Interview Advice

Pre-Interview Research

Research the company. Take time to ask yourself; what are the important questions that you want answered. Remember, an interview is as much about you meeting the employer, as it is about the employer meeting you. Ring the company and ask for their product sales literature, look up their web site, use a search engine to see what information you can find and read in the trade press.

Questions to consider:

• Who owns the organisation?
• What do they do?
• Do they have any other offices?
• How many employees do they have?
• Is the company profitable?
• What is their reputation within the industry?
• What projects have they completed?
• What projects are they currently undertaking?
• Who are their main competitors?

Pre-Interview Preparation

Think of questions the employer may ask you, both technical and personal, in relation to the presentation/ content of your CV and their job specification. Your Project Resource recruitment consultant will always inform you of who you are going to be seeing, how long the interview is likely to last, the format for the interview (for example, departmental, technical or with human resources) and what the employer will want to know from you.

Ensure that you have practiced your journey (literally if possible), that you have a map to the office that the interview will be taking place at, and that you have train/tube/bus timetables or a journey planner if you are driving.

Ensure you are dressed professionally and look as though you are a serious business professional. Get your interview clothes ready in advance, check they are clean, to create the right impression. First impressions count.

Aim to arrive at the interview venue 15-20 minutes before the start time, so you can report to reception, and compose yourself.

During your interview

Demonstrate your interest and enthusiasm towards the employer and establish what your job role is to be; accountabilities and who you will report to.

Questions to consider:

• What (and who) will you be accountable for?
• What skills must you have?
• What knowledge and experience are needed?
• Who will you report to?
• What are the career prospects?

Remember, always to be positive, never be negative about anything in an interview situation. Often companies may tell you the worst in an effort to test your commitment, it is always important to be positive and think of a positive outcome.

Always listen to the interviewer emphatically; as misinterpretation can be costly, first impressions do definitely apply.

Do not worry about being nervous, a little nerves keep you alert and feeling sharp. To keep your nerves in check, try visualising yourself answering questions with confidence, and take deep breaths to relax.

Have your questions to ask rehearsed, and try to include information in those questions, that will demonstrate your pre-interview research and the information you have gathered from the interview. Write your questions down and take them with you as this will demonstrate that you have prepared and are serious about the job.

Be sure to convey enthusiasm, do not be afraid to think out loud and ask about the job for which you are interviewing.

After your interview

Hopefully at this point you will be feeling confident that you created and delivered the right impression to the employer, allowing us to now help you take the process forward.

Before you call us after your interview, consider a few things that would be useful for us to know:

Questions to consider:

• How long did the interview last?
• Who did you interview with?
• Did anything happen that you did not expect (such as being shown around the department after the interview, or were you introduced to anyone, not directly associated with the initial interview)?
• Were there any specific negative or positive points, behaviours or comments that were observed by you?
• How did you feel the interview went overall?
• Do you have any reservations about the job/ employer?
• Will you require any further information from the employer?
• What further comments or information would you like us to pass to the employer following the interview?

If you think about the aforementioned questions prior to calling us, then it will be much easier for us to help de-brief you after the interview. We will then work together through the next steps, whether it be moving on to securing an offer of employment or move on to a new job opportunity altogether!

Remember that we are here to help you.  It is in our interest to make sure that the option that you follow is the right one for you and the employer. The more information you supply us with from day one of our partnership, the more we can help you get the right opportunity.

A job offer

We will inform you at the earliest possible moment, once we have confirmation from the employer that they want to offer you a job. At this point we will give you all known facts, and seek your thoughts. Assuming you want to accept the employer's job offer, the next step will be for you to receive contracts of employment from the employer, then for you to resign from your current employer.

Resignation

Resigning is never easy, but it is important to always remember why you starting looking for a new job in the first place. Your employer will invariably not want to lose you, so be prepared that they may make an improved offer (called the "counter offer") for you to stay employed with them.

In most cases it is good to write a resignation letter, keeping it succinct, clarifying that your decision is final and being clear on your understanding of your notice period.  This letter should then be given to your line manager and your human resource/ personnel department.

Notice period

A notice period can vary from 1 day to 3 months. Most employees are required to give 1 month notice. If you resign you will be required to work your contracted notice period, unless mutually agreed otherwise.

Unless your contract says otherwise, notice can be given verbally or in writing, although it is advisable to at least confirm it in writing.

The notice period will normally be set out in your contract with your employer.  If not, there's an implied term that you should give a reasonable period of notice. What is 'reasonable' will depend on your seniority and the extent of your responsibilities.

If you want to give less than proper notice, try and come to some agreement with your employer and if possible get this put in writing.