3-Step Job Interview Preparation: What to Do Before, During & After an Interview

• 2-minute read •
Blow your next interview out of the water with these simple tips.

I cannot stress the importance of interview preparation! You only get one chance to prove to a potential employer why you’re the right candidate for the job. It’s imperative you walk into each and every interview with a premeditated plan for selling yourself. Unfortunately, too many well-qualified candidates fail to spend enough time preparing for interviews and subsequently lose out on good offers.

Interview prep not your forte? Try implementing this simple 3-step job interview preparation plan to help you score your ideal career.

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Complete Guide on CV Preparation

CV's are called a variety of things (eg, curriculum vitae, resume). There is no universally accepted format. The most important attribute of a successful CV is that it clearly explains to the reader what it is that you can do for them. Your CV should be:

- A well-presented, selling document
- A source of interesting, relevant information
- A script for talking about yourself

The purpose of your CV is not to get you the job. Its purpose is to get you an interview, and after your meeting to remind the person you met with about you. Remember: you are not writing a CV for yourself, you are writing it for the reader. So, as you write your CV, put yourself in the shoes of the intended reader.

This section takes you through the content and detail of effective CVs:

- A standard two-page printed CV
- A one-page summary CV
- An online CV

The decision to recruit is like a buying decision on the part of an employer. This creates a very clear picture of what a CV must include:

It must meet the needs of the target organisation where possible. This means a single generalist CV is unlikely to be sufficient.
It must highlight your achievements and how they relate to the job you are applying for. It must give the reader a clear indication of why you should be considered for this role.

To decide what to include in your CV and where, follow these principles and guidelines:

Generally, the document should contain no more than 2 pages. Sometimes, a one page summary is all that is required.
Your CV should be honest and factual.
The first page should contain enough personal details for a recruitment consultant or potential employer to contact you easily.
Choose a presentation format that allows you to headline key skills, key achievements or key attributes.
Your employment history should commence with your current or most recent job and work backwards.
Achievements should be short, bullet-pointed statements and include your role, the action you took and a comment on the result of your action.
Where information clearly demonstrates your suitability for the vacancy you're applying for, and enhances your chances of being short-listed, include this information near the beginning of the CV.
Leave out information that is irrelevant or negative.
Include details of recent training or skills development events you have attended which could be relevant.
List all your professional memberships and relevant qualifications.

As we work through examples in this section, we will continually refer back to these principles and guidelines.

The most common contents of a CV include:

- Personal Details
- Skills and Career Summary
- Key Achievements
- Qualifications
- Career History

Don't forget: The ultimate test of YOUR CV is whether it meets the needs of the person making the buying decision, and whether YOU feel comfortable with its content and style.

The next few pages will provide a detailed description of how to achieve this.

When you submit a printed CV to a recruiter or a potential employer, it is likely to be the first thing they get to see or read of yours. Therefore, you need to present your CV well and make it user friendly. For example:

Use a good quality paper, typically 100gsm in weight and watermarked. In most cases, be conservative and print your CV in black ink on white paper. Covering letters should use identical stationery.
Lay your CV out neatly
Don't make the margins too deep or too narrow
Resist writing lengthy paragraphs - be concise
Careful use of bold type can be effective
Typefaces such as Times New Roman or Arial are fairly standard
Do not use a type size less than 11pt.
Check for spelling or typographical errors - whoever actually types your CV, errors are YOUR responsibility. Don't rely on a spell checker. If you're not sure about a word, resort to a dictionary. Sloppiness and lack of care could be heavily penalised.


Key Skills/Competencies/Attributes:
Summarise the things about you that are relevant to this role. You can present the information as a list of achievements, a summary of skills, or a list of key competencies (this choice should be made in consultation with your career consultant). Give as much evidence as you can to suggest that you are suited to the career that you are pursuing. A reminder: You will find a list of your skills in the summary pages.

The one-page summary CV may also include one or two of the following sections if you consider they enhance your application.

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Interview Preparation

Introduction

Preparing the right way for an interview could be the difference between success and failure. If you prepare properly, everything else should go much more smoothly; you’ll be more relaxed on the day and able to be yourself.

In this article, we’ll be looking at all the checks you need to make before the interview, and also questions to think about in the run up to the big day.

Things to remember

Here is a quick checklist of the essential things you’ll need to have prepared before the interview:

Double-check the time, date and location of the interview.

Work out how you are going to get there. If you need to book train or bus tickets, do it well in advance.

Make sure you know how long it’ll take to get there and where it’s possible to park, if you’re taking a car. If it’s feasible, do a practice run.

Read through any information you have about the job. Also, look for any extra bits of information about the organisation, for example, on the internet, or maybe in local newspapers.

Have your clothes clean and ready so there are no last minute panics.

You should think about how you are going to present yourself. Ask yourself the following questions:

What do you want the interviewer to know about you?

What are you good at?

What can you contribute to the company or organisation?

What skills and abilities are you offering?

It’s a good idea to sit down and make a list of your strengths and weaknesses before you go to the interview. Make sure that you can back up your strengths with positive examples of how you have used them. Don’t worry if some of your strengths aren’t work-related. Home-based examples, if explained well, are just as good.

Also, try to think of a weakness that can also be presented as a strength. For example, if you think your weakness is impatience, you can turn this into a strength by showing how much energy and commitment there is behind your impatience.

What to wear

Different jobs require different standards of dress. This needs to be considered when going for a job interview. In general, it’s a good idea to dress more smartly in an interview than you would expect to if you were already working for the organisation that you’re applying to.

Often, dress codes are unspoken in companies and organisations, and that’s why it’s often best to be smarter than may be necessary during your first meetings with the employer.

Another good tip is to dress in a way that doesn’t make you stand out from the other people you’re hoping to work with, while at the same time showing them that you’ve made the effort to dress smartly and are keen to get the job.

Of course, there may be some industries where it is not necessary to dress so smartly for the interview. For example, fashion and entertainment jobs may have different standards for what’s acceptable compared to more mainstream industries.

You need to be the judge of what’s best to wear, but always bear in mind that it’s better to be too smartly dressed than to wear clothes too casual for the position you’re interested in. This could send the wrong message to the employer, as it may seem like you couldn’t be bothered to make the effort.

When researching the job you’re after, try and look at brochures or a website if one is available. You might be able to get a look at the way current employees dress. This will help you make a better-informed decision about what to wear for your interview.

The night before

A lot of your preparation can be done well in advance of the interview. However, there are a few things to check the day before to make sure the interview goes as smoothly as possible.

Read through your application form again to remind yourself of the questions and what your answers were. The interviewers will probably ask for more details about the things you wrote.

Think about the kinds of questions that you might be asked in an interview and try to work out some answers.

Think about what questions you might like to ask the interviewer, but don’t spend too long asking about pay and benefits. It’s fine to make a list of these questions and take it with you.

Get the clothes you’re going to wear ready the night before, or sooner if possible. The fewer things you have to think about on the day, the more relaxed you’ll be.

If needed, follow some relaxation techniques to help you get into the right frame of mind.

Most importantly, try to get a good night’s sleep!

Final thought

The only things you should be thinking about on the day of the interview is how well you’re going to come across, and how best to sell yourself. All other factors, such as how to get there, what to wear etc, should have been sorted out in advance.

If you’ve followed the advice above, you will have put yourself in a good position to succeed. Preparation is important in so many areas of life, and when it comes to interviews, it’s essential you put in the work beforehand so that you’re ready to perform at your best on the day.

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