We asked Georgina Beavis, Huxley Sydney and Alexander Jenner, Computer Future Tokyo for their advice on what to do during an interview.
1.Communication
Be confident and always remember to smile even if you are nervous. Speak in a clear and controlled voice and nod where appropriate. Vary your tone and pitch to reflect what you are saying as this will help to shape the message you are trying to convey. Breathe and pause before answering a question giving you time to react in a considered way. Avoid saying “we” and always say “I” as the interview is about you, not your current team.
2.Body language
Use a firm handshake at the beginning and end of the interview. Maintain a good posture and friendly expression making eye contact with everybody in the room not just the person asking the questions. Cross your legs at the ankles, rest your hands in your lap or on the table and be poised trying not to show too much or too little emotion but be happily confident in yourself.
3.Active listening
Listen carefully to the questions and, if you’re not entirely sure what they are asking, check and say “just to clarify, is this what you mean or what you’re asking is…” as you could go completely down the wrong path with your answer. If you’re not sure you’ve gone into enough detail, don’t be afraid to ask.
4.Be a STAR
For maximum impact, use the STAR technique to answer competency-based questions:
Situation – briefly describe the where/when/who
Task – outline the task or objective
Action – describe what you did, focusing on your role and input
Result – tell the interviewer what the outcome was and what skills you developed as a result
5.Be proactive
Bring your CV with you along with any documents or relevant examples of your work if you think it might help. If there’s a whiteboard in the room and it will help to explain your answer, ask to use it or have a piece of paper so you can draw the example.
6.Negativity
Never speak negatively about your previous or current employers. This will not reflect well on you and can come across as unprofessional. It might also raise a red flag – if you join this new company, would you speak badly about them too?
7.Ask questions
An interview is two-way so don’t be afraid to ask questions as you need to make sure the job is right for you too. It’s a great way to build rapport and show interest in the company and role. However, don’t put your interviewer in an awkward spot by asking if you’ve got the job and never bring up salary. It’s more about the role, career opportunity and the company.