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Tips

for success at interview and have a brighter


future
Youmatterwecare

Believeinyourselfshineataninterview
Everyoneapproachesajobinterviewwithsomedegreeoftrepidation.Itisnaturalto
benervousthesecretisnottoletthosenervesgettoyou.Rememberthe
employerhasaskedtoseeyoubecausetheythinkyouarecapableofdoingthejob.
Theirtimeispreciousandtheywillbehoping,justaseagerlyasyou,thatyouarethe
perfectsolutiontotheirstaffingneed.Theapplicationprocesswasthefirststagein
theselectionprocess,youhavepassedthatone,andnowyouwanttobeableto
demonstratejusthowgoodyouareattheinterview.However,thesuccessful
intervieweewillnotwanttobestuckforwords,soitisimportanttothinkabout
whatyouaregoingtosay,howyouaregoingtosayitandhowyouaregoingtoact,
beforehand.

Hereareafewprovenstrategiesthatwillhelpyoutakecontrolofthe
interviewandensurethatthewholeprocessgoessmoothly.

Doyourhomework
Makingagoodfirstimpression
Bodylanguage
Soundingpositive
Handlingtoughquestionswithconfidence
Theinterviewisatwowayprocess
Finishtheinterviewonaconfidentnote
Youarealmosttheretheendisinsight

Doyourhomework
Youcanneverunderestimatetheimportanceofabitofresearch.Itsalwaysworth
'goingthatextramile'youcanneverhavetoomuchinformation.Tryloggingonto
theorganisation'swebsite,getholdofcompanyliteratureandfindoutabouttheir
servicesandwhattheydo.Iftheopportunitytousethisknowledgearises,you'llbe
abletodemonstrateanimpressivelevelofinterestintheorganisation.


Makingagoodfirstimpression
Looksmartandprofessional.Whenitcomestodressingtoimpress,alwayserron
thesideof'traditional'ratherthan'trendy'.TakeacopyofyourCVoryourtraining
filewithyou.Ifyouhaveanyevidenceofresearchorpracticebasedlearningbring
thatalongtoo!Planyourrouteandallowplentyofextratimetogettotheinterview.
Becourteous,smileandshakehandsfirmly.

Bodylanguage
Youmaybesuperblyqualifiedforajob,butyoumustalsolookmotivatedand
interested.Thewayyouact,yourposture,gesturesandfacialexpressions,willreveal
alotaboutyou.Looktheinterviewerintheeyeanddon'tbeafraidtosmilewhenit
isappropriate.Ifyouarebeinginterviewedbymorethanoneperson,alwayslookat
andaddressthepersonwhoposedthequestion,thenglanceattheotherswhenyou
havefinishedyouranswer.Adoptagoodposture.Don'tcrossyourarms,fidget,tap
yourfeet,sprawlorleanforwardanxiously.Anddontgiggleitwillmakeyoulook
nervous.

Soundingpositive
Yourapplicationformwasthefirststepintheselectionprocess,andnowitistime
tofurtherdemonstratethebreadthofyourknowledgeandexperience,notsimply
reiteratetheinformationonyourform.Beobjectivetrytoanticipatetheroutethe
interviewermighttake.Noonefitsajobperfectlysoemphasiseyourmostrelevant
skills.Ifyouhaveneverworkedinthatparticularenvironmentroleplayhowyou
woulddealwithaparticularsituation.Nooneisexpectingyoutohaveallthe
answersorexperience.Theywillwanttoseehowyoumayapproachaproblem
though.

