It's natural to be scared before an interview.
But if you can plan and thoroughly prepare beforehand, there's no reason why your interview shouldn't go swimmingly.
A very large proportion of the questions you can expect to be asked will focus on these two areas:
If you are to be able to convince a recruiter that you are right for the role then you obviously need to first get it clear in your own mind why you are right for the role – and you can’t do this unless you have properly researched and understood what the job will involve.
Information at your fingertips
Your first step should be to go over the job advert, description and/or person specification thoroughly.
Most employers (and recruitment agencies) will have provided you with this sort of information. Some organisations are kind enough to send out a whole wealth of literature to potential candidates – although most of this will relate to the organisation as a whole, not the particular job for which you are applying.
See how your CV compares to the employer’s outline of the role – and try to identify both how and why you are a good match. Write it all down and feel free to take that piece of paper with you to the interview as a form of ‘cheat sheet’.
You may have largely memorised it by the time you get to the interview but it can still be useful to trigger your thought processes should you freeze up during the interview as a result of nerves.
Researching the organisation
A number of popular interview questions are designed to probe and assess your knowledge of the organisation to which you are applying – and an interviewer will expect you to have done your homework. If you’re unprepared and unable to adequately answer these questions then it’s going to be a big, black mark on your application.
Just as a lack of knowledge of the job in question will count against you, a lack of knowledge of the organisation will betray a lack of effort on your part. How can they be sure you really want this job – and that you’re really the right candidate for the job – if you know so little about their organisation?
Try to find out as much as you can about your prospective employer. Virtually all organisations will have websites where you can read all about their background, their structure, their products/services, etc. Some will even list biographical details of key employees, maintain archives of press releases, provide downloadable financial accounts and so on. In the space of half an hour you should be able to brief yourself thoroughly.
If your prospective employer has premises which are open to the public – for example a branch on the high street – then it may be worth your while taking the time to drop by and have a closer look. If you’re applying to work for a major retail chain and you haven’t even stepped foot inside one of their shops then I’m sure you can see how that might be a problem. If an interviewer asks you about their shops and you have to confess you’ve never visited one then it’ll not only be embarrassing – it’ll be extremely damaging to your chances.
Broader background research
Besides researching the organisation itself, you should also try to understand the environment it operates in. Again, the Internet is a valuable resource. However, specialist trade journals can also yield a wealth of useful information.
Researching the interviewer
You need the answers to the following three questions:
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What is the name of your primary contact?
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Who exactly will be interviewing you?
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What are their respective job titles?
If the organisation (or your recruitment agency) hasn’t provided you with this information then it’s imperative to find it out.
Once you've got this information then, again, a little bit of internet research is called for. They may have a LinkedIn profile. They may have written articles online. They may have a blog. As always, the more information you have prior to your interview, the better.
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