Interview Preparation is the best part of my job
I have worked with a Prime Minister, leading politicians and serious business people. I love working with these people – they are inspirational and motivational and challenging and get me buzzing.
But there is a special buzz when a young graduate phones or texts to say that they have their first proper job. The internships, holiday jobs and endless and emotional job searches, interviews and endless waits for letters that never come, are finally over. Newfound confidence flows into them, their shoulders relax, their smile loosens. The pressure is over. Now all they have to do is buy an alarm clock, polish their shoes and get used to the routine of working life. It is really very, very good to be part of so many young people’s first “grown-up” career success.
Last week a client phoned after he had been through two interview processes with two different companies. We had worked together the week before the two interviews. He was exultant, over the moon, when he called. He had got the job with the second company.
But the story didn’t end there. With the first company, he had made it to the third interview. A third interview that had not been planned or anticipated but he had obviously made the choice sufficiently difficult that a third interview had become necessary. He wasn’t offered that job in the end, but the fact that he had made it to the second and then to the unplanned third round had given him more confidence and an even better sense of self-worth.
“My interview was ace. I couldn’t have done that without you!”
Which is the kind of call or text that I love receiving. Find out more about my interview preparation work here.