Don'tusefalteringlanguage.Phrasessuchas'IfeelIcould','IthinkIcan'.
'PerhapsIwould'dilutethestrengthofyourcaseandmakeyousoundunder
confidant.
Useexpressionandlookalittleanimated.Dontconfineyouranswersto
monosyllabicyesandno'whichmaketheinterviewmorelikean
interrogation.
Beenthusiasticbutdon'tconstantlyinterrupt.
Practicemakesperfect.Beforetheinterview,testyourfluencybytalkingout
loudorpresentingtopartnersandfriends.Eveninfrontofthemirror!
Ifthereareanygapsinyourcareerorexperience,dontbeevasive,behonest
andexplain.MakeavirtueofanycareergapsonyourCV.
Handlingtoughquestionswithconfidence
Employerswillaskquestionsdeliberatelydesignedtoseehowyoubehaveandreact
incertainsituations.Givingapositive,fluentanswerisn'tasdifficultasitmight
seem.Withalittleadvanceplanning,it'sperfectlypossibletoanticipatecommon
generalenquiriesandprepareacoherent,effectiveresponse.Infact,youcanturn
thesequestionsintoanopportunitytotaketheinitiativeand'sell'theexactmessage
youwant.

Neveransweraquestionyoudon'tunderstandwithakneejerkresponse.Always
seekclarificationbeforeansweringandifyoudon'tknowananswer,itsmuchbetter
toadmitthisthanguess.Itisokaytosaythatyouhavenotexperiencedagiven
situation,butexplainhowyoumightreact,orwhoyoumightspeakwithtoresolve
theproblem.

Bepreparedforthefollowingquestions
Howwouldyoudescribeyourself?
Howwouldyourmanagerdescribeyou?
Whatisyourcareerpathforthefuture?
Wheredoyouseeyourselfin5yearstime?
Whatmotivatesyoutobesuccessful?
Howdoyoureactwhenyouarelefttoworkwithoutsupervision?
Givemeanexampleofwhenyoufeelyouhavecopedextremelywellunder
pressureatwork?
Planforsituationalquestions
Whatclinicalsituationsorproblemsmightbekeytothatparticularroleor
service?
Whataboutworkingindependently?Inateam?
Whatareyourstrengthsandweaknesses?

Thisfinalquestionisparticularlytricky.Obviously,youcan'tclaimtohaveno
weaknesses,butyoudon'twanttostressanythingtoonegative.Thebestsolutionis
toadmittooneweaknessandthenturnitaroundandshowhowyouhave
constructivelyovercomeit.


Theinterviewisatwowayprocess
Attheendoftheinterview,theemployerwillusuallyaskifyouhaveanyquestions
aboutthejoborcompany,soalwaysprepareafewinadvance.Thisisagoodchance
toclarifyanypointsofdoubtafterall,youneedtomakesurethatthejobisexactly
whatyouexpectedandwhatyouwant.Italsoshowsthatyouareinterestedand
keen.Ifyouhavenoquestionsoriftheyhavebeenaddressedduringthecourseof
theinterview,thenitsreallyokaytosaythat.

Suggestedquestionstoask
Whataretheopportunitiesforcareerprogression?
Whatarethetrainingopportunities?
Whataremypreciseresponsibilities?
Howmuchtravelisinvolved?
Whatarethekeychallengesforthefirst6months?
Whendoyouhopetomakeafinalrecruitmentdecision?

Finishtheinterviewonaconfidentnote
Leavetheinterviewerwithagoodfinalimpression.Smile,thankthemfortheirtime,
sayyouenjoyeddiscussingthejobandthatyoulookforwardtohearingfromthem
soon.Don'taddanyafterthoughtsasyouleavetheroom.

Theendofthejourneyyouarealmostthere
Somepeoplealwaysseemtosucceedatinterviews.They'renotlucky,theirsecretis
carefulpreparation.Thebetterpreparedyouare,themoreconfidentyouwillbeand
themoresuccessyouwillhave.Remember,ifyouhavepreparedproperlythen
whenyougotoaninterviewyouwillalreadyhavebeatenmostcandidates,the
employerwantsyoutosucceedthatjobisyours!

GoodLuck!
Believeinyourself,yourskillsandabilities.Youwouldnthavebeenselectedfor
theinterviewinthefirstplaceiftheorganisationdidntthinkyoucouldbethe
rightpersonforthejob

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