What Information you Need and How to Use it

Preparing for interviews is key to your success as a job seeker. Start with conducting good background research on the company. Know the company information you need and how to use it to get the job you want.

 Company Research Checklist - What you Need to Know and How to Use it in Preparing for Job Interviews

• Company size - in terms of employees, locations and assets. This will help determine criteria such as your growth prospects at the company, promotion possibilities and company stability.
• Length of time the company has been established - this helps establish company reputation and possible job security.
• Company's products and services - prepare interview answers that are relevant to the company requirements. Interviewers often ask the question, “What do you know about this company?” If you don’t have a good and effective response, something more comprehensive than, "I know you are an excellent company,” you will come across as unprepared and uninformed. Provide a detailed answer that shows you have done your homework and impress the interviewer.
  Typically you will be asked the interview question "Why do you want to work for this company?" "Because you are a market leader" are inadequate. Interviewers want to know specifically why you want to work for their company. Answer intelligently and confidently by highlighting why the company's products and services interest you and how you can contribute to them. Vague and general responses such as

Using the Internet for Your Company Research

The most important job interview info you need to know is this:"Failure to prepare is preparing to fail" (Benjamin Franklin).
When you walk into the job interview the better prepared you are with your company research the better your chances of success.

Research the company and job opportunity beforehand and show the interviewer how your skills and abilities specifically meet both the job requirements and the company needs.

Demonstrate that you are the right candidate for the job by using your company research to make your job interview answers relevant and appropriate.

Do your homework and the interviewer will see that you have taken the time to find out about the job and company.

This way you demonstrate both your respect and appreciation of the interviewer's time and your interest and enthusiasm for the job.

What do you need to know? Information that you will be able to easily find and that will help you answer the job interview questions successfully include:

• Brief company history such as when it was established, shareholders, expansion, mergers
• Basic facts such as size, organizational structure, other locations, subsidiaries, holding company, key people
• Type of products and services it offers, who are the main competitors in this industry
• Who are the customers and target market, market share it currently holds, suppliers
• Company culture including mission, vision, values, policies
• Latest news such as acquisitions, expansion, new products, management changes, redundancies, challenges

This information can be sourced in a number of ways.The single best resource is probably to go online to the company's website.Go to your favorite search engine, such as Google.com, type the company name in the search box and follow the link to the company's website. Scroll through all the information, make notes of details you want to remember.

Company websites usually feature comprehensive information on the organization. Read it all, even media releases and staff biographies, as you never know which "click" is going to yield valuable information that will help you ace the interview! Look specifically for information on corporate culture, upcoming opportunities and challenges and latest results.

Search on the company website for any details relevant to the position you are being interviewed for. Look at the particular department and staff who work there.

Search on the company website for information about the interviewer. If you are being sent to a company interview by a recruiter, ask them to give you details about the interviewer and any other job interview info you need.

If the company does not have its own site there are various internet sites that have extensive information about companies and industries. Simply type in the company name and use the different search engines to go to sites that have details on the company.

Carefully review competitor websites to get details on what else is happening in the particular industry or sector.

You can search different news sites on the web for up to date information about the company and the industry.

Good examples include businessweek.com where you can search for data on over 350 000 companies and forbes.com

For up-to-date info on a specific company you can set up a Google News Alert to send you news as soon as it becomes available.

Vault.com company specific message boards are also a good source of information. You can use these to research a specific job and employer. Corporate message boards also give the opinions of current and former employees and provide an interesting perspective on the company, although it is wise to check for themes running through a number of postings rather than taking just one posting at face value.

More good sources of company information are covered here. Utilize all these different means of researching the company to accumulate as much job interview info as possible. Strategize how you can use this information to demonstrate your suitability for the position. Refer to the common job interview questions and answers guide to see how to put this information to excellent use when preparing your interview answers.

Preparing for a Job Interview

Preparing for a job interview begins with conducting good background research on the company, the job and even the people you will be meeting. Find out how to do this company research and which resources to use to get the company information you need.

When preparing for a job interview, many people are unfamiliar with how to start the research process. Which traditional and electronic resources are the best to use?

We have simplified the interview preparation process by guiding you to easy-to-use internet and other business resources.

