Jobs and Careers - Hilary Devey 2013 - (Page 52)

PERFECTING THE Fine-tune your interview technique and get ahead of the competition NTRODUCTIONS… You can only make one ﬁrst impression, and the ﬁrst 30 seconds of your interview are critical. When introducing yourself to the interviewer, shake their hand, smile and greet them (keeping it formal) and remember: if there's more than one interviewer, you need to greet them all with the same enthusiasm – as well as keeping your attention split between them throughout. As Dean Ball, Regional Managing Director of global recruitment agency Michael Page, notes: “First impressions are important, so deﬁnitely take time to think about your appearance. However, most interviews last for about an hour, so you need to be prepared for the other 59 minutes as well.” ARRATIVES This may seem an unusual suggestion, but narratives and stories are an important part of the interview process. You're telling your story to an employer in the hope that you'll soon be the leading part in their narrative. Alastair Creamer, Founder of Eyes Wide Opened (www.ewopened.com), says, “We are so inundated with information, we look for the stories in life that we can latch on to and remember. Stories engage people. Our CVs and personal histories are stories. Our answers in interviews are also potential stories. So practise these well and feel comfortable with telling them.” WORDS: Jessie Bland | PICTURES: Getty Images, Shutterstock IME-KEEPING... 052 An essential, but often under-estimated, rule for pulling off the perfect interview. Turning up late sets your interview off to a bad start before it's even begun. While, of course, many of us are made late by matters out of our hands, it's important to think practically when it comes to journey planning. Use online planners such as www.journeyplanner.tﬂ.gov. uk or www.maps.google.co.uk to estimate your journey time from door to door, and then add an extra ﬁve or 10 minutes for each leg of the journey (or 20 minutes to the total if you're driving the whole way). This should give you a buffer for any delays or trafﬁc jams. If you're going to be late, call ahead to inform your interviewer. Arrived early? Up to 15 minutes is prompt, but half an hour is too early, so wander around or sit in your car beforehand. www.jobsandcareersmag.com http://www.ewopened.com http://www.journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk http://www.maps.google.co.uk http://www.jobsandcareersmag.com52

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Jobs and Careers - Hilary Devey 2013

Ed's letter
Meet Hilary
News
Dress for success
Bags of style
Onwards and upwards
The path to enlightenment
On the job
Under operation
Under assessment
Question time
Rising up the ranks
Law and order
Make your search social
On the books
Getting graphic
Sowing the seeds
Making contact
On the move
Going green
Get the cogs turning
Building it up
On the factory floor
Engineering change
Take it up a gear
A rainy-day career
Bank on it
Full house
Talk shop
A clean slate
Hungry work
Quench your thirst
At your leisure
All's fair and square
Head in the clouds
Online round-up
Jobs & Careers - East Midlands
Jobs & Careers - North West
Jobs & Careers - South East
Jobs & Careers - South East
Jobs & Careers - South West

Jobs and Careers - Hilary Devey 2013