Tips for a Successful Interview

The job market is incredibly competitive right now. While more and more jobs are opening up as more and more companies establish themselves and expand their presence in Dublin, there are still a lot of qualified candidates out there. Unfortunately, even if you’re the absolute best candidate for a position you’re applying for, you can still be overlooked if someone else gives a better interview.

Fortunately, though, if you follow these tips, you’ll be prepared to give a great interview every time. Remember, your CV and cover letter may have gotten you this far, but to get the job you want, you’re going to have to convince your interviewers that they want to work with you.

Do Your Research

Find out everything you can about the company you’re interviewing with. This includes more than just perusing their website. Most companies publish quarterly earnings reports, and you can find a lot out about what’s going on with a company by doing a Google news search on them.

According to Jon Youshaei in an article for Forbes, you can cut out some of the time and effort in this research while simultaneously getting great results if you use Google Alerts. Just add the company name to your Alerts, and Google will email you every time there’s a news story about them.

This is especially useful when you’re interviewing with multiple companies, as you don’t have to keep up with searching for anything new on each of them every day. Your knowledge of the latest reports and news on the company will look really good in any interview.

Interview Yourself

In the days leading up to your interview, take some time to re-read the job description. Work on matching your skills and experience with the company’s needs for this position, and find ways to naturally work this into your answers to common interview questions, such as:

• What are your strong points?
• Why do you want to work at this company?
• What is attractive to you about this job?
• What are your weak points?
• Why should we hire you?

Scheduling Is Key

If you can avoid it, never schedule an interview on a Monday or Friday. On Mondays, people are preparing themselves for the week and thinking about all of the other things they have to get done, other than interviewing new employees. On Fridays, a lot of people have already checked out for the weekend and won’t be giving you the attention you need to make a real impression.

You should also avoid scheduling interviews too close to lunchtime. According to Glassdoor, the absolute best time to interview is at 10:30 AM on a Tuesday. The week’s just beginning, and fatigue and distractions haven’t set in. It’s late enough that they’ve woken up and gotten their day started but early enough that they’re not starving and thinking about what’s for lunch more than whom they should hire.

Prepare Relevant, Sincere Questions

A lot of people dread the point when the interviewer pauses, smiles, and asks, “Do you have any questions for us?” If you’ve done your research and you know what kind of position you’re looking for and how you’re qualified to do it, this can really be your moment to shine. Come prepared with a couple of solid, relevant questions about the company and the position. This shows that you cared enough to do your homework and that you’re enthusiastic and prepared to fulfil the company’s needs.

Above all else, take a deep breath; make sure that you have your CV, a pen, and a notebook with you, and try to enjoy yourself. An interview is an opportunity to get to know your future employers and colleagues.