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Preparation is a key part of the interview process, but one to which many fail to commit enough time. Remember you only have one chance to make a good impression! It is normal to feel nervous at the prospect of an interview but preparation helps you handle these nerves once in the interview. There are three main areas to cover in your preparations: practical, mental and psychological.

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Here are some practical things you need to consider before you start thinking about mental and psychological preparation. It is useful to prepare a checklist to make sure you don't miss anything.

What format is the interview?
Try to find out:
• how long will the interview last?
• are there any group exercises?
• do I need to prepare anything?
• are there any other tests or selection methods being used?

Don't be afraid to ask if it has not been covered in the letter. Finding out as much as possible not only helps with your preparation, but also puts your mind more at ease.

Where is the interview?
Make sure you:
• know how to get to the venue and how long the journey takes;
• have maps, train times, etc in advance;
• check for any planned disruptions to road or rail services;
• leave plenty of time so you are not rushing;
• find out if travel and overnight accommodation are paid for, if necessary;
• check the physical access to the premises if you have a disability, and indicate any additional support that you might require in the interview, eg a communicator for the deaf.

What to take?
Plan what you want to take with you so that you can pack your bag or case in plenty of time. Things to consider taking are:
• the interview letter, with the name(s) of the person or people you are meeting and the address and phone number of the venue;

• a map of how to get there. Look at Streetmap if you have not been sent a map;
• a copy of your CV and/or your application form;
• key points you want to make and questions you would like to ask;
• money for a taxi in case you are running late;
• money to make a phone call if necessary, or a mobile phone (but remember to switch it off when you arrive);
• mints to make sure you smell fresh, a bottle of water - travelling can make you thirsty and you don't want to be running around trying to find a shop before your interview - and some tissues.

What to wear
Make sure you are dressed appropriately for the position you are being interviewed for. Some companies have a much more relaxed approach to dress than others, but always make sure you wear a smart version of the clothes usually worn by the people in the role for which you have applied. If in doubt wear a suit. You won't be criticised for being too smart, but they will make a note of it if you come in wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt!

Check the letter carefully, particularly if there is a social element to the interview (perhaps a dinner for candidates the night before), and be guided by any instructions that are given to you.

The following tips from employers should help:
• Ensure that you maintain impeccable standards of personal hygiene, but avoid using overpowering deodorants, aftershave or perfume;
• Appropriate dress - traditional rather than high fashion;
• Ensure your hair is neat and tidy;
• Ensure that your shoes and clothes are scrupulously clean and maintained. Unpolished shoes and missing buttons will not create the desired impression;
• Avoid inappropriate jewellery. Unless you are entering an extremely unconventional environment, the interview is not the place for obvious body piercings, ankle chains or personalised necklaces. Men should restrict any jewellery to cuff links, and a signet or wedding ring.

Men should:
• avoid short sleeved shirts;
• avoid gimmicky ties or socks. Socks, by the way, should never be white.

 

Women should:
• avoid very short skirts or very high heels - these can give the wrong impression;
• avoid appearing overly made-up;
• wear a jacket to look fully dressed for interview.

It is important that you look smart for your interview, but equally important that you feel comfortable. Wearing a brand new suit for the first time after three years in jeans may not be easy. If it is rare for you to dress up, get used to the feel of it; practise sitting down and walking upstairs, and generally 'break in' your new outfit, particularly shoes. Make sure that your interview outfit is ready the night before, get a good night's sleep and set off in good time.

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Try not to make the common mistake of learning parrot-fashion answers to questions you expect to be asked. Not only will it be obvious to the interviewer, but it is also likely that you will become flustered when you are asked a different question to one you expected or have to answer in a different way to how you had prepared.

It is important to think about the interview beforehand and how you may answer certain types of question, but prepare in relation to the competencies they are looking for (as detailed in the job description/person specification/advert) rather than actual questions. Think about how you will provide evidence of certain competencies and qualities. For example, if you are asked about being a team player, what evidence will you use to show this?

Make sure you cover the five areas below in your mental preparation.