Our guidelines show you how to get the company information you need to stand out as the winning job candidate in your job interview.

Review these basic rules before beginning your company research

• It is easier to find out information about a publicly held company than privately owned organizations because public companies are legally required to make certain information available.
• When conducting company research on a subsidiary of a larger company start with the parent company or holding corporation. You can then drill down into the subsidiary information.

Why do you want to leave your job

Employers want to know why you are leaving your job. Consider carefully how you will answer this question.

"Why do you want to leave your job?"

Be straightforward but avoid negative comments about past employers in the job interview.

Don't bad-mouth the company, your manager or colleagues, it puts you in a bad light. Keep it positive and make the reason for a leaving a constructive one such as a new challenge, exciting opportunity, increased responsibility or learning possibility.

Use this job interview question as an opportunity to focus on the future.

"I have reached the ceiling in my particular job, and I am ready for more responsibility"

"After a number of years in my last position I am now looking for a new experience where I can contribute and grow in a bigger environment"

Avoid stating your salary as a prime motivator for change.

However location is a perfectly acceptable reason for moving.

"I am relocating to this area for family reasons and left my job to make this move"

"I was spending hours each day commuting. I would prefer to be closer to home"

What do you see yourself doing in five years

Feel confident that you are prepared for this tough job interview question and answer.

"What do you see yourself doing in five years?"

It is not easy to answer this interview question in terms of specific job or company expectations.

One cannot accurately predict what the job or the company will look like in 5 years time. You can answer in general terms about the type of situation you would like to be in and the way you want to have grown and developed. Avoid giving specific time frames or job titles.

Focus on realistic career opportunities you could expect in your industry and what you hope to have gained from these opportunities.

"It is an uncertain world and one can't predict what is going to happen. However, my hope is that I will have contributed to the success of the company and grown both personally and professionally within my position"

Your interview answer should relate to the job you are being interviewed for in some way. The interviewer does not want to hear that you hope to have published your first novel or be running your own business.

This interview question is designed to assess a number of things.

• How long are you likely to stay with the company?
• What is your motivation in applying for this position?
• Do you look ahead and set goals for yourself?

"What has been your greatest achievement to date?"

Research has shown this to be one of the most common questions job seekers face in employment interviews. Prepare well for it.

"What has been your greatest achievement to date?"

Choose an achievement that is related to the position and is fairly recent. Review the job description, if you have it, or the job posting or ad. What skills are listed as necessary for the job?. This will guide you to the most relevant answer for this employment interview question.

Does the position need superior sales ability, someone with keen attention to detail, strong management skills or excellent problem-solving ability?

Reflect upon achievements that demonstrated this skill. Describe your accomplishment and highlight the job-related skills you used. Point out how the results benefited the company.

If a requirement is problem-solving skills:

"Recently I was asked to implement a new system to reduce our debtors days.
I analyzed the problems with the current system, got input from all the stakeholders, and developed a faster way of getting the accounts out and monitoring follow up.

"Why should we hire you?"

This is one of the most frequently asked interview questions. Prepare well for it.

"Why should we hire you?"

Review the job description and note down the job requirements.

Refer to your skills and experience relevant to the job requirements and the company's needs. What benefits are you bringing to this job?

Mention your previous successes and your goals for the future. Be straightforward and confident about your abilities.

" I have the right combination of skills and experience for this job. I also bring the additional quality of strong analytical and problem solving ability as shown by my introduction of a more efficient work flow system at ABC Company.
My commitment to excellent work standards will add value to the team.
I am a fast learner, I had to learn a totally new operating system in my last job and I was up and running within a couple of weeks.
One of the reasons I want to work for this company is your reputation for staff development, learning and growth are important values to me. I sincerely believe I am the right person for this job and for this company"

When answering interview questions like this, don't try to say that you are the best qualified candidate, you are not familiar with the other candidates' skills and experience. Rather highlight the reasons why you are the right candidate for this job.

"My abilities in sales really seem to fit this job. My success at ABC in achieving an annual growth rate of 25% support this.

"What are your strengths?"

Make your answer to this common job interview question relevant. Tailor your strengths to the job and highlight why they qualify you as the right candidate for the job opportunity.

