The DOs and DONTs of a Successful Interview

You’ve worked hard on your application and have spent days of compulsively checking your email hoping for a reply. Finally hear back from the company and, surprise, surprise, you’ve been invited for an interview!

What Now?

First of all, congratulations! Getting invited for an interview means you’re in the last stages of the recruitment process and the employer is really interested in you. However, don’t take this for granted – the interview is vital in convincing the employer you’re the right person for the job. Ensure you make the most of this opportunity to really sell yourself and give the right impression. Here are some tips:

DO

• Pay attention to the interviewer and give specific, focused answers to their questions.
• Use the STAR technique when asked to provide examples of your skills and experience: Situation, Task, Action and Result.
• Highlight your achievements and talk about those skills that make you stand out (motivation, hard work, leadership, etc).
• Use facts and figures to give a tangible impression of your successes.
• Give varied examples of what’s outstanding about you: perhaps you led a university project or were involved in a rock-climbing society. Anything out of the ordinary that helped you gain new skills.
• Be truthful, but stay positive. Talk about your weaknesses and failures, but focus on what you’ve learned and how they made you a better candidate.
• Be enthusiastic and show your genuine interest in the job!

DON’T

• Give yes or no answers. The interviewer wants to see why they should hire you, so expand on your answer and give details about yourself.
• Digress or go off topic – while giving specific answers is fine, getting caught up in convoluted explanations isn’t!
• Make things up! The interviewer might ask for further details of your little fib, and it’s easy to lose track of what you’re saying!
• Forget to mention university projects or extra-curricular activities as examples of skills and competencies. Employers want ‘well-rounded’ people who have been involved in all aspects of university life. 
• Be overly modest! If you feel you’ve achieved something extraordinary, don’t hesitate to talk about it! Employers will appreciate your confidence and initiative.
• At the same time, don’t be arrogant about your skills! Too much self-confidence will give off the wrong impression – so be realistic!
• Be afraid to ask questions. Ask for clarification if you don’t understand the question.

For further help on how to prepare and to see a list of interview questions see the resources page of our website. You can also book to see a Careers Consultant to practice answering some questions.

Raluca Maria Chereji
2nd year French and politics student at Queen Mary

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