Knowledge about yourself
It is important to remind yourself of the messages you have conveyed to the employer through your CV/application form, and to be prepared to discuss anything you have told them. Read through your application and imagine you are the interviewer. What questions would you ask in their shoes? Make sure that you can give at least one example (and preferably more) for each of the skills and attributes that the employer is looking for, and that you can talk about those experiences in a positive way. Ask yourself these questions:
• Why do I want this job?
• Why should this company select me?
• What are my ambitions?
• What are my strengths, weaknesses?
• What have I gained from my degree?
• What skills have I gained from my academic, work-related and extra-curricular activities?

The issue of if, when, and how to declare a disability is one which concerns some students when preparing for interview. It is important for you to think carefully about what information you want to get across about your disability and how you can best highlight the coping strategies you have developed. These will convey positive messages about your competence, motivation and perseverance.

Knowledge about the job itself
It sounds obvious, but it is important that you know what job you are applying for. It will be hard to explain how your qualifications, skills and experiences relate to the opportunity on offer if you do not have a clear understanding of what the job involves. Read professional journals, and try to speak with people already doing this work. Increasingly employers are putting profiles of employees on to their website, which can provide an insight into the day-to-day activities of certain roles.

You do not need to know to the second what you would be doing but an understanding of the types of activities you would be involved in is necessary. Ask yourself:
• What does the job involve?
• What skills will I need to perform?
• What skills, interests and motivation do I have for this job?
• What examples can I give from work, academic study or outside interests to show I have the skills the employer is looking for?

Knowledge about the organisation
This knowledge will demonstrate your interest and enthusiasm for working for this particular organisation and enable you to prepare some questions of your own to ask at the interview. Most employers will expect you to display some understanding of their business, its size, products/services, and the sector in which it operates. Memorising this year's financial performance is not necessary, but it is important to read some recent information about the organisation and to have an awareness of its competitors.

Make sure that you have read the graduate recruitment brochure and website and if possible get hold of a copy of the annual report. There are several websites, such as Vault and Wet Feet, which allow you to search for sector and company information. You can also use the Internet to search for information from newspapers (such as the Financial Times) and professional journals. IT-based tools such as Lexis-Nexis may be available through your careers service or university.

Questions to ask yourself:
• What do I know about this organisation/function/subject?
• What attracts me to this organisation/function/subject?
• What relevant work experience/degree modules/research project have I done?
• What experience do I have of relevant technical skills/techniques?
• What kind of training/additional skills would I like to gain?

Make sure that you are up-to-date with developments in the sector to which you are applying. What issues are affecting it? Is it in a state of growth or decline? How is the market changing or developing? How are the organisations in it responding? Be aware of the world you are seeking to enter and be ready to express your thoughts and ideas about what is happening.

Current affairs/commercial awareness
You may be applying for a job as an accountant or a marketing trainee, but do not be surprised if you are asked for your views on current affairs and issues of the day. An interview won't be a general knowledge test, but you should have an understanding of what is going on in the world at large. It is a good idea to listen to good news programmes and read a quality newspaper every day in the lead up to your interview.

Your questions
It is always good to prepare two or three questions that you would really like answered and that will show your genuine interest and demonstrate your knowledge. It can also be a good opportunity to reveal positive aspects about yourself that the interviewers' questions may not have elicited. Good questions to ask are those which demonstrate your keenness to develop within the organisation and take on responsibility. Questions about training or what the process is for moving up in the company are always good. A word of caution though - make sure these are relevant to the organisation. If you are being interviewed for a position in a company of ten people, then saying you would like to develop to managing director as quickly as possible is not realistic and may put an interviewer off as they will know your expectations are unlikely to be met. It can also be an opportunity for you to demonstrate your research into the organisation by asking about relevant articles you may have read. For example you might say 'I read in the newspaper last week that you are expanding into Europe. Is the company thinking of expanding into any other markets?'

Remember:
• Show interest. Ask about the job, organisation, employees, products, processes.
• Don't ask about pay, pensions, other perks. It is not appropriate at this stage.
• Don't ask questions which have already been answered in the graduate brochure or other literature sent out with the invitation to interview.

Taking your questions with you to the interview can make you appear organised and well researched. Make sure they are typed and are in a folder to keep them neat. Pulling out a screwed up piece of paper from your pocket will have the opposite effect!

It is worth remembering that the interview is also a chance to find out more about the role and the organisation so that you can make an informed decision if it is offered to you. You might want to ask:
• How will I be assessed/my performance appraised?
• What factors distinguish successful employees from less successful ones?
• What has happened to previous post-holders in terms of development?
• I see (for example) that you are expanding into Europe, what would be the chances of me working there at some point?