Don't make the mistake of frustrating the interviewer as you describe what a great athlete you are and list your latest sports achievements during your sales job interview.

However, with some thought you can translate almost all of your strong-points into job-relevant attributes that will contribute to your success in the job.

When answering this job interview question you can point out how the determination and discipline you need to be a good athlete are certainly important strengths in a sales position. Free interview answers include:

"To achieve as an athlete I had to stick to a tough training program and make sure I kept myself motivated . I had to be disciplined and determined. I believe these strengths strongly contribute to my success in sales"

Candidates often find it hard to verbalize their strengths, so spend some time thinking about this before the interview.

Interview Questions often begin with

“Tell me about yourself”

This is one of the most common interview questions and answers are tough to formulate. Where to start, where to end, what to focus on!

Prepare for this question and you can use it as a great opportunity to sell yourself!

In your answer highlight how your skills, knowledge and experience relate to the job and the company profile.

Where you were born and grew up, or what pets you have is not likely to show the interviewer why you are a good candidate for the job opportunity.

The interviewer wants to know if you will fit in with the rest of the team, the department and the company.

The interviewer is also trying to find out what motivates you and whether it is consistent with what the job and the employer offer

Refer to your background research and review the job requirements, focus on how you specifically meet these needs.

For example, if the job requires you to work as part of a team, tell the interviewer about the projects you have undertaken as a team-member.

Most jobs require an element of team work, so this is a good aspect to focus on when thinking about answers to this interview question

Tips on what to wear for interviews

You'll see various research and general advice concerning what best to wear for job interviews. The sort of clothes, styles, colours, shoes, make-up, accessories, etc., are likely to have the best effect. Standard rules for dress code at interviews are mostly common sense: be smart, coordinated, clean, tidy, relatively under-stated - however you can go further than merely adopting the standard recommendations to wear blue or grey suits, black shoes, white, cream, pale yellow and pastel colours for shirts and blouses; and to avoid black (too funereal - unless your interview is with an undertakers), bow-ties, Elton John specs and deer-stalker hats.

You can take a more sophisticated approach to your choice of dress and style at job interviews.

Your best choice of dress, clothes, colours and style at interview should actually depend on the role and what surrounds it.

For example, blue is thought by many people to represent formal business professionalism, which is fine for 'professional' job opportunities, but a smartly pressed blue business suit and crisp white shirt and tie won't help you much in an interview for a role requiring care and compassion, working outdoors in all weathers, managing down-to-earth labourers, being bubbly and creative, or teaching disaffected kids.

What we wear should be an extension of our personality of course, but also importantly, indicates to the interviewer our ability to recognise what the employment situation and job requires.

No-one ever got a job because of the way they dressed whereas lots of people fail to get jobs because 'something' about their appearance put the interviewer off - maybe just a bit - but enough not to get the job.

Dress in a way that projects you personality, sure, but not to the extent that your appearance is inappropriate to the situation. For adventurous dressers, especially going for jobs that might call for a spark of individuality, it can be a fine judgement. A lot depends on the interviewer too - innovative interviewers in industries that are amenable to flair will respond more positively to people who look different. But process-orientated decision-makers in structured environments will prefer people who look safer. If in doubt err on the safe side.





 













Employers want people who can do the job - that's a given - but they also badly need people who will 'align' and fit in - people who can 'get the beat' of the organisation and department. Empathy, trust, rapport, are all built on this initial platform, and what you wear and how you style yourself provide a great opportunity to start putting these foundations in place with the interviewer. Your interview dress code and visible styling help you show the interviewer (it's a conscious and unconscious effect) that you understand the organisation's style and how to fit in with it; that you can adapt appropriately to your environment - it's a valuable ability and there's nothing to be achieved by creating doubts in this area.

So when you next prepare for a job interview, try to orientate your choice of clothes and style to that of the employer, and also to the way the interviewer perceives the role. Consider also the type of job and the service sector, and particularly the personality, skills and behaviour that is required in the role: For example is the role mainly extravert or introvert, detailed or conceptual, creative or processing, conforming or innovative, etc., and how does this affect the way you should be styling yourself and dressing for the interview?

