How to prep for an Interview

According to US recruitment expert Lou Adler, effective and professional ‘prepping’ helps make sure the best candidate gets the job, not the best interviewee or the person who might have the best qualifications, but not the right personality or attitude.

Candidates who have been well-prepped are more confident and provide more thorough answers, creating a better first impression.

Here are the five key steps Adler recommends to prep for an interview:

1. Make sure you know your own strengths and weaknesses.
   Write down four or five strengths and one or two weaknesses. You should write a short, one-paragraph example of an accomplishment using each strength, and with the weaknesses, write about a specific situation where you have turned that weakness into a strength or have overcome it.

1. Learn the "universal answer."
   Most answers during the interview should be about one-to-two minutes long. Any longer and the interviewer will lose interest and consider the candidate boring or self-centred, while a too-short answer will make a candidate look superficial, incompetent, or lacking interest.  Most candidates talk in generalities, but specific examples are much more convincing.

1. Write up two significant accomplishments.
   To improve your verbal pitches, prepare brief write-ups for your two most significant accomplishments. Most candidates get a little nervous in the opening stages of an interview, which can result in temporary forgetfulness. The write-ups will allow for better recall of this critical information.

1. During the interview, ask the "universal question."
   Discussions about major accomplishments should dominate the interview session. Since most interviewers don't ask about this naturally, you can get them started.
   
   Make sure you have a list of insightful questions to ask, such as "What does the person in this job need to do to be considered successful, what's the biggest problem that needs to be addressed right away, what kind of resources are budgeted already, why is the position open, and how have you developed your team members?"

1. Ask for the job.
   At the end of the interview, tell the interviewer that you are interested in the job, and would like to know what the next steps are.
   

Courtesy of shortlistonline.com.au and CareersMultiList