Give me your best interview advice

[Lullabelle]

My erm only erm advice is erm don't erm speak in a flat erm tone or erm say erm every few erm words.

I work with someone like that and he sounds so unprofessional.

Think before you speak.

As others have said, relax, be yourself. Good luck

 

[Grant Fondo]

Dress well, be confident and honest.

 

[greekonabike]

Find out everything about the interviewer before you go in. When you sit down for your interview casually mention that you will either abduct their family or something along those lines (maybe a dognapping or something).

It will show you're motivated and have the ability to work alone or with a team. It also proves you're not scared of taking a risk if needed.

I wish you the best of luck with your interviews but won't be able to give any serious advice that hasn't already been mentioned.

GOAB

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Dress well, be confident and honest.

This ^

And do not leave any "skellingtons" related to your application untold; dinnae tell them everything you have ever done, but make sure you provide information when asked or in circumstances where you feel it would impact at a later time if you did not notify them e.g. convictions, professional "misconducts", etc

This year* I have withdrawn "preferred canadidate" status twice due to people not providing information at application or interview - the conviction and the professional misconduct were not the problem, them not notifying me was.

*edit - I still have my 2016 head on, oops!

 

[PaulB]

It's a very cold world out there just now - and won't be getting better any time soon. My advice is if you've got a job, do it to the best of your ability even if you don't like it right now, push through because it will almost certainly be better than unemployment. I'm not saying let them take advantage but consider the alternatives. My wife's just been telling me she is recruiting for an HCA position in her team at the moment and she's been inundated with requests from people with impressive degrees who are WAY too qualified for the position. There are so few jobs out there that when one comes up, at least ten times more people apply for it than would have done even five years ago. She's drawn up a 'short list' of 24 people! That out of 231 applications for ONE position! She's happy that she's got the pick of the best to choose from but worried that the position is too menial to keep someone with a terrific degree motivated to continue on with it when the reality of what's required becomes apparent.

 

[Globalti]

I recently stayed in the newly-refurbished Hyatt Regency hotel in Belgrade and if I remember right, they interviewed something like 2,000 candidates for 600 jobs. The consequence is that they got the cream of Serbia's most experienced hotel staff and it shows; the hotel is a delightful place to stay if you have to go to Belgrade.

 

[jonny jeez]

Research the company. There is nothing worse than interviewing someone who knows nothing about the place they are trying to get a job at.

If they sell stuff and it is practical turn up with something of theirs.

I have worked as a consultant for Microsoft in Dublin and london, under a Canadian MS exec.

When we first met, she warned me to never take an apple product into a team meeting...she was deadly serious.

 

[ColinJ]

I have worked as a consultant for Microsoft in Dublin and london, under a Canadian MS exec.

When we first met, she warned me to never take an apple product into a team meeting...she was deadly serious.

Cartons of orange juice were fine though and banana yoghurts were a team favourite!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

This ^

And do not leave any "skellingtons" related to your application untold; dinnae tell them everything you have ever done, but make sure you provide information when asked or in circumstances where you feel it would impact at a later time if you did not notify them e.g. convictions, professional "misconducts", etc

This year* I have withdrawn "preferred canadidate" status twice due to people not providing information at application or interview - the conviction and the professional misconduct were not the problem, them not notifying me was.

*edit - I still have my 2016 head on, oops!

I hate that. You go to close the deal and offer them the role and they come back with a "By the way I should probably have told you..."

 

[Sandra6]

Thanks guys, some good advice.

Look smart - you want to do business, then look like you want to do business.

Wear knee length socks - nothing worse than flashing a bit of cankle or calf under your trousers. The socks should be black, or dark blue or grey.

Stand straight, don't slouch. Look them in the eye. Speak in short but complete sentences.

Avoid jargon. Much of it is meaningless rubbish anyway, and you don't want to risk using an inopportune term, or one they might quizz you more deeply on.

Get plenty of sleep the night before, be cool, and learn the various masonic handshakes.

I tend to wear a dress and tights, I don't expect to have to roll up a trouser leg ;-)

@Drago ....
@Sandra6 it helps if the job you're applying for is one you would really like.
Be yourself and when they ask you why you want to leave your present job tell them the truth, that you want to progress but there are no opportunities there.
Good luck!

To be honest, I think it's a bit above my ability - assistant manager of a hotel, and I know the hours will be long so I'm not overly bothered if I get. I'm actually surprised I got an interview.

Ps, the reality is that if you're getting interviews but missing out you're probably already meeting the bar, just unlucky on the day or someone else did slightly "better"... So don't be afraid of how you're already approaching things!

A couple of times I've been told the job went to someone who'd done that role before, whereas I'm applying for things outside my comfort zone as it were.

It's a very cold world out there just now - and won't be getting better any time soon. My advice is if you've got a job, do it to the best of your ability even if you don't like it right now, push through because it will almost certainly be better than unemployment. I'm not saying let them take advantage but consider the alternatives. .

That's a good point, but unfortunately my current job just doesn't pay me enough, so finding a new one is a must.
On the subject of questions, I always struggle with that - I just don't know what to ask. I'm always friendly and generally get a laugh at some point, and I am always polite to receptionists etc, but the questions, beyond the obvious about working hours and possible progression, I just dont know what I want to know.

 

[vickster]

Maybe ask about the company culture? If they are enthusiastic about it, any social scene, staff retention and progression, that's a good sign

 

[Spinney]

The last job I went for was outside my experience. One of the key things was saying that I liked a challenge, but a challenge that I thought was achievable. Sounds like that might be the case for you here - good luck with it!

 

[NorthernDave]

Turn your phone off.

Then check you've turned your phone off.

 

[Spinney]

The last job I went for was outside my experience. One of the key things was saying that I liked a challenge, but a challenge that I thought was achievable. Sounds like that might be the case for you here - good luck with it!

I should have also said that I got that job!

 

[Brains]

Don't lie on the CV
Like the guy that applied for a job at our place to the head of HR, Svetlana, claiming he spoke Russian