Author: Mr Kevin Rendell DCR DMU DMS Director - Sonographer Medical Recruitment Agency Ltd

How To Impress at Interview

Once your CV is short listed, you get your chance to show people what you are worth. Now is your chance to show a prospective employer who you really are. You need to impress. You need to be confident, but over do it and you'll come across as arrogant.

You need to show that you understand the job, but over do it and you'll come across as a know-it-all.

You need to show the employer that you are the person they have been looking for.

Despite popular perception to the contrary, interviewers want you to do well. They want to see the real you and they can't do that if you are a bundle of nerves who cannot hold a conversation.

With many years experience as interviewer and interviewee, I would like to offer the following important tips and pointers.

The Basic Rules.

Give yourself lots of time.

Arrive early and use the washroom for those last minute touches to ensure that you are seen at your best. Being late is never acceptable.

Dress for success.

Entire bookshelves have been written on getting the visual appearances right. An interview is not the place to show your individuality. Dress formal with the minimum of fuss. Remove overcoats before entering the interview room and ensure you do not arrive with more baggage than you can carry.

Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

Hands, Hair, Shoes, Clothes, should all be spotless. If you stepped in a puddle on the way to the interview, use your early arrival to get yourself sorted.

Be polite.

Greet everyone present when entering the interview room. Individually by name if you can manage it. Handshakes should be firm - but not vice-like. Smiles are obligatory.

Maintain eye contact.

This can be difficult with an Interview Panel. In such cases, give 90% of your attention to the person asking the question, but remember to look at each member of the panel at least once during your answer. It is worth noting that the rest of the panel will be paying you even more attention when they are not asking a question.

Preparation is Key.

Countless interviewees have fallen flat on their faces because of a single unexpected interview question.

Put yourself in the place of the interviewer. What questions would you ask?

Generally, the interviewer is not trying to catch you out. This is not an exam.

Good interview technique requires that questions are investigative and do not lend themselves easily to a Yes or no answer. The interviewer will want you to explain your answers. So, while you are considering what questions are likely, think about the expected answers and how you will explain them.

Some typical questions might be along the lines of:

How are you investing in CPD?
What can you offer this Department?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
What is your best quality? . . . . And your worst?
What do you understand by the term Clinical Governance?

In each case, there is a possibility that you will be asked to support your answers with real examples of your experience.

You can also expect at least one question of a technical nature, directly related to your speciality.

Make the interviewer(s) feel special.

Even if you have applied for every job advertised this month and last, and have even made applications to places where no vacancy exists, you must show the interviewer that this is the place you want to be.

What is different about this Department? It could be a speciality. It could be a location. It could be that you have heard good things from someone who works there now or in the past. (Beware, you might be asked to name them).

To be honest, the reason is unimportant, convincing the interviewer that you want to be there is target enough.

Don't wait to be asked, "Why do you want to work here?" It's such a cliché that it hardly ever gets asked. Find an opportunity to put across why you are there. The interviewer will appreciate it.

In general, we would always recommend that you arrange a visit to the prospective work place in advance of the interview. If that cannot be arranged, ask for one before it. How can you seem interested in working in a place you have never seen?

Closing the Sale.

The interview is not over until you are back on the kerb.

At the end of the questions you are likely to have an opportunity to ask questions. You must have questions ready. Don't go prepared with only a single query - it might have been answered already. Remember that your questions are being judged. Their relevance will indicate how well you would fit and how interested you appear to be. Do not waste the opportunity.

If you are not given the opportunity to ask a question, ask for it yourself. It shows interest.

Avoid questions about salary and benefits. You can iron out these later if successful. But you could ask about opportunities and training. Another good area for query is on an organisation's future plans, especially developments in line with government or professional guidelines.

Final Issues.

You shouldn't need to ask, but make certain you know when you can expect to hear the result. You don't want to be waiting by the telephone for a month for a call that never comes.

Thank the interviewer for their time as you leave. Now is not the time for a lack of politeness to upset the apple cart. And if the interviewer is still undecided, that final effort could sway the balance.

Ensure your departure is as clean as your entrance.

The time to breath a sigh of relief and fall over your own feet is after you have left the premises. Not before.

After the Chequered Flag.

If you aren't successful, don't be too disheartened. Use the experience as a positive learning tool. Where did you go wrong? You might know the answer but most interviewers will be willing to give you some pointers. Give them a ring and thank them for their time. Ask them what points made you less suitable for a position than the successful applicant. It might be you. It might be your experience. It might be your knowledge. What ever you hear, do not take it personally. Learn by it so that you will have a better chance next time.