Interview Questions UK

These five questions go beyond the obvious ones, such as the title of the job, the job description, to whom it would be reporting, and other such basic questions. In fact, it’s unlikely you’ll even need to ask those questions, as they’re usually outlined for you.

With some preparation and thought, you should be able to easily come up with 15 - 20 first-interview questions to ask. But these five - in some form - should always be asked.

Not only will they help you to ascertain if the job for which you are interviewing meets the criterion of your perfect job, but the answers, when put together, will give you a fairly accurate picture of what’s really going on behind the interview.

1. WHAT ARE THE PRIORITIES THAT WILL NEED TO BE ADDRESSED IMMEDIATELY IN THIS POSITION?: A title alone tells you nothing. The job description won’t reveal much either, except whether or not you’re capable of doing what’s required functionally on a daily basis.

For the same reason that you put your accomplishments on your resume - and not just the job description - here, too, you want to get a sense of the individuality of this job in this company.

Was everything left running smoothly? Is it pretty much picking up and continuing daily functions as normal? Or is there damage control that needs to be done? If so, is there a time line for the repair, and is it an achievable one considering your capabilities? Is it realistic regardless of who holds the position?

If you don’t have any information already, this will begin to clue you in about both the supervisor and the previous employee. If you have been provided with some detail already, then the answer should track with what you’ve already learned.

2. HOW LONG WAS THE PREVIOUS PERSON HERE? WHY DID THEY LEAVE? Generally, in answering the first part, the interviewer will answer the second part as well. But if they don’t, then ask it. And if that person was there an oddly short time, you also want to know how long the previous person before that was there.

See where I’m going with this? If the job is in disarray, and the last two people were there a short period of time and were fired, you don’t need to ask any of the other questions here.

Exit gracefully and then run! Because before long, you, too, will be terminated for not achieving whatever it is they want done - regardless of if the stated time frame sounded realistic or not.

3. TELL ME ABOUT YOUR MANAGEMENT STYLE. HOW DO YOU BRING OUT THE BEST IN YOUR EMPLOYEES?: Is he a micro manager? Is he an information hound that needs to be kept informed of everything? Does he leave people alone to do what he hired them for and simply keep on top of what’s going on? Does he help you if you have trouble? Do any mentoring? Or is he a berating, derogatory, jerk?

Obviously he’s not going to come right out and tell you he’s a micro manager! Instead he might say, “I like to keep a very close watch on what’s going on in my department,” or “I visit with each member of my department on a daily basis to make sure they’re staying on track,” or something similar.

You’ll find that the person will be fairly straight forward in sharing their management style with you. What you want to pay attention to is how they word it.

4. WHAT TYPES OF PEOPLE TEND TO EXCEL HERE?: Workaholics? Ones who are self-motivated and manage themselves well? People who work well in teams or committees? Employees who keep their supervisor informed of “where they are with things” on a daily basis?

This tells you something about the pervasive culture in the company or department. Generally speaking, companies - or departments - tend to be made up of similar types of people that are in harmony with the company culture and philosophy.

An entrepreneurial person won’t function well in a committee environment. While sales personalities can vary greatly, the top achievers are goal driven and motivated to achieve, rather than complacent.

People who are accustomed to thinking for themselves will find themselves chafing in a company that has a more dictatorial style, while those who perform better when they’re told what to do will find themselves adrift in a company that requires its employees to think for themselves.

5. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HERE? WHY DO YOU STAY?: The answer to this question will give you an indication as to the feeling or health of the department or company. The way in which he answers the question will also give you additional insight into your potential boss, his management style, and what type of people excel in the department or company.

These are informational questions, not challenges. Be genuinely interested in the answer, because you’re gaining valuable information that has to do with your future. When you leave the interview and process it within yourself, you’ll be matching what you learned with what you are looking for.

Pay attention to the interviewer’s body language and facial expressions. Is he relaxed? Does he fill in some of the spaces? Does he speak to you - or AT you? Does he answer the question briefly and then quickly fire off another one?

These, too, are valuable cues, and after the interview, you’ll need to piece them together with the verbal information you received.

Your perfect job might land in your lap by grace and good fortune. But more likely, you’ll need to look for it. It’s there - but to recognize it, you’ll need to know what it doesn’t look like, as well as what it does.

For many, 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 following is a list some of the most common mistakes during an Interview.

1. Failure to research the company: An interviewer will expect candidates to spend time researching and reading about their company. Do your homework before the interview; really know what the company does and who their competitors are. If you have not taken the time to review the employer website and understand what they are recruiting for, then you are reducing your chances of continuing successfully through the interview process.

2. Not clear on what you’re interviewing for: Be familiar with the job description so you can draw on your experiences, talents, strengths and abilities to connect with company needs. Highlight how you’re suited to that particular job.

3. Not marketing yourself correctly: Define yourself. What makes you different from others? Know your major strengths and accomplishments as they relate to the job you are applying for and the company.

4. Not asking meaningful questions: Have at least 3-4 intelligent questions to ask the recruiter. It’s OK (it actually leaves a positive impression with the recruiter) to have them written down in advance and to reference them at the appropriate time. Interviews are an exchange of information, and not coming in with questions shows that you did not prepare for the whole interview.

5. Under-dressing for the interview: Professional attire and attention to detail still count. You can never be too professional. Remember that everything - your appearance, your tone of voice, your conduct -contributes to the impression (positive or negative) that you make. Be presentable - wear a pressed suit and shirt and polished shoes.

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!

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!