Face to Face Interview Tips

Master the art of in-person interviews with these essential tips for making a lasting impression.

Just remember, “First impressions last”!

As the candidate you need to prepare yourselves in a very specific way in order to show the employer that you are indeed the right person for the job.

This is where interview skills and techniques come in:

1.Dress code:

Always dress the part. Rather go dressed smartly than too casual. You want the focus to be on you not your outfit. You must feel comfortable in your outfit, so don’t wear something that you don’t like, or something that you feel does not fit you. Your outfit should not get in the way of your interview, as the interviewer will pick up if you are not at ease.

Women:

• The best option is BE CONSERVATIVE! You don’t want dress code to stand in your way of getting the job. Dark colours are best, no floral or loud prints. A professional business suit with a crisp CLEAN blouse is always a winner. Stay away from skirts that are too short (nothing above the knee is safe) and don’t wear shirts that are too tight or too low cut.
• Don’t wear too much make up and try to keep your hair out of your face.
• Make sure that your hair is clean, and your nails are well groomed (rather have no nail polish then chipped nail polish).
• Stay away from too much jewellery.
• Don’t wear perfume that is too overpowering.

Men:

• If this is a corporate environment (confirm with your Recruitment Consultant what the company culture is) – ALWAYS wear a full suit – even in the middle of summer. It shows respect for the interviewer. A dark suit always looks professional and kept. Try to get this dry cleaned before the interview.
• If this is a less corporate environment (confirm with your Recruitment Consultant what the company culture is) – you can get away with suit pants or chinos and a clean ironed collared shirt (long sleeve). Ask your Recruitment Consultant if a tie is necessary. Some clients may be even more casual and would accept jeans and a golf shirt.
• Please remember: NEVER wear white socks with black shoes, loud/animal print ties or loud shirts.
• Fingernails must be short and clean, and hair must be washed (if possible, get a haircut before the interview). If you have a stubble look. Please make sure it’s neat and tidy.

2.General tips

• Make sure that you have directions before the interview, sometimes it helps to drive there the day before so that you don’t get lost.

• Always be on time – make sure you have more than enough time allowing for traffic so that you arrive 5-10 minutes early. This will ensure that you do not place yourself in a stressful position thus allowing you to be on top form for the interview.
• If you are running late or are stuck in traffic, make sure that you either call your Recruitment Consultant to make him/her aware of your delay, or call the client directly to let them know you will be running late. DO not leave a voice message – keep trying until you get through to the relevant person, or someone who can relay the message in person.
• Turn your cell phone off!!!!
• Do not go into an interview chewing gum!!!!
• Do not smoke before the interview – in your car or outside (you may be nervous, but you will smell like smoke, and this does not make a great impression!).
• Take nothing into the interview with you besides a pen and paper (leave handbags etc. in your car or with the receptionist). Take notes if you want, it shows that you are serious and don’t want to miss any important details.
• While you are waiting for your interviewer to meet with you, try and stay standing. This way you can easily extend your hand for a handshake (it looks clumsy if you are scrambling to your feet while trying to shake the interviewer’s hand).
• Handshakes are crucial!!!! Your handshake should not be too weak. There is nothing worse than a limp handshake. If you suffer from sweaty palms, take a tissue with you to wipe your hands. Look the person in the eye when you shake their hand and repeat their name.
• If you are offered something to drink during the interview, don’t take anything other than water. Adding sugar and milk to a beverage can become awkward and you could spill. Just keep it simple.

3.How to prepare before the interview

• Knowledge is power, so get lots of it!!! You will be on better footing if you know the company, position and a bit about your interviewer. The best way of doing this is to do some research. Go onto the company website and LinkedIn and read up on things like, your interviewer’s profile, company products/services and their history. Make sure to also familiarize yourself with their mission, values, and any recent news or developments.  If possible, have a look at the names of the management and familiarise yourself with the names and titles of people.
• Ask your Recruitment Consultant to give you as much information as possible about their interview process, so you know what to expect in terms of time frames.
• Ask your Recruitment Consultant to tell you about the person who will be interviewing you, such as what kinds of questions they usually ask, and what type of person he/she is, to help you feel more comfortable or more prepared for the interview.

