Interview Questions UK

THE IMPORTANCE OF BODY LANGUAGE

SHAKE HANDS THE PROPER WAY

One of the first things you’ll probably do in an interview is shake hands with your interviewer. The handshake is a simple symbol of introduction. But it can also be an unspoken gauge of personality. Hiring managers say that while a limp or unenthusiastic handshake won’t destroy an interview, it can cause one to start off on a bad note. The same goes for a sweaty palm. To alleviate the latter problem, be sure to keep your hands open, not balled into fists, prior to your interview. This will reduce perspiration. Put a handkerchief or a few tissues in your pocket, just in case. Also remember that while a limp handshake is bad, a bone-breaking handshake isn’t much better. Clasp your interviewer’s hand firmly and confidently, but don’t overdo.

MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT

A lack of eye contact during an interview can lead your interviewer to think that you’re shy, disinterested, or dishonest. Likewise, shifting your eyes to and from the interviewer’s face can also send the wrong message. It’s no wonder “shifty-eyed” is a term used to describe a character who is deceitful or insincere. While you don’t want to stare at your interviewer to the point making him uncomfortable, do maintain eye contact as much as seems appropriate. If you are speaking to more than one interviewer, you can shift your gaze, but be sure to look each interviewer in the eye for at least a couple of seconds.

WATCH YOUR BODY LANGUAGE

The term “body language” includes just about any manner, gesture, or posture that conveys meaning to the observer. Body language is especially meaningful in an interview as your interviewer will be paying attention to nonverbal cues as much as to what you have to say Body language to avoid in an interview includes repeatedly crossing and uncrossing your legs or arms, fiddling with your hair or clothes, touching your face, scratching your head, or playing with a button or pen. Constant or bold gesturing is also to be avoided. Some of these mannerisms may be triggered by nervousness. Interview preparation and rehearsal may help you to feel more relaxed. Body language that might give your interview a boost includes leaning forward slightly to show your enthusiasm and nodding whenever is appropriate, particularly when your interviewer is making an important point.

SMILE WHEN YOU MEAN IT

Smiling, the universal sign of happiness, is a great way to convince your interviewer that you’re genuinely pleased to be there. On the other hand, an oversized or artificial grin used too often during the interview will lead to the opposite result. Your interviewer will know you’re forcing yourself to act a certain way.

According to Discover Magazine, when a person is sincerely amused, a part of the brain called the basal ganglia is activated, leading to the unconscious contracting of certain facial muscles. A forced smile, however, uses a different group of muscles, which is why it’s generally easy to spot a person who is legitimately pleased from one who is only pretending to be.

During an interview, be sure to smile-but only when you mean it. It’s infinitely better to smile occasionally but earnestly than to smirk constantly for no reason at all.

BE MINDFUL OF PERSONAL SPACE

Individual cultures and even individual people have different interpretations of what constitutes an appropriate amount of personal space. While one person might feel at ease speaking only inches from someone’s face, another person might need several feet of separation. When facing your interviewer, be mindful of how close you stand or sit. Try to maintain a distance of about three feet. Communicating at a closer range may cause your interviewer to feel uncomfortable. On the other hand, sitting or standing too far away is also impolite.

Many people feel that the interview is the single most stressful part of the job search process. Any number of things can go wrong, and a big part of being successful is avoiding simple mistakes.  The things you should avoid doing are as below:

1. Trying to wing the interview: Practice! Get a list of general interview questions, a friend, a tape recorder, and a mirror and conduct an interview rehearsal. Practice until your delivery feels comfortable but not canned.

2. Not being yourself: Be yourself and be honest! Don’t pretend to understand a question or train of thought if you don’t. The interviewer will pick up on this. If you don’t know an answer, say so. Relax and be yourself. Remember you’re interviewing the company as well as vice versa.

3. Not listening: Focus on the question that is being asked and don’t try to anticipate the next one. It’s OK to pause and collect your thoughts before answering a question. Pay special attention to technical or work process related subjects that are unique to a given firm or organization. The interviewer may have provided information you will need to answer the question earlier in the conversation. Employers will be looking for your ability to assimilate new information, retain it, and, most importantly, recognize that information as useful to you later in the interview.