If it helps you decide what to wear, think about how the existing employees dress. Does the employer have a conservative attitude and culture regarding dress code, or is the culture more modern and relaxed. It is as unhelpful for you to be dressed too conservatively and professionally as it is to be dressed not professionally enough. Try to get an idea of what people wear in the organisation so that you can reflect, within reason, the tone and style that fits in with the employer and the interviewer's expectations. Do the men wear ties or not? Do the women wear suits? Do they 'dress down' on Fridays? (This is particularly relevant if you happen to go for an interview at their offices on a dress-down Friday, when prior knowledge will help you to tone down a little and avoid sticking out like someone who doesn't fit in because they've not had the sense to find out before-hand.) Go see or ask if this will help you to feel more confident.

On the point of going and seeing, especially if you know very little about the organisation, it's often helpful to get a feel of the place and the people before deciding that the organisation is actually worthy of your talents and commitment. If you live close enough to the organisation's offices or site it makes good sense to visit their reception or sales office as part of your pre-interview research, when you can pick up a few brochures, feel the atmosphere, and form a view of staff attitudes and style, etc. This will also give you a good indication of their dress code, especially if you visit when people are arriving or leaving work. Lunch-time visits are interesting too - at the start of breaks and when people return to work. It's amazing what you can hear and learn sometimes, simply sitting in a busy reception for a few minutes or approaching a reception desk and asking for a brochure.

As regards your own appearance for interviews, consider any jewellery and other bodily adornments too. No-one ever got a job because they wore an outrageously big fat diamond ring, or a nineteen-ounce gold chain over their shirt, but I bet there'll have been plenty of people who've not got jobs because they've erred on the wrong side of this particular judgement.

For the same reason, the number of body piercings displayed at interview is generally inversely proportional to the chances of successfully attracting a job offer, unless the job happens to be in a body piercing studio.

Tattoos are another interesting area. Attitudes to tattoos are certainly more tolerant than twenty years ago: even main board directors these days commonly will be hiding a little dragon or butterfly somewhere intimate on their person, however, given two equally-matched candidates at a job interview or group selection, the one with the short sleeves and naked ladies up each forearm is unlikely to get the nod. Safest bet - especially for customer-facing jobs (literally face-to-face) - is not to show too much tattooed skin at interviews unless you are very confident of yourself indeed.

The reality unfortunately is that most people, including interviewers, will tend to judge you with their eyes, not least because interviewers know that their customers and staff will do too. And, like all business decisions, recruitment decisions reflect on the people making them. Therefore when you are being interviewed the interviewer is not only deciding whether you can do the job, they are also deciding whether choosing you will reflect well or not on their own reputation. The less you challenge this area the more likely they'll feel comfortable deciding in your favour. Use your common sense.

So, if the role and the organisation calls for someone to conform and behave according to strong corporate style and expectations then dress accordingly. If the role and the organisation calls for individuality and fresh ideas then you have more licence to dress more individually, but still beware. It remains that most employers and interviewers, whatever they might say about welcoming fresh blood and challenging new ideas, will always tend to err on the side of caution. Interviewers generally don't knowingly take risks - they prefer safe options - safe non-threatening people, who appear and dress in a safe and non-threatening way.

I'm not saying you've got to become a de-humanised clone for the interview, or that there's no place for individuality, on the contrary actually - you've got to look good (and extremely smart too if it's called for) - and aside from this there certainly is a huge need for individual thought and behaviour and innovation in all organisations - but that's after you've got the job and settled in. You've got to get the job first, and you'll do that most easily by appearing immediately like someone who'll fit in rather well, not by looking like someone who marches to a different tune or has no idea how to adapt to their environment.

Clothes, style, colours, jewellery, hair, like anything else that represents you as the applicant (just as the quality and presentation of your CV for example), should project the 'fit' and congruence between yourself and the employer and the interviewer's requirements for the job, and also show that you can understand different situations and behave accordingly. Individuality is great, but the job interview is not really the best place to start displaying a highly individual dress style, unless the role specifically calls for it, which in truth is very rarely indeed.