4.How to answer questions:

Before answering any question, listen to the question. Make sure you know what they are asking before answering.

The purpose of a question in an interview has different roles for the Client and for the Candidate:

• For the Client – he or she just wants to see that you are giving him/her the right answers. This is why it is SO VERY IMPORTANT to use the question as a tool to sell yourself to the Client.
• Your job in the interview is to provide as much information to the client as possible so that they know you have the experience. Never let an opportunity go by, where you can sell yourself/experience/personality to the client.

For example: if the client asks a question such as…

So Peter, have you ever worked on Pastel Accounting before?

• Don’t – say just yes or no.
• Do – say something like: Yes Mr. Jones, I have worked on Pastel for the last 3 years. I am proficient on Payroll, accounting, recons etc…….. Last year our company had a huge back log of reconciliations that were not adding up correctly. I was asked to assist the Financial Manager in this project and managed to sort out a back log of 3 months in one week.

So Peter, tell me about your experience on Pastel Accounting.

• Don’t – It’s pretty good.
• Do – My experience with Pastel is quite extensive, I have worked on it for the last 5 years, I am proficient in all aspects such as…., my manager sometimes calls on me to solve queries that he can’t fix.

Once you have given the facts/experience – always back up your answer with a nice achievement.

Eye contact is very important. It lets the other person know that you are sincere and are telling the truth. It also shows that you respect the person and want them to respect you.

Behavioural/Situational Questions:

These questions present themselves as follows:

• So Peter, tell me about a time when you had to discipline someone.

Or

• Tell me about a time when you were not able to meet a deadline etc…

The Star Method

The STAR method is a structured manner of responding to a behavioural/situational-based interview question. You describe and discuss the specific Situation, Task, Action, and Result of an identified situation.  

Situation: Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish. You must describe a specific event or situation, not a generalized description of what you have done in the past. Make sure to give enough detail for the interviewer to understand. This situation can be from a previous job, a personal situation, or any relevant event.

Task: What goal were you trying to achieve?

Action: Describe the actions you took to address the situation. Make sure to add an appropriate amount of detail and keep the focus on YOU. Use the word “I,” not “we” when describing actions. What specific steps did you take and what was your particular contributions? Be careful that you don’t describe what the team or group did when talking about a project, but what you actually did.

Result: Describe the outcome of your actions. Don’t be shy about taking credit for your behaviour and achievements. What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you learn? Make sure your answer contains multiple positive results.

Make sure that you follow all parts of the STAR method. Be as specific as possible at all times but be careful not to rambling or include too much information. Often candidates have to be prompted to include their results, so try to include that without being asked. Also, exclude any examples that do not paint you in a positive light. However, remember that some examples that have a negative result (such as “lost the competition”) can highlight your strengths in hard times.

SAMPLE STAR RESPONSE:

Situation (S): Advertising revenue was declining for my college newspaper, The Chat, and large numbers of long-term advertisers were not renewing contracts.

Task (T): My goal was to generate new ideas, materials and incentives that would cause an increase of least 15% in advertisers from the year before.

Action (A): I designed a new promotional packet to go with the rate sheet and compared the benefits of The Chat circulation with other ad media in the area. I also set-up a special training session for the Account Executives with a Business professor I know, who discussed dynamic and competitive selling strategies.

Result (R): We signed contracts with 15 former advertisers for daily ads and 5 for special supplements. We increased our new advertisers by 20% over the same period last year.

Answering questions like this will improve your odds dramatically as it shows the interviewer that you are able to reason your way through a question. If you have NEVER been in that particular situation – you can give your interviewer a similar situation, or simply state that you have not been in this situation but you would handle that situation as follows. Then simply state how you would handle that situation.

