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How to Prepare for an Interview · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Interviews are competitive, sometimes very competitive, so the right preparation is a must if you want to get that job offer.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: And the higher up the career ladder you go, the competition gets tougher because there are less jobs and the competition is better and just like you.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: In this podcast, I talk about how much preparation you should do for professional level jobs and above, the four key factors that will decide if you pass or fail, and I give you nine key tips for preparing for your interview.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles, and I've sat in over a thousand interviews as a hiring manager, hiring at all levels from junior to CEO.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: I've also personally been through many tough interviews and assessment days to get management level jobs in top companies.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new to this podcast, enhanced.training provides online business courses to help professionals, managers and business owners improve their performance.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: And if you like this podcast and want to learn more, please visit us at enhance.training.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: So back to how to prepare for an interview.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: You've got that exciting invitation to go in for a meeting with the company after sending in your CV.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great feeling, followed pretty quickly by that realization that getting through that time pressured interview will not be easy.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Interview preparation is as much about what to do and how much of it to do.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: Let's cover the easiest of these two first.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: So how much interview preparation should I really do?
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: The preparation really depends on how much competition there is for the role that you're applying to, and of course how good the other candidates are compared to you.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Both in terms of doing their job and in terms of interview technique.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: One of my friends went for a job at BP straight out of university.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: He got one of two jobs available out of 4,000 applicants.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't come across that level of competition since, at any level from graduate to director level.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: And it is very hard to estimate what preparation the other candidates will do.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: To give you an idea of what the average professional does, a survey asked 1,500 mid-level professionals how long they spent preparing for interviews with the following results.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Sixty percent spend four hours or less preparing for a job interview.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: Twenty-eight percent spend between five and nine hours preparing for a job interview, only twelve percent spend ten hours or more preparing for a job interview.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: So based on this, we suggest that you spend at least ten hours preparing.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: This simply gives you a better chance of getting into the top 10% of candidates at interview.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're not in the top 10%, then you are much less likely to be considered for the job offer.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: In short, you really can't spend enough time preparing.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: However, if you have a day job already, then it is a real challenge to fit in your preparation time, so a balancing act is required.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: When you get home from a long day at work, interview preparation is probably the last thing you want to spend your evening doing.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're in that situation, think about the goal of getting your target job.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: What will it mean in terms of moving your career forward?
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: The extra challenge, the extra pay, the social status, or whatever you value most about having that job.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Put the hours in, it really is worth it.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: So this brings us on to our next challenge, what to do with the time we're going to spend preparing.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: There are several different routes to preparing well for interviews.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Your preparation should have started well before you started writing your CV.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: You've done well at your CV to get to an interview, so we won't dwell too much on the pre-CV writing preparation, other than to say that understanding your strengths or your best points and being able to talk clearly about them is critical.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Without this step, all the other steps are a lot harder to do and take longer, and you probably don't get a good as good an outcome at the end of it either.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: So let's go through four critical factors that will decide if you pass or fail at interview.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: A key factor when deciding on which candidate to offer is confidence.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: You need to be confident in what you are telling the interviewer.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: I mean after all, if you're not confident in what you're saying, then how can the interviewer be confident in you?