Look good, but under-stated. Project yourself and your personality in what you wear, but above all show that you are aware of what's going on around you, and that you can adapt to the situation and present yourself appropriately.

References and checking references

• As an interviewee it's good to prepare your references in advance, and give the interviewer a list of your referees with names, positions, employers details, and all possible contact details. Try to identify (and agree cooperation in advance from) referees who will be happy to give you a positive reference, and in so doing, who will support your personality, skills, performance and job history claims. Provide as many referees as you need to cover the important aspects of your performance and employment history, plus any specific critical requirements of the new job (accreditation, record, training, vetting, etc). A healthy list of referees would normally be between three and five people. It seems a lot, but it's more impressive than just a couple; it shows you've thought about it beforehand, and it builds in a bit of leeway for when people cannot be contacted or fail to respond quickly for any reason.
  
  Generally the more senior and credible your referees the better. It's perfectly acceptable to list one or two referees from your private life rather than work, especially if they have a job or status that carries important responsibility (councillors, police, etc)
  
  If you know that a particularly significant and favourable referee might be difficult to contact, ask them to provide you with a 'to whom it may concern' open reference letter as to your character and history, signed by them, on letterhead - and preferably use and keep hold of the original copy - ask the interviewer to take a photocopy and give you back the original.
  
  As an employer - employers should always follow up and check successful job interview candidates' references. Not to do so is irresponsible, especially if recruiting for jobs which carry serious responsibilities, such as working with children, disabled people, sensitive data, money, valuables, etc.

Job promotion interviews tips

For interviewers and interviewees, much of the information above in the main job interviews article is relevant to job promotion interviews.

These tips chiefly focus on interviews rather than group selections. Attending group selections for job promotion is a different matter, which I'll comment on briefly now:

Group selection enables the employer's selection panel to observe behaviour and interaction in a group situation. Job promotion candidates in these situations should therefore behave in a way that will impress the selection panel, in areas which the employer logically expects the group selection process or exercise to highlight. Here are the sorts of behaviours that impress when demonstrated by group selection candidates: responsibility, integrity, leadership, maturity, enthusiasm, organisation, planning, creativity, noticing and involving quiet members of the group, calmness under pressure, and particularly discovering and using other people's abilities in order for the team to achieve given tasks.

The remainder of this item concerns job promotion interview situations.

For interviewees, the same principles apply as in new employer job interviews. Interviewers commonly assess interviewees according to their own personal style and approach - people like people like them. For example: friendly people like friendly people; results-driven people like results-driven people; dependable reliable passive people like dependable reliable passive people; and detailed correct people like detailed correct people.

Attracting and recruiting high quality staff

Here are some brief but significant points about attracting and recruiting high quality staff.

And while the methodology is especially important for recruiting rare individuals, it actually applies to the successful attraction and recruitment of all staff.

The methodology for attracting and recruiting good quality employees follows basic marketing principles.

This might seem obvious to marketing and advertising folk, and even to some sales-people, but commonly recruitment in organizations is a function of HR (Human Resources) department, or in smaller companies the task is perhaps handled by an office manager. Not all HR people and office managers think like marketeers, and the world is a better place because of this, nevetheless:

If you want to recruit the best possible staff, you must approach the activity as if you were marketing a product or service.

First, it might help if you consider the elements of the recruitment process in terms of marketing language:

Your organization is effectively a supplier.
Employees are customers.
The two simple statements above represent a vital point. Ignore it or reverse it at your peril. (There are unfortunately very many arrogant employers who believe they are doing their employeees a huge favour by employing them. The employer - typically the directors and the culture which emanates from them - regards itself as the customer, and the employees as the suppliers. This is a formula for the recruitment and retention of the disinterested and demotivated. Try to see things the other way around: organization = supplier; employees = customers.)

Sample follow-up letter from interviewee after interview

Use and adapt this template example to create your own interview follow-up letter or email.

Dear ........

You interviewed me on (date) for the (role) position.

