The Interview
These days, you don’t just get your hair done and dress well, you should also clean up your social presence. Before you embark on the interview process, it might be a good idea to use a social cleaning tool, for example Social Sweepster, to do a Mister Wolf on your Social Media crime scenes.
Don’t just tap the address into Maps on the morning of the interview; make sure you are absolutely aware of where the place of interview is at, how long it will take you to get there (factoring in acts of God and any other eventuality that might delay you) and know the best route to take. Be there in plenty of time.
Whoever greets you when you arrive, be it reception staff or a personal assistant, an administrator, or the janitor, be highly courteous.
During the interview, be attentive to your body language; Start it off by shaking hands firmly (but not too firmly). Don’t fold your arms. Listen and be attentive. When you are giving your answers, make eye contact.
In a general sense, be clear, positive and straight to the point. Prove your commercial acumen. Know your CV by heart and justify everything. Think ahead and anticipate questions. Tell a story about your CV, why you left or want to leave, where you’d like to go next, how you see yourself in 5 years (in a few sentences!). Prove you can bring concrete skills to the table, but also be honest on what you don’t know and how fast you can learn. Give examples. Be yourself. Ask specific questions about the role, the strategy, the career perspectives. Show interest. Create a genuine relationship with your interviewers. And remember the three rules: 1/ listen, 2/ listen, 3/ listen.