Interview Tips
You've been selected for an interview... It's now time to prepare so you will be able to represent yourself in the best possible way in the eyes of the Client...
At The F10 Group we want to assist you in this preparation and we have many areas in which we can provide advice and help you be the successful candidate...
Best-prepared Candidate
Be the best prepared candidate, that the client sees. You can do this by approaching your preparation for the interview as if it was a project.
There are 4 main areas of PREPARATION that you should consider:
- Suitability for the JOB
Preparing for this is quite simple. Take the job description and break it down into sections. It is your guide to what the client is looking for. Under each section write down as many references as you can think of, where you have gained relevant experience. It is always a good idea to ensure that all areas are covered within you 10 best achievements. This exercise will also refresh your memory and help you to provide concise information at the interview. You should also use the job description to develop some suitable questions.
- Company History
Look at the website and make notes on the company history. When it was launched, growth, aquisitions and mergers etc? What date did they start trading and what are the recent events that are relevant to the company success? Growth etc Try and find out information about the company finances/accounts for the previous years
Any information that you can find on key individuals within the company (MD etc) might be useful, especially if you meet them.
Why not call their marketing department and ask them for a brochure?
- Products and services
You will be expected to know what the company does and what their range of products and services are.
- Clients and Marketplace
Who are their clients and whom do they sell into? Do they have any associate partnerships or resellers that they use? This sort of knowledge will show market awareness.
Your Interview Questions
It is very important that you have a couple of good questions to answer at the end of the interview. There is nothing more boring that someone who says, “I think that you have answered everything”. Take a list of questions in with you, if you need to. It shows that you are interested and ambitious.
Questions should be about, the role, the company or the opportunity. (Review the F10 interview tips document for a more detailed range of questions that you can ask, or that you might be asked).
A good final question that you can ask if the interview has gone reasonably well and you have built a good rapport with the interviewer is:
“Do you have any concerns about my ability to do any part of this job or to fit in with the culture here”?
This will give you an opportunity to challenge and clarify any areas of doubt that the interviewer might have and will also give you a good indication of how you have performed in the interview etc.
Finally, a couple of warnings
DO NOT ask about salary, benefits, working hours etc unless the HR representative encourages you to do so. With regards to salary, you are not in a strong negotiating position at the interview and should avert responsibility back to the agency if possible. You can say that ‘you have told the agency what you are looking for, but are happy for them to make any appropriate offers to the agency’.
ALWAYS inform the client about other vacancies that you have applied for. However, you should indicate that, from what you have seen so far today, and from your research, this company looks very favorable and you are very interested in pursuing things further with them.
Take a note book and pen into the interview with you and take notes and write down questions.
Think about preparing your interview notes along with your CV, interview questions and your references into a folder that you can leave with your interviewer.