I really want this job, so I'm taking the liberty of re-stating why I think you should choose me:

(then list 3-5 short points which relate your skills, knowledge, experience, achievements, character, attitude, to the results and effects they'll be seeking from the person appointed. It is very important that these points demonstrate that you have clearly understood and can deliver - specific measurable things if possible - what they need for the role, for example:)
 

• You need someone who can produce new profitable business - a minimum (stated target level) a year. My track record proves I can do this. I know already how I will do this for you. Moreover I'll help others around me to do it too.
   

• You need someone who is very adaptable. Again my recent career history shows how I'm able to adapt to fast-changing situations - to identify and achieve new aims quickly. Put me anywhere - I'll adapt and create a new plan, and achieve it.
   
• You need someone who can hit the ground running - I can do this - I have commitments from personal customers who have promised me business equating to (amount) by (when) should I take on this new role.
  
  You might have seen better qualified applicants, or people with more relevant experience, but when it comes down to it, it's the person with the most passion and determination who is able to make a real difference. I'd urge you to give me the chance to prove I am that person.
  
  Yours etc.
  
  
  
  You could also follow up the letter/email with a phone call to ask what the interviewer thinks, and if there's anything else that you can do or provide to help the interviewer decide.
  
  Persistence often pays off, especially in roles which require someone who can get results by making things happen, which applies to most roles in business and organisations these days, and certainly all management roles.
  
  When you follow-up your own job interview with passion, determination and expertise, the interviewer sees real evidence of how you can perform in the job itself.
  
  The interview follow-up letter, email and phone call is therefore a great opportunity for you to demonstrate many of your attributes for real, in a way that will raise your profile, re-state your credentials and understanding of the role's requirements, and thereby create a clear separation between you and the other job candidates.
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Interview follow-up letter or email by interviewee

If you are particularly keen to be offered a job and wish to increase your profile and chances of receiving a job offer after attending interview, you can follow up an interview with a letter or email (and then a phone call) to reinforce your commitment and qualities for the job. The sooner the better.

Often jobs are offered to the most passionate and determined applicants, so this should be the feeling that your follow-up should try to convey, without giving the impression of desperation or crawling.

You should seek to focus your follow-up letter or email on the key performance aspects in the role that the interviewer believes are required for the successful applicant.

This type of follow-up enables you to show that you have considered and developed your thinking after the interview (a desirable attribute), and also enables you to re-emphasise your claim to the opportunity, bringing your name to the front of the interviewer's mind again. A good follow-up letter or email also enables you to demonstrate that you are persistent, professional, interested, possess relevant capabilities, recognise what the requirements and priorities are, are keen, and can sell yourself in a determined manner, that probably the other applicants will not do.

Interviewers also respond well to applicants who really like the company, especially if your reasons coincide with the reasons that the interviewer likes the company too, so it can help if your follow-up 'resonates' with the feelings of the interviewer about what is required for the role.

From the interviewer's perspective - if you are an interviewer or decision-maker who receives a good follow-up letter from an enthusiastic interviewee - I recommend you give the applicant extra credit and consideration. They are demonstrating many of the most relevant qualities that you are seeking.

Second interviews guidelines

At second interviews, unsuitable applicants should have been screened out by this stage. For certain jobs a decision will be made to offer the job after the second interviews; recruitments for senior positions may proceed to third interviews.

Second interview questions should be deep and probing about the candidate and the candidate's approach to work. The questions should concern detailed and testing examples and scenarios specific to the particular job, asking how the candidate would deal with them. This is to discover as reliably as possible how the candidate would approach the job, and what type of person they are - the interviewer needs to be sure they will get on with the candidate you and that they will fit in well.

The interviewer should also probe the type of management that the candidate responds to and doesn't, and how the candidate would work with other people and departments, giving specific examples and scenarios.

Tests and practical exercises using actual work material or examples can be used, which enable a practical assessment of the candidate's real style, ability, knowledge and experience.

The candidate can be asked to prepare and give a short presentation about themselves, or how they would approach the job or a particular challenge. This could involve the use of certain equipment and materials, particularly if such ability is to be required in the job.

The interviewer should also try to get to know more about the candidate as a person - to be as sure as possible that this is the right person for the situation; the interview approach should be probing and gaining practical evidence, proof, of suitability.

