Interview preparation is the key to getting the interview and succeeding at interviews.
It always amazes me how many people get excited about getting an interview and then do not bother to prepare for the interview. It is the same for people not preparing for speeches. Such important opportunities need proper prior preparation.
This video features interview tips by Robert MacGiolla Phadraig from Sigmar Recruitment, who are based in Dublin – not far from my beloved Kildare. The Sigmar man talks about Unique Selling Points, the needs to demonstrate competencies via the SAR abbreviation – Situation, Action, Result – which is a key component of the storytelling approach that I teach. He also gives their version of the top 10 interview questions which I have listed below for convenience and which add to my interview questions and answers elsewhere in this blog. He also discusses whether and when you should ask about money.
It is a good and helpful video which is well worth watching. One thing that is missing – and they may well have covered this in another interview preparation tips video – is research and doing your homework on your prospective employer. This is really important, takes less time than people imagine and can easily give you an interview advantage over those to lazy to do so.
“What should I wear to an interview?” What to wear to an interview is a question I get asked a lot and the video also sets out the do’s and don’ts for what to wear to interview.
Top 10 Interview Questions.
- What are your strengths?
- What are your weaknesses?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
- How would you describe yourself?
- How would your colleagues describe yourself?
- Why should we hire you?
- Can you describe a conflict situation and how you resolved it?
- What is your biggest achievement?
- Why did you leave your last job?
- Do you have any questions?