Interview Questions UK

Are you prepared for your next job interview? Do you know the secrets of pulling off a flawless interview and getting the job of your dreams? Use these five easy steps to prepare yourself and leave the best impression possible with the hiring manager.

1.Be Early - The worst thing you can do is show up to an interview late. What does that tell the hiring manager about your commitment level? Why would anyone want to hire a person who doesn’t have the organization skills to show up on time? By showing up early you are demonstrating and showing respect of the company and the hiring manager. You are also giving them the opportunity to take you early, which could give you more face time. Face time is important, the longer you have with the hiring manager the better your chances will be to get the job.

2.Research the Company – Never walk into an interview without knowing anything about the company. Do some research; find out how many facilities they have, who is the CEO, and what recent news has come out about the company. Look at the financials from their website or other investor news. Be prepared to ask some questions about what you have discovered. At the end of every interview that I have conducted, I always ask “Do you have any questions for me?” I am always impressed with people who have done their research and are serious about working for the company.

3.Listen, Don’t Talk – It may seem counter-intuitive, but get the hiring manager to do most of the talking. It is a proven fact, that hiring managers will think the interview go better if they do a lot of talking. So use your research and ask a lot of questions to get the interview talking.

4.Carry Copies of Your Resume – Hiring managers are busy people and many times they do not have a copy of your resume when they enter the room. Even if they do have a copy, a lot of the time, it will be a fax copy from the recruiter. This is the time to hand them your resume on a quality piece of paper. Resume paper is thicker and has a very good feel to it and that is what you want the interviewer to associate with you… a good feel. Later, when the hiring manager is reviewing your resume you will stand a better chance of getting the job or at least the second interview.

5.Follow-Up – After the interview, it is always a good idea to follow-up with the hiring manager is some shape, way, or form. If the interviewer gave you his/her card then make use of it. Call them and ask a few follow-up questions and thank them for taking the time to meet with you. If you didn’t get a card during the interview, then send a polite thank you letter. The goal here is to get the hiring manager to think of you again. And the more he/she thinks of you, in a positive manner, the better your chances are to get the job.

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.

Have you ever felt stuck in your career?  Employee stress and burn out can account for a lot of dissatisfaction in your life.  After all, you are at work some 8 hours a day or more.  That’s 13 of your day if you don’t count sleep.  That’s a long time to be dissatisfied.

If you feel stuck, here are 6 great ways to find your ideal career:

1.   Brainstorm on a sheet of paper - I’ve talked about this before and it’s a strategy I use all the time.  Take a pad of paper and write down at the top your objective in question form.  Then, simply list out 20 answers to your question.  For example, you could write “What should I be doing with my time and life?”  Then stay seated for a half hour to an hour coming up with answers to that question.  The key to this exercise is coming up with 20 answers - don’t quit until you have 20 answers.  You can repeat every day until you get the answer you seek.

2.   Ask 3 close friends - Sometimes our friends know us better than ourselves.  While meeting with one of your friends, mention you are at a crossroads in your life and career.  Ask what they think you’d enjoy doing.  You might be surprised at how easily they can zero in to your strengths and abilities and report a perfect job area.

3.   Ask your boss and coworkers - much like your friends in the example above, your boss and coworkers most likely see you in a way you do not see yourself.  In fact, they are likely most familiar with your strengths and weaknesses in the work environment.  Compile all the answers you get from them and see if there are any common threads you can explore.

4.  Call a headhunter - If you are searching in your career, it’s likely you have a resume.  Sometimes you can catch a headhunter or recruiter during their slow times and meet with them to pick through what you might be good at.  I’ve done this at different times in my life and the people seem open to talking with people.  After all, if you don’t get paid, they don’t either.  The ideas I get are usually good.

5.  Take a career assessment test - There are several sites on the Internet you might be able to take one of these tests for a fee.  But using my ‘headhunter’ tip above, many headhunters have this software and don’t mind you taking the test in their office.   I’ve taken these tests two times in my life and they usually take an hour or two, but they are thorough.  They ask you to answer a series of questions about what you are good at, what you like to do, what you prefer doing over what you don’t.  If you take one, you will likely see some new exciting areas to explore in your life.

6.   Keep a journal - Do you keep a journal?  If so, read through, looking for common threads in your writing.  Keep your eyes peeled for trends and activities you like as well as don’t like.  In fact, finding examples of what you don’t like and what frustrates you is almost as important as finding what you do like.  For example, if you hate an overwhelming boss, you’d probably like a self-directed position.  If you hate nosy coworkers you’d probably prefer your own office.

Discovering what you really want to do with your life is the most important decision you can make.  We spend 13 or more of our lives at work.  So figuring out the right career is important to keeping that 13 of our lives happy and productive.