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Many people feel nervous when invited to interview. Ensuring that you have prepared yourself in practical and mental terms will go a long way to making you feel more confident on the day, as will reminding yourself that you have already done very well to get this far.

Approach the interview with confidence and a positive frame of mind. Selectors like to see enthusiasm, but they will not expect a word-perfect performance; if you make a mistake just forget it and go on. If you are very nervous, you may want to investigate ways to relax before your interview. Your careers or counselling service might be able to recommend suitable books or techniques to help you.
• Try breathing deeply and silently repeating the number 'one' to yourself at every exhalation.
• Try visualisation exercises as part of your preparation. Simply relax and visualise yourself being enthusiastic and successful at the forthcoming interview. Imagine yourself confidently answering questions and the interviewer being pleased with your performance. Preparing yourself for success can make success a more likely outcome.
• Try positive affirmations to eliminate any negative feelings. Identify your main concern about the interview (eg 'Everyone else will be better than me') and write yourself a positive statement, in the first person and in the present tense, to address it. In this situation you might come up with, 'I am the strongest candidate for the job'. Relax and say your positive affirmation to yourself - out loud if you can - at the start of the day, and repeat it whenever you are feeling nervous. Don't rush it, but think about what you are saying; affirmations can really work.

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The fact that you have been invited to interview is a sign that the selectors are already impressed with what you have to say. The next step is to show them that you are as good, if not better, than your application has suggested. All your preparation will stand you in good stead, but there is obviously a lot you can do to improve your chances on the actual day.

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First impressions are very important. An interview may well continue for 30 minutes or more, but studies have shown that someone forms judgements about you within four minutes of your meeting and that these judgements inform their subsequent impressions. Research shows that the first impression is made up as follows:
• 55% visual impact, ie dress, facial expressions and other body language;
• 38% tone of voice;
• 7% from what you say.

 

This doesn't mean that all is lost if you are very nervous at the outset, but try to create the best first impression you can. A warm smile and firm handshake always help. It is worth remembering that you need to make a good impression on everyone you meet, so be courteous to all.

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Body or non-verbal language might be defined as 'what we say without saying anything'. Much of the impact you create at interview is based on your non-verbal presentation.

Non-verbal presentation is composed of:
• How you look - This was covered in the practical preparation section.
• How you walk, sit, act - Sit reasonably upright. Slouching or leaning too far back in a chair can give the impression that you are too casual and laid back about the whole thing. If you have a tendency to flap your hands around a lot then try to hold them together lightly on your lap. However, don't cross your arms as it can make you appear defensive. Moderate hand movements are perfectly acceptable and can bring the conversation to life.
• Your eye contact - Good eye contact is essential. It is an excellent way of conveying your interest in the job. Looking downwards or at anything other than the interviewer can make you appear disinterested and insincere. Maintaining good eye contact can also help you gauge the interviewer's reaction to what you are saying and whether you should be expanding on your answers. Panel interviews are more difficult. The best advice is to look at and answer the person asking the questions, with a glance from time to time at the other interviewers. One word of caution - try not to stare! A good tip to avoid doing this is to have a glass of water to sip, enabling you to look away when you pick it up. This is also a good technique for providing 'thinking time', as we will come on to later.
• The style, tone and delivery of your voice -Try not to talk too fast and keep your tone moderate. This can be difficult when you are nervous, but take a deep breath before you start to answer a question and work on keeping your answers concise. Practice beforehand is very useful in monitoring your speed and tone. Also make sure you don't use any slang and watch out for too many ers and urns. Again, practising beforehand, especially in front of someone, can help you identify any habits.

• How confident you appear to be - Try to relax. Much of an interview is about deciding whether you will fit into the organisation, so try to smile and establish a rapport with your interviewer.

