The Employment Journey – 7: Preparing for the interview

The Importance of Effective Interview Preparation

OK – so now you’re getting closer to the prize. The interview is going to be the dealbreaker and it’s always the scariest thing. There’s no way around that, but you can reduce the fear quite significantly if you do your preparation. We’ll talk about interview techniques specifically in another section, but here are our top tips for how to get into the right mindset to deal with anything that gets thrown at you:

Plan your Journey

Before you think about anything else, the key question is: how am I going to get there? Using online journey planners is a good idea (for instance, TFL Journey Planner if you’re in London). If it’s possible, try out the route in advance, travelling with a friend or family member if need be. This is really important for when you get to the actual location. As a person with sight loss, there might be issues with accessibility – is there a door buzzer system, for example? Or a revolving door? If you have particular accessibility needs – for example, if you’re travelling by yourself and would like a staff member to meet you at reception to guide you – make sure you inform the employer in advance. There’s usually an opportunity to do this at the application stage. Finally, bear in mind what could go wrong, like road closures or transport strikes, and allow plenty of extra time or plan an alternative route if you can.

Dress for Success

Dressing for interview used to be straightforward – just put on a suit and away you go. This is still a safe option, but nowadays many organisations have more relaxed approached to work attire and it can be trickier getting the balance right. If you’re interviewing for a tech or media employer where everyone seems to be wearing a hoodie and trainers, a suit might seem like overkill. You also want to show you can fit in with the company culture. On the other hand, if you’re interviewing for a job where you have a lot of customer facing contact – retail, for example – you want to come across as smart and well presented. We’d advise that smart casual is the best option, unless you’re told otherwise. So, no suit or tie needed, but a shirt or blouse, trousers or skirt, and shoes. Definitely no jeans or trainers.

These are tough times, so you might not have clothing you think is suitable for interview or be able to afford to buy it quickly. Don’t worry – there are organisations out there that can provide good quality interview clothing for free, such as Dress for Success for women or Suited and Booted for men.

Be Tech Smart

One huge thing that’s changed since the pandemic is that more and more employers are carrying out interviews on platforms like Zoom or Teams.

If your interview is online, make sure the device you’re using supports the platform, and that you’re comfortable using it. Find a space that’s private and free of background noise or interruptions. If you can’t avoid there being other people in the room, you might consider using the platform settings to blur your background or use a template background to reduce distractions. Finally, two critical things it’s sometimes easy to forget:

Login to the call five minutes before the appointed time (it shows you’re punctual and well prepared) and
make sure you have your camera on!

Do the Research

The more you know about the employer and the job role, the better. Check out their online presence – website, social media, reviews – to get a feel of who they are and how they operate. Make a note of any key information you can use in the interview, such as expansion to the business or awards they might have won. What are they like on diversity and inclusion? It’s good to use third party information to get an independent view of the organisation as well. A site like Glassdoor is useful in this respect, as you can find background information what it’s like to work for the company, as well as tips on their interview process.

What’s your Story?

Finally, think about the kind of questions that might come up in the interview itself. Some of these will be specific to the job description, so refer back to that. What are the skills, experience, knowledge and qualifications they want from you? Make sure you know how to explain these clearly – we’ll discuss this in more detail later on. Many interview questions will be fairly general – about how you work in a team, what your strengths and weaknesses are, how you’ve solved a problem. A good source of these types of questions is Glassdoor again: https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/blog/50-common-interview-questions/

You can never prepare for every possible question so don’t stress out by trying to! Think about what the story is that YOU want to tell THEM about yourself. What have you got to offer them? What examples do you have that are relevant? What’s unique about you? Once you’re clear what your story is, you can find ways to introduce it into the conversation.