How to ace your job interview

Great news, the client liked your CV and has invited you for an interview. To give yourself the best chance of success, have a read of our handy guide to preparing for interviews and making a memorable first impression. 

THE WEEK BEFORE - DO YOUR HOMEWORK 

1. Swot up on the company 

Whether you’ve heard of the company before or not, do your research on them.  

If you’re up to speed on using ChatGPT, Gemini or other AI tools, you’ll save a lot of time if you use a prompt to get a written summary of the company, its latest news and financial performance. 

Otherwise, you’ll usually find information about their culture and values on their website, as well as press releases. Wikipedia is often the best place to get a succinct paragraph about what they do and their products and services.

Follow them on LinkedIn and get a feel for the topics that are important to them, and if you know the names of the people who are interviewing you, look at their profiles to understand their career history. 

We find it especially useful to do a Google search on the company name and click on the news tab of search results. This will tell you what other commentators are saying about them, give you a sense of industry trends and where growth opportunities lie.  

2. Understand the role 

Re-read the job description, paying particular attention to the KPIs or measures of success. Think about equivalent situations where you’ve delivered comparable results. 

Ask questions about the hierarchy you’d sit in, and the scope of work you’d be involved in, for instance the team size and budget. Again, try to think about similar periods in your career to show your level of comfort with the role. 

Consider the technical knowledge needed for the role, and how you can demonstrate your depth of expertise. One idea is to highlight weaknesses or difficulties you’ve spotted in certain platforms or software, and how you overcame them. 

3. Rehearse your answers 

We recommend using the STAR method to prepare answers for the questions you’re most likely to be asked to demonstrate your competency or how you’d approach certain scenarios.  

Interviewers are looking for succinct examples that reassure them you have the right skills and experience for the job.  

S: Situation – What was the context of the example (when, where, who) or what was the problem you were trying to solve? 

T: Task – What was your objective within this example? What outcome were you trying to achieve? 

A: Action - What did you do? Remember to answer this in relation to your own efforts, not those of a team. Say ‘I wrote the project plan’ rather than ‘We developed a plan.’ 

R: Result – Here’s your chance to sell yourself. What was the result, what did you learn and what would you do differently with the benefit of hindsight? 

It helps to practice your answers by saying them out loud, not just repeating them in your head. This helps you untangle complicated sentences, and get slicker the more you do it.  

4. Prepare your own questions 

Even if you feel you know enough to make your mind up about the role, ask at least a couple of questions of your interviewer to show that you’ve prepared and that you’re interested. Of course, if the interview has genuinely left you unsure about some areas, now is your chance to seek clarification. 

Questions about the role – how will success be measured, how quickly do you expect to see results etc. 

Questions about the team – what do you think the biggest challenge for the team is, what skills are missing in the team? 

Questions about the manager – what’s your management style, what do you like about working here? 

Questions about the company – what is most exciting about this company’s future, how do you see the company changing over the next few years? 

If you are excited that this could be your dream role, don’t forget to ask the interviewer if they have any concerns that you might not be the right fit. It will give you an opportunity to address any misunderstandings there and then. 

ON THE DAY – GET ORGANISED 

1. Video interviews 

Technology working? 

Check your wi-fi is working or move to a spot with a stronger signal, then check your sound and microphone ahead of the meeting starting. 

Dress code 

A video interview doesn’t mean you should dress more casually than you would if it were face to face. We advise against t-shirts, hoodies or other WFH staples and instead recommend that you wear the same smart, professional clothes you would in person.

Ties are generally not necessary for men nowadays, and it makes sense to avoid tight checks, lines or patterns on tops or shirts that create blurry waves on camera. Your personal grooming should also be work-appropriate. 

Mobile no-no 

Video interviews conducted on your mobile device or smartphone tend to look unprofessional, so laptop is preferred. 

Location 

A quiet place at home is ideal, but if you’re needing to step out of the office for your interview, don’t go to a noisy, busy coffee shop. 

Distractions 

Ensure you won’t be distracted – put a sign on the door to ask family or housemates to avoid barging in, try to keep pets under control and make provisions if you’re expecting a delivery. 

Background 

Pick where you will sit or stand, and then consider your background. A tasteful stock background from Teams, Zoom, Google Meet etc is preferable to a blurred background. If you choose to show your real location, make sure your background is tidy and uncluttered. Many people choose to show a bit of personality via the books on a shelf, or a picture on the wall. 

Be seen 

Think about your lighting – if it’s going to go dark during your interview, start with a light on. Avoid sitting anywhere where the sun will blind you or shadows will result in half of you disappearing. 

Position 

Position your camera. Most of us look down to our screen which can be unflattering. Prop your laptop up on a box or a couple of books so you are level and centred with the camera.  

2. Face to face interviews 

The most important piece of advice that never changes, is to set off early and anticipate travel delays. There is nothing worse than arriving late and flustered, so give yourself plenty of time. 

The dress code advice given above remains the same for in-person interviews. 

DURING THE INTERVIEW – BE SELF AWARE 

Body language 

Some studies suggest that as much as 90% of our communication is non-verbal. The amount we smile, our posture and hand movements can all give an impression that might be at odds with our spoken answers. 

• Smile often and try to establish eye contact – although the latter is admittedly difficult on video calls 
• Sit up straight or lean in to suggest enthusiasm, including whilst waiting at reception or on site tours 
• Control nerves – if you know you have a nervous habit, try to take action to avoid repetitive, distracting movements. Have a glass of water nearby for dry mouth moments 

Whether you’ve been interviewing a lot recently, or are a bit rusty, we hope these ideas will give you structure and confidence to secure your dream role.