How should you prepare for a job interview? Whether it is your first job interview or the tenth one in your career, you should put the same amount of effort into preparation. It is worth remembering that an invitation to a job interview already shows that potential is seen in you for the role. The goal of the job interview is to deepen this first impression that you have given in your application text, by doing tests, and in your CV.
Do these preparations before the interview
Get to know the role and the employer
Start by reading the job advertisement carefully and evaluate how your skills and character traits match those presented in the announcement. Also, read as much as possible about the company or organization to get an idea of what it is like to work there and what you could bring to the company. What are the company's goals, mission, and vision? What is the work culture like? How is the organization structured? Deeply familiarizing yourself with a potential employer is a great way to show that you are interested in working specifically here. Most importantly, getting to know the website and other external communication makes it easier to answer interview questions in a way that the organization itself talks about itself. This way, you also get excellent material for the questions you want to ask the employer!
Write ready-made answers to likely questions
In the interview, you have the opportunity to get more information about the role and show the recruiter why you are the right person for the job. In addition to preparing by reading about the job and the company, it is good to prepare for questions that the recruiter might ask. We have collected the most common questions asked in job interviews in this article.
Prepare with concrete examples
Academic Work uses a competency-based interview model in recruiting, according to which the most important qualities for success in the job are defined, and the candidate is evaluated based on these pre-defined competencies. In other words, we do not ask you to list your personal qualities; instead, our questions concern your actions in the past. We are looking for concrete examples of how you have acted in certain types of situations before. Preparing for a competency-based interview is easy: you just need to think in advance of examples of situations where you have utilized the desirable traits or skills listed in the job advertisement.
What if suitable examples do not immediately come to mind? Remember that any prepared example is better than no example at all. In reality, it is rare that a suitable example cannot be found in a person's life, because in addition to all kinds of work experience, they can be found, for example, in a hobby environment, during studies, or even in interaction with friends. When applying for a job, however, the safest choice is an example related to work. If a question comes up in the interview that you were not prepared for, take your time and think about a suitable answer for a moment. The recruiter does not expect every answer immediately – considered answers, on the other hand, almost always give a good impression.
Evidence based recruitment
We know which factors predict future job performance and that a large part of these factors cannot be listed in a CV. Therefore, we utilize the evidence based recruitment method in our work, where we challenge the traditional recruiting method by evaluating candidates based on an objective, data-driven, and fair process. We focus purely on the compatibility between you and the open position, so your potential and personality are as important as your hard skills.
Dress appropriately for the situation
External appearance should have nothing to do with succeeding in the interview. The most important thing is to ensure that your outfit makes you feel comfortable and suitably confident. For example, chafing, too hot, or tight pieces of clothing easily make your thoughts move to a feeling of discomfort instead of being present in the interview itself. However, you should find out if the employer has some kind of dress code. If there is a dress code, dressing according to it shows respect for the culture of the workplace.
Practice and review
Hardly anyone is naturally brilliant in an interview situation; instead, the best candidates show either experience or the amount of practice. Have you done your background work and prepared answers to the questions? Great! – you are already almost ready, and it is completely acceptable to bring your notes with you to the interview. Before the interview, however, it is useful to practice out loud and preferably with someone. Would someone close to you have the opportunity to act as a "recruiter"? Practicing can feel strange, but believe me, it makes expressing yourself in the interview much easier.
This is how you ensure a smooth remote interview
Ensure a working internet connection. Is the interview in Teams, Zoom, or another application? Download and update the correct meeting application in advance – just in case, on several devices! Ensure that the camera and microphone are working. Find a bright and low-contrast environment. The background should be neutral and unobtrusive, whether it is physical or virtual. Read the dressing instructions above
First impression
The old cliché still holds true – arrive on time. The bad impression given by being late puts pressure on the rest of the interview, and in extreme cases, it ruins your chances from the start. Being on time helps you survive accidents, such as navigation errors, and allows you to calm down and get into the right state of mind before the start of the interview. However, if it looks like you will be late, inform the recruiter immediately and apologize again when you arrive. Additionally; Make sure you remember the name of the person you are going to meet. Greet, shake hands, and look the person you are meeting in the eye.
After the interview
Reflect
What went well in the interview? What could I learn for the next time? If any of the interview questions caused difficulties, write it down and take it into account for your next preparation.
Ask about the progress
If the employer has not announced the next steps within the agreed time, contact the recruiter and ask for a status update. Sometimes the process unfortunately takes longer, so radio silence is not necessarily a reason to give up hope yet.
Remember to ask for feedback
If the choice did not fall on you, it is definitely worth asking what you could have done better. This is extremely valuable information for the future.