4. Not providing enough details: When answering case questions, technical questions or solving technical problems, take the time to “talk through” your thought process. Recruiters are much more interested in seeing how your mind works and how it attacks a given type of problem, than the answer itself. Articulate your problem solving process and verbalize your thinking.

5. Lack of enthusiasm: Maintain eye contact, greet the interviewer with a smile and a firm handshake (not too weak, not too strong), and show common courtesy. Don’t be afraid to display your passion for the job/industry and to show confidence.

Impressing an interviewing panel at interview is never easy. Sometimes you may think that you really impressed them, really charmed them, but then you find out that you dint get the job. Or you may find out that you get a job, even though you got the feeling that the interview panel were not all that impressed with you. So how do you actually impress people at an interview? Are there any golden rules that you should apply?

Well, there are a few rules that will certainly help you to succeed at impressing at an interview. First of all research the company or organisation that you will be working for. Then devise some questions to ask them, so that you can demonstrate that you are interested in the position.

Make sure that you research the job itself. Are there any questions that you could ask them about some details of the job, so that you really do act interested and are seen to be someone who is serious about taking on this job.

Make sure that your CV is up to date and where possible, try to make some reference to your CV when answering a question.

You should also ensure that you address all members of the interviewing panel. If you only address the ‘lead’ interviewer, then you will not impress the others on the panel, so keep establishing eye contact with all members.

Always, but always be diplomatic in your answers and never simply dismiss or rubbish a past employer.

Finally, it doesn’t matter if the interview is an informal interview with a recruitment agency, for a Saturday job or head of a multi-million pound firm. Treat all interviews as being important: don’t get too stressed by them, but remember that people are giving up their time to interview and as such you owe them courtesy and respect.

There is a certain etiquette surrounding interviews and whilst this may seem boring or old fashioned, much of the etiquette is actually based around sub-conscious messages that you send out to the interviewing panel, so ignore these interview tips at your peril.

Do be affirmative with the interviewing panel. Come in, establish eye contact, hold your head eye and when you shake hands make sure that your handshake is firm, not limp (but don’t crush the hand of the person that you are shaking hands with).

Don’t try to be too witty at interviews. Showing a sense of humour is fine, but if you try to make everyone laugh all the time, then you will simply come across as the office clown.

Don’t be too negative about past employers. Even if you left your last job because you hated your boss, don’t let this slip to the interviewing panel, be positive about all your past work settings and employers.

Do make an effort to get to the interview on time i.e. do not be late for the interview and also make an effort with your dress and attire. You don’t want to look like you are going out for a heavy night’s clubbing, but you also want to look just a little bit smarter than normal.

Do relax at interviews and be enthusiastic. Answer in proper sentences as you establish eye contact with the entire panel. Don’t just say Yes or No as answers, but try to excite them with your enthusiasm.

It doesn’t really matter if you are going for an interview with a recruitment agency or for a permanent position. Temping interviews are as important and should be viewed as such.

But if you follow the dos and don’ts of interview etiquette then that dream job should soon be yours and your career will never look back.

It is easy to think that a telephone interview is going to be a really soft option. After all, you haven’t got to walk into a room with an interviewing panel and then try to convince them that you are the right person for the job. Instead, you just have a chat with someone on the phone and if they are pleased with you then you will get the job. Far easier, right?

Well the reality are that telephone interviews are actually much harder. When you are having a face to face interview, then the interviewing panel will be able to pick up on your body language, they will know if you establish good eye contact, how you seem. Even subconsciously they will be making judgements as to whether or not you are trustworthy or are reliable.

Yet you can’t give many signals out when conducting a telephone interview. So to make sure that you give a good interview, prepare for it in the same way as you would an ordinary interview. Make sure that when you speak to the interviewer, that you have a copy of the job description in front of you. If you have had a few hours or days notice about the interview, then make sure that you have prepared some answers to possible questions. Jot down key headers in big letters to act as prompts for you when you answer their questions.

But at the very start of the interview, when you are exchanging greetings, smile as you say hello. People in the media say that you can ‘hear’ a smile, because it changes the tone of your voice. So smile and this will send a signal that you are trustworthy and that you have good interpersonal skills.

The rest of the interview will be like a standard interview, but in order to make a good impression, you need to smile, have the job description and some notes in front of you: breathe deeply, relax and go with the flow. This should help you to give a really good impression of yourself and make that job yours!