Salary negotiation tips for job interviews

The best time to negotiate salary is after receiving a job offer, and importantly before you accept a job offer - at the point when the employer clearly wants you for the job, and is keen to have your acceptance of the job offer. Your bargaining power in real terms, and psychologically, is far stronger if you have (or can say that you have) at least one other job offer or option (see the tips on negotiation). A strong stance at this stage is your best chance to provide the recruiting manager the justification to pay you something outside the employer's normal scale.

If there's a very big difference between what is being offered and what you want, say more than 20%, you should raise it as an issue during the interview for discussion later (rather than drop it as a bombshell suddenly when the job offer is made). Do not attempt to resolve a salary issue before receiving a job offer - there's no point. Defer the matter - say you'll need to discuss salary in due course, but that there's obviously no need to do so until and unless the company believes you are the right person for the job. "Let's cross that bridge when we come to it," should be the approach.

A job and package comprise of many different things - unless the difference between what's offered and needed is enormous (in which case the role is simply not appropriate) both sides should look at all of the elements before deciding whether salary is actually an issue or not.

The chances of renegotiating salary after accepting a new job, and certainly after starting a new job, are remote - once you accept the offer you've effectively made the contract, including salary, and thereafter you are subject to the organization's policies, process and natural inertia.

A compromise agreement on salary, in the event that the employer cannot initially employ you at the rate you need, is to agree (in writing) a guaranteed raise, subject to completing a given period of service, say 3 or 6 months. In which case avoid the insertion of 'satisfactory' (describing the period of service) as this can never actually be measured and therefore fails to provide certainty that the raise will be given.

If you are recruiting a person who needs or demands more money or better terms than you can offer, then deal with the matter properly before the candidate accepts the job - changing pay or terms after this is very much more difficult. If you encourage a person to accept pay and terms that are genuinely lower than they deserve or need, by giving a vague assurance of a review sometime in the future, you will raise expectations for something that will be very difficult to deliver, and therefore storing up a big problem for the future.
 

Asking for the job

In certain circumstances, especially for sales and commercial roles, there might be an expectation or opportunity for you to 'close' or ask for the job, which is potentially the most powerful question of all to ask.

If you really want the job and can accept an offer there and then, there is often a lot to be gained, and very little to be lost, by asking for the job at the end of the interview, although bear in mind the effect that this tactic has on salary negotiation.

Obviously it's only appropriate in certain situations; notably towards the end of the recruiting process when the interviewers have seen all the candidates, or if the employer has more vacancies than they can easily fill.

Similarly, it's reasonable to ask for a second interview, or to be shortlisted, if that's the next stage in the process.

Persistence and determination are highly valued attributes, logically in sales and selling organisations, but also beyond the sales functions. In fact some job candidates successfully take the method to extremes and simply do not take no for an answer, virtually camping out on the employer's doorstep until they are eventually brought in from the cold and offered the job. The decision-maker, typically an owner-manager or CEO in such situations, is finally forced to concede that if the person wants the job that badly then perhaps they'll be rather a good bet after all. This sort of determination is often associated with loyalty and commitment - and uniqueness - which can all create a compelling case for decision-makers who are attuned to this sort of style, particularly if other candidates are thin on the ground.

Questions to ask at interview - for interviewees

While this section essentially gives guidance and tips to interviewees these ideas and principles will also help interviewers.

At job interviews it's as important for you the interviewee to prepare questions to ask the interviewer as it is to prepare answers and readiness for the questions that the interviewer will ask you.

If you are the interviewer, ensure you offer the interviewee the opportunity to ask questions about the job, the management, the organisation and the market within which it operates. The questions that job candidates ask at interview provide valuable insights as to their attitude, maturity, capability and strategic understanding of the role and the organisation, so for interviewers, questions asked by interviewees form a significant and illuminating part of the interview process. Listen to and learn from what interviewees ask you - often the questions that interviewees ask will provide more information to the interviewer than anything you ask them.

As the interviewee, take full advantage of opportunities to ask questions. Asking good well-prepared and researched questions is your chance to demonstrate that you are better than the other candidates, and to show that you have a tremendous capability and understanding and potential, irrespective of what the interviewer asks you.