How to prepare for a behavioural interview

• Think about recent situations that show positive behaviours or actions, especially involving work experience, leadership, initiative, planning and teamwork.
• Prepare short descriptions of each situation; be ready to give details if asked.
• Ensure each story is told in full (has a beginning, middle, and an end) i.e., be ready to describe the situation, the task at hand, your action, and the outcome/ result.
• Make sure that the outcome or result reflects positively on you (even if the result itself was not positive).
• Always be honest. Don’t embellish or omit any part of the story. Stories built on weak foundations will always be uncovered.
• Be specific. Don’t generalize about a number of events; give a detailed accounting of one event.
• Try and thin of varied examples; don’t take them all from just one area of your life.

Common interview questions:

A lot of candidates lose out here because they do not know how to answer these questions to their benefit. Take some time to reflect on these questions and come up with solid answers before your interview takes place.

Don’t hesitate to make contact with your Recruitment Consultant for support if you are not feeling confident in answering certain questions.

Tell me a little about yourself

NEVER say things like:

• Well, I just got divorced and my partner took my dog from me.
• My mom is currently sick and I’m spending a lot of time looking after her.

ALWAYS say things like:

• Keep your answers purely professional and work/educationally related.
• I have been working in HR for 5 years in a Generalist role.
• I completed my Degree in Finance in 2005 and am planning to study a MAP qualification now.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Always keep it work related

• My strength is my ability to stay focused on the deadline and my attention to detail.
• My weakness is that I can sometimes be over analytical… I struggle to work with individuals that don’t take responsibility… I trend to be a bit of a perfectionist.

Realistically, what would you like to earn?

• Try not to give a set amount as it is difficult to negotiate or take it back once you have offered an amount.
• It is important that you don’t over or undersell yourself here. If you give an amount that is lower than what the company wants to offer, you can lose out. Alternatively, you can ‘blow’ your chances by giving an amount higher than what they intended to pay.
• The best bet is to say something like: this move is not motivated by money alone. I am wanting an opportunity in a company like this where I can add value. As long as the offer is “market related” I am happy.
• If they keep pushing you for an answer – simply take them through your current salary and always use your NET (take home) salary as a benchmark.

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

NEVER say things like:

• I want to open up my own business.
• I want to be in your position.
• I want to be a Senior Manager (especially if you are applying for an entry level post) – interviewers sometimes feel that candidates are too ambitious and thus are not successful in getting the post.
• Never say that you want to go into Marketing if you are applying for a Bookkeeping position. Always stick to the title that you are interviewing for.

ALWAYS say things like:

• I see myself developing my IT skills and gaining expertise in the finance arena.

Why do you want to leave your current employment?

NEVER say things like:

• My boss was a freak and very hard to work with.
• I need to earn more money.
• I did not get on with the other staff members.
• I didn’t get the promotion that I applied for.

ALWAYS say things like:

• I am looking for more of a challenge – explain exactly what type of challenge you are looking for.
• I have been with the company for such a long time that I need a change of environment.
• I am interested in looking for more challenges outside of the ‘manufacturing’ environment.
• I would like to work closer to home (if this is the case).
• Any other valid reason (restructure, retrenchment, company is moving etc.).

5.Asking Questions:

• Remember that an interview is just as much your chance to interview them as it is for them to interview you.
• Asking questions is just as important as answering them. It shows that you are interested in the position. Prepare a few questions about the position, company, person you will be working for and company culture.
• NEVER ask questions related to the salary you will be earning, benefits of the company, working hours or leave.

Examples of Good questions:

1. What is the company culture?

2. What attributes must a person have to be successful in your company?

3. What are the most important roles and responsibilities of this position?

4. What is the company’s management structure?

5. What is the management style of the person I will be reporting too?

6.After the interview – Thank your interviewer for their time and shake their hand firmly.

Good luck and remember to try and have fun!!