Interview Tips

New Level Recruitment – Health & Safety Recruitment Specialists

INTERVIEWS: TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

• Do your research
• Arrive on time
• Look smart
• Think
• Don’t panic!

One of the many benefits New Level Recruitment offer to our selected candidates is a free one-to-one interview preparation session prior to being interviewed by one of our clients.

Why do we do this? Well, several reasons: one, we appreciate how scary interviews can be and have first hand knowledge of some of the googly questions you might get asked. Two, we want you to get the job (it is how we make our living after all). Three, we’re just nice, helpful people!

So we take you through the whole process before sending you off to meet our client (your next boss, hopefully!) It’s a system that seems to work well – those applicants who choose to take advantage of this service tend to get a lot more job offers than those who don’t.

Nonetheless, we thought it would be a nice idea to prepare this fact sheet for you to read at your leisure, containing some common interview tips. We hope you find it useful.

Every company has its own interview processes, but a lot of the questions you’ll get asked, especially at a first interview, are broadly similar. Don’t be fooled, though. There is a reason that everybody asks the same questions, and that is because they help give them a clearer picture of you and how you might fit into their team. 

So no matter how often you have been asked the same questions, you should always give due consideration to your answers and how each individual interviewer might interpret what you say. (It goes without saying that you should always be honest in your answers.)

When you arrive at the interview:

• Be on time. In fact, be early if you can.
• Dress smartly. Even if the company dress code is normally pretty casual, they will always want to see that you’ve made the effort to look smart for the interview.
• Carry a notepad and pen, to take notes, to jot down any questions you want to ask and just because it makes you look professional and well prepared.
• Smile! Be confident and friendly.
• Listen carefully to what the interviewer says and what they are asking you before responding. Don’t just assume you know what they are going to ask and what they need to hear; you don’t.
• You should always have done your research about the company and the roles so if you have a chance to demonstrate that, take it. It’s a good idea to prepare a couple of questions beforehand, so that they realise you’ve interested enough to do some research on the company.
• Don’t be nervous. A good way to get rid of the nerves is to remember that you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. It’s a two way street.