Keri Gray gave some good, practical tips on preparing for and performing well in interviews. Her slides are embedded below, or you can see them on Slideshare – worth having a proper look through, there’s some really good tips in there about interview questions.
A couple of points that stood out for me:
Preparation:
- Research the company – e.g. website, press releases, reports, reviews. You can always phone them and request corporate literature if you have time, or just see what you can find on Google!
- Write down your achievements. Highlight 5 key achievements, 5 key challenges, and 5 aspirations. I really like this idea – thinking about, never mind talking about, things I’ve done well/am good at is probably the hardest part of the process for me, so I can see how this would help to get me in the right frame of mind.
On the day:
- Remember to eat something in the morning! You don’t want to be feeling wobbly when you get into the interview (must admit, I often don’t feel like I can eat breakfast the morning before an interview – nerves I guess – but I always regret not eating by the time I get in there! Will try to bear this advice in mind)
- Be professional and polite to everyone you meet. If you’ve been lovely to everyone in the interview, but horrible to the receptionist on your way in, that won’t reflect well on you as a person!
- Body language – be assertive, but not aggressive.
- Take your time when answering questions. It’s ok to pause, ask for a moment to think.
- Concluding the interview – end on a positive note. Have a few good questions prepared. Shake hands with everyone who interviewed you. Maybe send a thank you note/email, if you think it’s appropriate.
Keri also set a lot about styles of interviews and common questions, but I won’t rehash all that because it’s all in her slides. This was a really useful session – while I’m not actively job hunting at the mo, it’s always good to keep these skills up to date. So thanks Keri for the great advice!
Organising Chaos 
Cheers for this, v useful. I just struck out at interview with “lack of passion” cited for 2nd time, for lack of passion read nervous as hell. This is good practical advice.
Oh no, really? Wow, that sucks. I always kinda hope that interviewers expect you to be nervous and make allowances for that, but I guess it’s hard to judge how you’re coming across. Better luck for the future – hope Keri’s tips are helpful!