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With thorough preparation, you are in a good position to display your knowledge of yourself, the job and the organisation to which you are applying. Remember that, although they are asking most of the questions, some interviewers are inexperienced and untrained. Not only does this mean they may be nervous too but also may not be practised in getting the best out of you, so you need to make sure you are providing all the information they want to hear in your answers. A question commenting on your choice of university, for example, provides an ideal opportunity to highlight your ability to weigh up several options and to exercise your judgement, as well as to mention any other motivating factors that you feel reflect well on you. The following points may help.
• Be yourself. If you adopt a new persona for the interview the result is likely to be insincere and transparent. Even if you are offered the job, you may discover later that it's not right for the 'real' you.
• Remember that honesty is the best policy and if it is discovered later that you have been dishonest you are very likely to be dismissed. Admitting, for example, to a period of poor motivation during your A-levels shows more integrity than blaming someone else for poor grades, so don't feel that you should cover up these incidents, rather present them positively as learning experiences. Having said that, the interview is not a confessional, and although you have an obligation to tell the truth, you do not have to tell the whole truth.
• Be prepared to talk; avoid yes/no answers and expand as often as possible. Don't, however, over-communicate; it can be tempting to talk too much. Take your cue from the interviewer, and if you are not sure that they have heard enough, ask, 'Would you like me to continue?'
• Pace yourself and try not to talk too quickly.
• Ask for clarification if you need it; this not only helps you to answer the question that has been asked, but also demonstrates confidence and control.
• If you need a moment's thinking time take a sip of water, if available, providing you with an opportunity to think.
• Try to use examples from several different experiences rather than concentrating on just one aspect of your life. Employers like to think that there is more than one thing that motivates or interests you.
• Smile and try to appear relaxed and confident.
• Above all, be positive. Don't say 'but'. If you need to have a 'but' in a sentence the words after it are not positive, so don't need saying. Many people play down experiences they have had saying things like, 'yes I have worked as part of a team, but this was only in a bar at weekends'. The experience you gain working in a bar can be invaluable, so a more positive way of saying this would be, 'I worked in a busy bar at weekends with three other staff and we needed to make sure we worked well as a team in order to keep the queues down and keep our motivation up'.

Remember that recruiters lay themselves open to legal action if they discriminate on grounds of gender or race, and that you can politely decline to answer direct questions about, for example, your marital status or whether you have a girl/boyfriend.

Difficult questions
You may feel that there are certain questions which would completely flummox you. Questions often perceived as particularly difficult include those which appear to be an invitation to shoot yourself in the foot, such as:
• What is your biggest weakness?
• What would you say has been your greatest failure?

... and those which ask you to think about yourself in a different way, such as:
• How would your friends describe you?
• If you were an animal/biscuit, what would you be?

The rules for answering these are the same as for any other question, and one of the reasons that they are asked at all is to see how you react. Relax, be honest, keep in mind the points that you want to make about yourself, and turn the matter around so that you can emphasise the positive whilst minimising weaker areas. You might, for example, in answer to the first question, say that you tend to be a perfectionist which can cause time management problems, but that you have realised this and now ensure you allocate your time effectively to meet deadlines. You could go on to explain how you have done this, maybe through a time allocation chart. This answer demonstrates that you have accepted you have a weakness and have adapted your working style to turn it into a positive.
 
The strategy can also be used with questions in the second category, most of which ask you to think about yourself in a different way. It is unlikely that your friends, when asked to describe you, would highlight all of the strengths that you yourself would like to lay claim to, but the question focuses very much on your relationships with other people, particularly those close to you. Your answer could easily cover your loyalty, your understanding or your readiness to help. The problem is that it is sometimes difficult to say, 'My friends think I'm loyal...' without sounding rather presumptuous, and you may find it easier to preface these glowing attributes with, 'I think that my friends would say...' or, 'I hope that my friends would say...'.

Remember the power of silence, and don't talk yourself out of a job whilst you are trying to fill silences left by the interviewer. These silences are rarely as long as they feel at the time, and whether the interviewer is simply gathering their thoughts or, more deliberately, seeing how deep a hole you can dig for yourself, it is up to you how much and what you say.

 

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This is the chance to ask those questions you prepared earlier. If they do not give you the opportunity, assert yourself politely and say you have a number of things you would like to raise and ask if this is the appropriate time to do so. Alternatively, you may feel that there are key points you have not been given the chance to make. If it feels right to you, thank the interviewer for their time and reiterate your enthusiasm for the job for which you have applied. Above all, end the interview on a positive note.

What next?
If the employers have not already made the next step clear in terms of when they expect to let you know the outcome, go ahead and ask them.