Interview Questions UK

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.

Anyone going for an interview literally has to live and breathe preparation in order to give a good account at interview. Times are competitive: it is pretty much an employers market, in the sense that they can hire and fire who they will. In addition, rising unemployment means you could well be up against people who are more experienced and better qualified than you are. So how do you regain an edge? How do you compete on equal terms? Well you do the 3 Ps: Preparation, Preparation, Preparation!

First of all you need to research the company you hope to be working for. You need to ensure that you find out relevant details, which you can then work into some of the answers you give at interview.

This rolls into the second thing you need to do and that is to examine the job description/person specification and start to think about questions the interviewing panel may ask you. Think carefully and then once you have come up with a few questions devise your answers: practice them until you feel that you are capable of answering a question with ease. Next you need to think about how you can get certain key points across: a bit like a politician, with key messages they try to weave in to answers they give. So if you think they may ask you why you want the position and you answer about how you want to work for a dynamic company, you have a lot of skills to offer, you feel that your skill set is well suited to the job description and that you understand that they are really equipped to deal with the economic challenges that lie ahead etc then you need to think about what other questions you could answer with these same points. Then if they don’t ask you why you want the position, but do ask why you want to work for the company, then you answer with roughly the same points. The only thing to remember here is not to just have one or two stock answers!

So preparing for an interview is not too difficult but it does take time and a lot of patience. But it really can help your career and get you a job where you enjoy coming to work. And after all that hard work : Don’t be late for the interview!