Candidate interview preparation

Some key points to consider

The amount of planning and preparation you do prior to an interview can vastly increase your chances of success.

Recruitment is highly competitive - you may well be up against candidates with more relevant experience than you, however if you are better prepared and demonstrate a genuine interest in the organisation and the role you will stand out from other candidates.

First impressions count

• What you wear to the interview will have an impact.• Play it safe and wear conservative colours, black or dark

blue suits will not offend anyone.• Wear a white shirt, black socks and polished black shoes.• Avoid wearing fun/cartoon ties and colourful suits!• Do not wear lots of jewellery, wedding rings are fine but

bracelets, chains and multiple rings may not appeal to everyone.

Time keeping

• Make sure you arrive 10-15 minutes before the meeting, don’t be too early or arrive at the last second.

• Plan the route and give yourself plenty of time.• If you know you are running late ensure you make a call to

us or the client to inform them.

Sell don’t tell

• An interview is a sales meeting and as such, it is sell not tell.

• The interviewer only has limited time to identify your relevance for the role; they want you to be the right candidate (vacant roles cost companies money and cause managers headaches!).

• Your job is to help them get the best out of the meeting by highlighting your appropriateness for the role.

Know your own CV

• Many interviewers start by asking you to run through your CV. You shouldn’t have to refer to it constantly.

• Plan what you will say beforehand, think about each role you have had, what your responsibilities were and most importantly what you achieved in the role.

• Make sure you have logical reasons for moving positions and try to avoid being derogatory to a previous employer.

Research the business in detail• Read through their website, annual report and any trade

brochures you can locate.• If possible talk to customers of the business to see what

their perception is.• If relevant, visit a supermarket and see how their products

are performing in the category they operate in.• Conduct a SWOT analysis of their products and prepare

some comments on your observations to use during the meeting. This will show that you are prepared to go the extra mile.

Match your experience to their requirements• Ensure that you have as much information about the role itself as

possible (your consultant should help you with this).• Wherever possible ask for a role and person specification. Analyse the

person specification and identify your strengths and weaknesses against this.

• Prepare evidence of how you meet the specification and make sure you discuss this during the meeting.

• Don’t assume the interviewer will gather this evidence him/herself, the majority of interviews are conducted by people who are not trained in interviewing – help them to gain the evidence they need to know you are the right candidate for the role. Talk about specific examples, not generics: i.e. let me tell you about the time I developed £5 million of new business with XXXX by introducing a new….

• For example, just a few PowerPoint slides to show to the interviewer on your laptop whilst leaving hard copies.

• The impression this creates is of someone prepared to go the extra mile, with good PowerPoint skills, who is determined to impress and really wants to secure the role.

• It can really help you stand out from other applicants. Contents could include the following…

Prepare a brief presentation aided by some of your own research

Prepare a brief presentation aided by some of your own research Achievements

People believe what they see far more than what they hear. Consider putting together a brag file that shows the interviewer what you have achieved. This could include company league tables, testimonials or thank you letters from customers or specific examples of work you have done.

Your biggest strengths and attributesRelate yourself to the role and requirements in the job specification.

Observations and findings on the company and marketProvide some of your own insight and recommendations.

Prepare for objections

• Be prepared with answers to overcome any potential objections.

• For example, if the ideal is to have experience of selling a specific product and you are from an allied market, research the product area before the meeting so that you can talk knowledgably about it, talk about how you have successfully moved into new product areas in the past (if relevant) and stress the benefits of recruiting people with a fresh perspective!

Make the interview 2-way and prepare questions to ask• Remember that you have to come away from the meeting

happy that the company and the role are right for you.• Be prepared, have your questions listed and typed up, not

hand written on paper.• Ask questions on the strategic direction of the business,

their expectations of you in the role and how you can grow and develop in their business.

• Don’t ask how many holidays you get!

Close the meeting• It is imperative, especially when pursuing a sales opportunity

to end the meeting with a close.• For example: what is the next stage from here? What

reservations about me if any do you have? How do I compare to other candidates you have met?

• In some situations you will be unable to close the meeting, standard responses include: we have other candidates to see or we are not in a position to make a decision yet.

• To this you could answer: I would imagine you would have been disappointed if I had not tried to close you as this is a sales role, when will you be in a position to make a decision?

Follow up• After the meeting send an e-mail to everyone you have

met, thanking them for their time and re-confirm your level of interest in the role.

Feedback to your consultant• Call us immediately after the meeting so that we can take your

feedback. This is really important whether the meeting has gone well or not as we will then need to communicate with the client and get their feedback which will be useful for you moving forward.