Excel at interviews
The job interview is one of the most important stages in the job search process and therefore worth investing in. It is your chance to introduce yourself both as a professional and as a person, while also learning more about the employer and the vacancy.
Take time to get yourself ready for the interview and be prepared to answer questions that you might not expect. Be yourself and make sure to come across as authentic, straightforward and keen.
Prepare for your interview
From the recruiter’s perspective, the job interview is an opportunity to evaluate your skills, motivation and suitability for the role and the organisation as well as your interpersonal skills and ways of working.
How to prepare yourself:
- Familiarise yourself with the role, the organisation and the interviewers.
- Think about what you want to say about yourself and what is relevant for this particular interview.
- Try to anticipate questions that you might be asked.
- You may also have questions of your own.
- Prepare to state your salary expectation. Justifying your salary expectation is easier when you understand the requirements of the job and how well your skills match what is needed.
Face-to-face vs remote interview
Some employers prefer to interview candidates face to face, while others opt for remote or pre-recorded video interviews. Here are some tips for preparing for each type of interview:
A. Face-to-face interview
- How to prepare: Make sure to arrive on time and to be well prepared.
- Key considerations: First impression and effective interaction.
B. Remote interview
- How to prepare: Check your set-up and eliminate distractions.
- Key considerations: Good internet connection and focus.
C. Pre-recorded video interview
- How to prepare: Prepare your answers ahead of time and remember to record them by the deadline.
- Key considerations: Clear answers and eye contact with the camera.
Prepare for your interviews
Job interviews are about dialogue and assessing compatibility. Listen carefully to the questions and answer naturally. Ask questions of your own to fully understand the role and the organisation.
Feeling nervous at a job interview is normal regardless of how experienced you are, and the interviewer will understand this. Stay calm, pause before responding and trust your authenticity.
The following are examples of topics that typically come up at a job interview:
- competence, skills and experience
- motivation and interests
- career aspirations and the organisation’s goals
- team, organisation and future job description
- terms of employment (e.g. salary, perks, working hours and location)
- work samples or tests, where applicable
- the applicant’s own questions
- practical considerations and what comes next in the recruitment process
Asking your own questions at a job interview
At its best, a job interview is a two-way dialogue that also gives you information and an opportunity to make sure that the position is right for you. Asking questions demonstrates that you have done your homework and makes the conversation more balanced.
Examples of questions that you can ask:
- What kinds of targets are associated with this role during the first few months?
- How is performance measured?
- Who would be my closest colleagues and how does the team work in practice?
- What are the most notable challenges or areas in need of development in this role at the moment?
- What changes are ahead for the organisation or the team in the near future?
Expressing your salary expectation
If there is no mention of pay in the job posting, find out about the salary level through trade unions’ recommendations, pay surveys and other available information before your interview. Talk to your networks and consult the views of professionals in the industry.
Set a minimum salary for yourself and determine the level of pay that you would like to get. Remember the other elements of remuneration: make your decision based on not just pay but also the perks, working hours, location, possibilities for personal growth and other similar factors. Set your salary expectation to a level where there is room for negotiation and be prepared to justify the figure you put forward.
Suitability assessments and other tests
There are various exercises, tests and suitability assessments that prospective employers use to compare candidates after the interview stage. These are part of the recruitment process and allow the employer to assess your skills, your way of thinking and your style of working in practice.
Recruitment exercises are your chance to show how you approach a problem, explain why you chose the solutions you did and describe your thought processes. Read the instructions carefully, plan your timings and make sure to deliver a high-quality result.
Role of references
Many prospective employers finish their recruitment process by contacting your references to get an outside perspective on who you are as an employee or a team member.
Make sure to choose references who know how you work and can describe your skills and strengths. Give your references a heads-up that they might be contacted and tell them about the vacancy so that they can provide the recruiter with information that is relevant to the vacancy in question.
Exercise 1: Practise on video
One way to get ready for a job interview is to record your answers on video. Prepare for typical questions, record your answers and review how you performed: what was successful and where do you still have room for improvement in terms of both how your present yourself and your answers?
- Give a brief description of yourself.
- Why are you interested in this vacancy or role?
- What competence and skills are you bringing to the table?
- How do you keep your skills up to date?
- What are you like as an employee and as a team member?
Exercise 2: Practise giving confident answers
- Select two or three typical interview questions such as the following:
- Give an example of a successful work project of yours.
- Describe a scenario in which you solved a problem.
- How do you deal with interpersonal conflicts?
- Structure your answers as follows:
- Scenario: what was it about?
- Response: what did you do?
- Outcome: what happened or what did you learn?
- Practise answering out loud, record your answers on video and review how you performed.