what you’ve learned from the interview to help you prepare for the next one.
And of course, good luck.