Red Careers

A guide to Interview preparation

To make sure you present yourself in the best way possible at your interview, take time to prepare yourself thoroughly.  All too often, candidates arrive at the interview without giving any proper thought to their interview before they arrive.  Be ahead of the game and make yourself stand out.  Here are our suggestions of how to prepare for your next interview:

Research the company.   

  • Its background (go to their website) – find out the history; who is who in the company
  • The job role (ask for a job description) – make sure you really understand what the job entails so you can demonstrate previous examples of how you have excelled in similar areas.
  • The culture and environment (mystery shop the company as a guest either by phone or in person) this will give you a feel for the other staff working there and the type of environment.  You may be able to mention your visit and give your observations at the interview which will show you have been proactive. 

A popular interview question is ‘What is your understanding of this role?’  - make sure you can answer this effectively by having completed your research as thoroughly as you can.  Even go as far to print off some of your findings and take them in a smart folder.  This will impress your interviewer and make you stand out from other candidates. 

Practice questions / role play

Here are some examples of popular interview questions; ask a friend or family member to act the part of the interviewer and practice answering the questions in a concise and confident manner.  If you don’t have someone to practice with, try practicing in front of the mirror!

  • Tell me about yourself
  • What has been your greatest achievement?
  • Why should I employ you?
  • What is the most challenging situation you have had to deal with?
  • What are you 3 greatest strengths
  • What are your 3 weaknesses
  • What do you know about our company?
  • How would your previous boss describe you?

Prepare some questions of your own

Give some thought to questions you have about the job / company and write them down.  When you are asked at the end of the interview if you have any questions, you can always produce your list if you can’t remember them off the top of your head.  Again this shows you are organised and prepared – excellent qualities for a potential new employee!