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: If you're calm, clear in what you are saying and deal with the follow-up questions without getting flustered or losing your confidence, you'll be doing absolutely fine.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: And you get confidence by working out what you're saying to all the typical questions that are likely to be asked and then practicing your answers.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: If you want more information on how to approach this, go to enhance.training, select courses, and then select how to ace an interview.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: The second critical factor is being enthusiastic and excited for the role and the team that you're joining.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's an absolute must.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not excited about the role and the team that you're going to be joining, then you're probably going after the wrong job or applying to the wrong team.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: You have to be interested, excited and keen on the role and the people that you're going to work with.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: This shows through during the interview and it's really hard to fake.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: As an interviewer, I nearly always put keenness and team fit ahead of ability.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: If you are keen, you'll be hungry to learn.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: If you fit in with the team, you're going to be happier and you're going to do a better job.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: This is all about attitude and approach, both of which are very hard to teach.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: The knowledge or experience to do a task can be learnt much more easily in comparison.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: If you are not keen, then the interviewer will not be keen on you.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's that simple.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: The third critical factor, your ability to do the job that you're applying for.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: This may seem like an obvious requirement to most of you.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Many people can write a good story on paper or on their CV.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: The interviewer will check through your story as much as they can through asking questions and requesting examples.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Select your examples with care and position each in terms of how it has helped the company or the team be successful.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Expect follow-up questions on the examples that you give.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: It is harder to prepare for these follow-up questions compared to the initial question that you'd probably get.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: But this really helps the interviewer separate out the okay people from the good people.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Try to anticipate as many of the follow-up questions that you could be asked about the examples you give.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: You have to leave the interviewer with little or no doubt that you can do the job that you're applying for.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: This does not mean that you have to have done all of the job before, but you will need to have done around 60-70% or more of the tasks and responsibilities that make up the job.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: This percentage climbs the more competition there is for the role that you're going for, and the competition increases when you get more senior or when there's a recession on those sorts of factors.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: The fourth critical factor is interview technique.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: Interview technique is an under practice skill.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: I mean after all, most of us only apply for a new job every three to five years or so.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: Your interview technique accounts for sixty percent plus of your interview success.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Getting to interview means that you should be able to do the job on paper.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: So think about what makes a lot of the difference between the candidates at interview.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: You're right, interview technique.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: I mean imagine going to a high school exam having done no exam preparation.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Would you expect to pass?
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Interviews are very similar.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: I've sat in over a thousand interviews as a hiring manager, and there have been so many times that I suspect a person would be pretty good at their job, but I can't offer it to them because another candidate has made the effort to show me they are good at their job.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_00: They've made more effort for the interview, so I assumed they will make more effort when they actually do the job.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: It's a bit of a no-brainer.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: So making the effort to learn interview technique strongly indicates that they will make the effort to be good at their job.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: That is always a pretty desirable trait in any employee.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: To learn more about improving your interview technique, go to our courses at enhance.training.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's go through nine tips to improve on your interview results.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, choose the right job for you with the right type of company.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: This is where your research really comes into its own.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, research the opportunity you are applying to.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure you know about the company, the people you are meeting, recent news articles, what's on their website, etc.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Third, position your stories, your examples, strengths and achievements in the right way for the job that you're applying to.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: This is a really really important step.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Don't move on until you're happy with how you've positioned your examples and other information that you're presenting at interview.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: And get help from friends, books or courses to help you do this if you're struggling.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, practice your answers to all the typical interview questions before you start going to interview.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: If you need help in this area, take a look at our interview question bank.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, get your interview outfit or outfits, you know the formal version and the smart casual version for instance, ready well in advance so you know exactly what you're going to wear.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: 6.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Plan the route and make sure you know exactly where you need to be for the interview and turn up early.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: 7.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: When you meet the interviewer for the first time, smile and make good eye contact.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: And it's also also worth thinking about some of those conversation starters to help you and your interviewer relax as you go to the interview room.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: And eight, enjoy the interview.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: You're finding out more about the company and the people as well as getting one step closer to that job offer that you really want.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: And you're going to enjoy the interview when you're relaxed and you're confident and you've done your preparation.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: And ninth, when you get the job offer, get back to the company quickly with a yes and start negotiating your offer.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: You want them to know that you're keen on taking a role.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I've always felt that playing games at this stage usually backfires more often than not, assuming of course that you want the job.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: So there you have nine tips to improve your interview's results.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: So in summary, knowing how to prepare for interview makes a big difference to the quality of your interview preparation.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: The better that you can get at interviews and the job hunting process, the more jobs become available to you.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: The better those jobs will be as well, and you progress your career quicker.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Interview skills is an essential skill set to develop to move your career forward.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: There are many other skills of course that are needed, and you have to deliver results and value to your employer along the way.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: It is possible to improve your interview skills fairly quickly with the right preparation.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: But it does take a lot longer to develop your achievements, your on-the-job skills and experience.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Both are really important to your career advancement.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Good luck in your job hunting.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: And if you like this podcast, please share it with friends and colleagues and visit us at enhance.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks very much for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you soon.