9 Must-Have Tips For Your Next Job Interview (2022 Update)
Practice makes perfect! This article goes into how you need to start preparing for your next interview and make sure that the role is right for you in 8 simple tips.
They're fewer things in life which are more soul-destroying than when you go to an interview and immediately realise that the job just isn't for you.
This can be because the company just doesn't feel right or the actual day-to-day duties of the role are not aligned with you as a candidate. Yet out of courtesy, both you and the interviewer have to go through the motions to complete the interview. It's a pointless waste of time, travel and energy.
The good thing is that these kind of occurrences can be avoided with the right pre-interview homework beforehand. You need to be meticulous with your research beforehand, as this interview can get the ball rolling for you to be at that workplace for the next 10+ years!
It's important to cover a few key pointers such as the following:
1. Check out their LinkedIn
LinkedIn gives you easily the best view from a company culture perspective. In fact, it usually encapsulates businesses quite perfectly and you can tell the difference between - let's say - a high-end engineering firm compared to a graduate recruitment agency in a heartbeat. This allows you to effectively choose what kind of workplace is going to suit you and your aspirations going forward.
2. Look up their company page on Glassdoor
One of the reasons Glassdoor can be so helpful is because the reviews are anonymous from both current and previous employees. This can provide some great insight and you can get a feel for whether the overall opinion is positive or negative. The only downside is that you can get some pretty scathing (and exaggerated) reviews from ex-employees who may have recently been given the boot. Nevertheless, you can spot patterns and build a more accurate point of view from there. Should you have any concerns then don't be afraid to mention this to your interviewer - you're well within your rights too - as long as you do this fairly and politely.
3. What about Trustpilot?
Trustpilot on the other hand, helps by showing how the business is viewed by its client base. Let's say you're applying for a job in a call-centre for a telecoms business. By reading their Trustpilot reviews, you can get a good picture of whether you'll be dealing with many complaints or if the clientele seem perfectly happy with the service that they have been provided. The only drawback to this is to be wary of fake reviews which have become increasingly common in recent years.
4. Is there room for progression?
After you have done your detective work on LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Trustpilot, you want to think about your career aspirations a bit more.
If you want to fly up the career ladder then you really want to target a business which can support you with this, as not all businesses have the capabilities to throw promotions and pay-rises at you every year. For some candidates they may be happy at a more settled and established workplace, but others may want to climb the ladder and assume more responsibility.
Where do you think will have the best promotional prospects?
- 0%Tesla
- 0%Barclays
- 0%Apple
Get a feeling for what their year-on-year growth is and what expansion plans they have in mind for the future.
5. Don't work yourself out by trying to guess the questions
This point seems counter-intuitive as the first thing that candidates do when preparing for an interview is to try and guess the questions they'll be asked. The issue that I have with this is that you're putting all your focus and concentration into a handful of questions, when in reality the interviewer can ask you literally anything they like.
By overloading your practice towards the standard generic interview questions, you end up forgetting the very basics of how to best present yourself on the day. Instead, it's best to focus on being more personable, rather than reading out a script as to "why you you'll be the best candidate for the job".
Instead, try to memorise some punchy sentences - supported with any evidence - about you instead. Rehearse these out loud at least 10 times, so you can say them with a degree of conviction to a number of different questions.
6. Make sure that your body language translates well
The phrase "never judge a book by its cover" could not be further from the truth when it comes to a job interview. It's important to recognise that you're being assessed the moment you walk through the door. This can be for the type of suit you're wearing, the firmness of the handshake or your general eye-contact. It's difficult to say what the right way to be is like - as some roles are totally different to others - but you can't go wrong with simply being confident, polite and smart.
"Communication is 55% nonverbal, 38% vocal, and 7% words" Albert Mehrabian - Body Language Researcher
7. Nullify any reservations about you, whilst enhancing your strengths
Before the interview, try to look at how you may appear as a candidate from the other side of the table. All candidates will have at least one or two drawbacks that the interviewer will try to pull you up on, so you need to have convincing ripostes to nullify these concerns. To really advance your credentials, you can even finish off your point by bringing it round to one of your strengths.
8. Ask well-thought-out questions at the end of the interview
By finishing off the interview with a couple of well-thought-out questions, it shows that you're interested in the role and have taken some time to think about what it'll be like to actually work there. It also takes the spotlight off you for a few minutes and provides some temporary rest-bite!
On the contrary, if you don't ask any questions, it can give off the impression that you're not actually too emotionally invested in the role. This can be a big no from an interviewers perspective as they really only want candidates who are chomping at the bit to start. Questions such as the following usually work quite well:
Do you have any new product releases lined up over the coming months?
How long have you personally been working here and how have you found it so far?
Is the business facing any particular challenges at the moment?
9. In the right instance, it can be a good idea to "mirror" the interviewer
This is a bit of a left-field suggestion, but it can work to fantastic effect if done right. Naturally, when you're in a job-interview you are selling yourself to the interviewer. They need to buy into you and this can be quite hard to do if you have no synergy.
If you have a chance to grab onto any signs that throw your way, then make sure you do your best to run with them. Let's say the interview was on a Monday and they mentioned how they went to the football over the weekend, it can really elevate your bond if you ask questions like what team do they support and whether they play at all. It shows a genuine interest from you with their interests, and this can pay dividends later down the line by giving you a much-needed boost against other candidates.
It would be fantastic to hear how you're preparing for your next interview below!