7 Strategies to Nail The First Job Interview
What multiple job interviews after graduation taught me
Your first interview can be daunting. Well — any job interview can be scary. The worst part is that if we feel we did bad or we didn't get the job, we can become very ambivalent towards interviews.
Having had multiple job interviews since graduating, I have managed to acquire different strategies to help my performance in the interview.
I’ve now gone from being anxious in interviews to embracing them when they arrive.
Nailing the job interview isn’t just about your performance in the interview or your ability to answer the questions competently.
It starts way before you step into the room. It starts in your prep work. There are things you can do in the interview that will help but the starting point is way before.
Let’s take a look at 7 strategies to help you nail the first job interview — and the many other interviews you will have.
1. Research The Company
You cannot go into the interview without knowing everything about the company/organisation.
Some of the most common interview questions such as, “Why do you what this job?”, “What can you bring to the job role?” or “Why should we hire you?”, all involve knowing about the company and how you can be a good fit.
If you know enough about the company, you can tailor the answers to them, which is a massive win in an interview.
For example:
Before my interview for a psychosis service, I went to their website and visited all the different tabs on their site. I gained thorough knowledge on how the service operates, who they work with, the different therapies they provide etc. I noticed that something the service is passionate about is taking into account other peoples culture. As this is something I feel deeply about, I knew talking about this in the interview will boost my chances.
Researching gives you the small details other people will miss, making you stand out.
Action Point
Before your interview, visit the website of the company. Look at all their tabs. Make notes on what they do, who they work with, their history, their values etc. Anything you can find will help you stand out.
2. Research Panel Members
Finding out more about the interview panel will help you connect better with them.
The panel is also looking for people they feel they can get along and work with.
By finding out more information on them you can see what they’re interested in, their background, their previous jobs, etc.
All of this information gives you a way to connect better with them. Trust me — when you research them, you will have things in common. Slipping this information into the interview will give you the edge.
In one of my interviews, when researching the panel members, I found one of them has an interest in fitness (like me) and I also found a published paper from another panel member on a topic that I am greatly interested in. You can guess what happened — I subtly slipped in both pieces off information into the interview. I got the job in the end!
Action Point
Before your interview, do a google search for the panel members names. Look at their LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter page, or any other pieces of information you can find. Make a note of this, see if you have something in common and slip this into the interview accordingly.
3. Prep Questions and Answers
One of the golden rules of preparing for interviews is thinking of questions that can come up and writing down a model answer.
There are tons of sites out there giving you common interview questions. An even better site is ‘Glassdoor’. They provide multiple interview questions but also, people will write the questions they faced in specific job interviews.
For example, when I was interviewing for a part-time job at The London Eye, I went to Glassdoor and found loads of people had written about the interview and what questions came up. It helped massively as a couple of the questions came up!
People on Glassdoor will also rate how hard the job interview was and if there were any other tasks, such as a written task or maths assessment etc.
It’ll help as you’ll feel more prepared and confident when having the interview.
Action Point
Visit different job sites that provide interview questions, especially Glassdoor! Write down different questions and come up with answers for them. Look at model answers on these sites too and tailor these answers to you.
4. Ask Questions
You need to put the interview panel on the spot and come up with questions to ask them.
Normally, at the end of the interview, you will have an opportunity to ask questions. Make sure you ask them. It’s your time to find out even more about the company and the people that work there.
It also demonstrates that you’re intrigued by the job role.
I always make a habit of preparing three questions to ask in an interview.
In one of my most recent interviews, I asked, “What do you do as a service to show you are aware of other peoples cultural backgrounds?”, “Can you tell me more about the role?” and “How have you found it working for this service?”.
All of these questions show I am interested in the job role and that I am trying to find out more about working for the service. These are big ticks for an interviewer.
Action Point
Write down three questions you can ask in your interview. Think to yourself, what more do you want to know about the role/company? what more do you want to know about the people? Feel free to use the questions I have put above. Just tailor them to your role.
5. Be Reflective When Answering Questions
You need to demonstrate what you have learned from your experiences and what has been good and bad about past roles.
Listing the things that you have accomplished and experienced is great but it’s not enough. The interviewers want to know what have you learned from your experiences? What were the challenges? Did these difficulties affect you?
By doing this, it shows you can think more deeply about your experiences. It’s a massive win in an interview — be reflective!
Here are some questions to help you reflect more:
- What stood out for you in your past role/experiences?
- What did you learn?
- What did this experience tell you about yourself?
- What were the challenges?
- What might you do differently next time?
- Did this experience change your perspective?
There are loads more but these are questions that can help. I’m not saying they are going to ask you these exact questions. Instead, when you are preparing your model answers or when your answering in the interview, think of these questions above to encourage your reflective stance.
Action Point
When preparing answers, next to each one, take one of the questions above and apply it to your answer. Use phrases such as, “I learned…”, “I now understand…”, “I value…”, “It was difficult because…”, “Next time, I would…”. These phrases will set you up for a reflective answer.
6. Do a Power Pose
If you get nervous or shy in an interview, adopting a power pose before the interview is a great way to boost your confidence.
Dr Amy Cuddy, a Social Psychologist found, people who performed ‘power poses’ experienced adaptive psychological, physiological and behavioural changes such as increased levels of testosterone, power, confidence and decreased levels of cortisol (stress hormone) compared to people who did not adopt these poses.
There are three main poses I have tried that have worked for me:
- ‘The Wonder Woman’- Hands on hips, feet wide apart, push your chest out and chin up. If you google ‘wonder woman pose’ you’ll see exactly what I mean.
- ‘The CEO’- Sit down, place your hands behind your head, keep your knees apart and lean back in the chair.
- ‘The Performer’- Involves planting your feet wide and stretching your arms above your head in a V shape.
Action Point
Try out one of these poses before your interview. Hold the position for 1–2 minutes. Take a break and then hold the position again for another 1–2 minutes. Trust me — you’ll be feeling more powerful and confident in no time, helping you ace that interview!
7. Look The Part
If you look good, you’ll feel good and if you feel good you’ll perform well!
When we are dressed in our best clothes, we tend to feel better about ourselves. Dressing well and having a good smelling aftershave/perfume will boost your confidence and help you perform well in the interview.
Another plus from making sure you look the part is the ‘Halo Effect’. Within psychology, this is known as giving positive attributions to someone based on one trait.
If the panel members see that you are dressed well, this can help form an attribution that you will perform well or that you’re a nice, pleasant or professional person. I’m not saying this will always happen but looking the part is certainly something that can contribute to this effect.
This will no doubt boost your chances of nailing that interview.
Action Point
Guys — dress up in your best suit and put your best shoes on. Get a nice haircut, pop on some aftershave and you’ll be feeling great in no time.
Ladies — put on your favourite work outfit, your favourite shoes, your favourite perfume and you’re good to go.
Final Comments
There you have it — my 7 strategies to help you ace your interview.
I can relate to those pre-interview anxieties. It’s happened to me loads of times. But experiencing different job interviews has enabled me to gather information and test these strategies out.
All these strategies can help you feel more prepared. The more prepared you feel, the more confident you’ll be.
The key message is that many of these strategies are completed before the actual interview. It’s all in the prep work.
Once you get an interview, do the prep work of researching the company, the panel members, prep questions to ask and answers for questions and practice your reflective skills. Then, try a power pose and look the part.
I have every confidence you’ll be acing that interview!
