Interviews……sleepless nights or exciting times!!

I was recently made redundant after working in my safe and comfortable job for the past 12 years.  Owing to the ‘economic downturn’, I was released from my duties and found myself back on the job market.

In all, I think I attended 6 interviews and being quite out of practice, I found them a lot harder than I thought I would.  I actually learnt a lot by going through these interviews and from the feedback I received.  So I thought I would share my experiences and give you my top 5ive tips that may help you… so here they are:

1. Attire – always dress smartly; wear a suit, as they say you cannot insult someone by wearing a suit, or a smart top and a skirt…..jeans maybe not the best choice!
2. Refreshments – at the interview if offered a drink, always accept, but be careful!!!!  I was quite nervous in one and when they offered me tea gladly accepted.  During the questioning, I picked up my cup of tea along with the saucer and spoon.  Having slightly shaky hands, I made the whole thing shake making a rattling noise, not good….and made me even more nervous. On the other hand, when an interviewer poses a difficult question, take a drink as it gives you an extra 10 or 15 seconds to think through your answer, and that is sometimes all you need to respond with a well thought through reply.
3. Honesty – always try to answer questions honestly.  If you start fabricating your experiences, I guarantee you will slip up as interviewers can go over some points again later on in the interview and you will have forgotten what you made up by then!
4. Don’t know – if you do not know the answer to a question, simply say I don’t know and move on…..
5. Be on Time – if not slightly early.  The amount of times I have said to myself, ‘I know where that place is’…..never taking into account that when I get to the street, it may not be straightforward finding the actual building.