Preparing and asking great questions at your own job interview dramatically reduces any dependance that you might otherwise have for the interviewer to ask you 'the right questions'. It won't matter if the interviewer doesn't ask good helpful questions, or fails to prompt the sort of discussion that allows you to show how brilliant you are - instead, you can control this area of discussion yourself by asking the interviewer great questions that will make them sit up and realise what an excellent candidate you are.

An helpful although not absolutely essential aspect towards asking the interviewer good questions is good research (which follows later on this page).

A key to asking great questions at your interview is to ask questions that impress the interviewer. Most candidates just ask about routine details that they think they ought to know, or which they think of on the spur of the moment, but which will probably be provided in due course anyway in documentation about terms and conditions. This is meaningless twaddle and to be avoided.

Instead focus on the job priorities and scope, on the organisation and ways to make a difference or an improvement. Try to think strategically like a manager, and for very senior positions, like the CEO. Try to adopt the mind-set of a helpful advisor who needs to ask helpful facilitative questions. Focus on the organisation not on your own needs.

Try to prepare and ask questions that make the interviewer think to themselves, "Wow, that's a good question - this candidate has really thought about the role, and understands the sort of issues we need them to handle/the sort of responsibilities/initiatives we want them to take.."

Aim to ask questions that make the interviewer think, (depending on what the organisation and role requires), "Wow, that's an unusual question - this candidate is special - they are demonstrating to me that they understand people/understand about communications/have great integrity/a strong value system/great humanity/maturity/a good strategic mind/etc, etc."

Think before the interview about what the successful candidate will be like - ask yourself beforehand, what great questions would the successful candidate ask? And then be that person.

When you research the job look into the sort of challenges the organisation is facing, and think how this affects the vacant role. What does the employer need from the successful applicant? How might the role be extended to contribute more to the organisation if the job were performed by a suitably positive and capable person ? (That's you incidentally.) The job advert or job specification might give you some clues. Do your research so that you understand as much as possible about the priorities of the job position, and the organisation and its situation, and then think about the ways that the role could be extended to provide greater support towards achieving organisational challenges.

This sort of background thinking will help you to prepare questions that will seriously impress any interviewer, whatever the role. It is possible also to think of good positive impressive questions just by using what you know of the role and the sort of issues that face modern employers. The point is, you need to think about it and prepare beforehand.

For example:
examples of good questions to ask interviewers

These types of questions are certainly appropriate for interviewees to ask an interviewer at an interview for a junior-to-middle ranking role. For more strategic roles and executive responsibilities you'll need to raise the strategic perspective of some of these questions - use your judgement. Remember, the aim is to make the interviewer think (always relative to the role), "Wow, that's a good question.."

In any event adapt the wording and develop alternative questions to suit your own style and the situations concerned.

"Of the main priorities and expectations attached to this role, which ones are well understood and measurable, and which are not?"

"If the CEO/MD/Departmental Manager/you were to name the three most important priorities for this role/the successful candidate to achieve in the first six months, what would they be, and how would they be measured?"

"I'm aware that this market is fast moving/competitive/mature/local/regional/national/international (whatever your research indicates); how is this affecting the strategic priorities and the demands on the role/vacant position?"

"Communications, internal and external, are clearly extremely important in this organisation; what are the related priorities for this role?"

"I've read that you (the employer organisation) face a lot of competition from XYZ (sector, company, whatever); what do you think are the main ways that the successful candidate can help the organisation deal with this threat?"

"Where are the priorities/What are the issues for this role/the successful candidate in terms of maintaining/developing/improving effective inter-departmental relations?"

"What are the priorities and challenges as regards areas for change and improvement facing the department/organisation/team within/connecting/relating to the role?"

"What is the balance of priorities for this role - short-term efficiencies and performance, or longer-term planning and organising?"

"If someone were to come into this role and begin to make a significant impact on culture and morale, what sort of changes would people/you/the management/the board/the CEO want to see most, and how would this be measured?"

"It's normal that most roles are operating considerably below their potential to contribute to strategic change/organisational performance and improvement; what are the expectations in terms of broadening the scope of this role"?

"How might this role positively impact on/contribute to customer relations/organisational development/culture/staff morale/training and development/legislative anticipation/market development/sales development/business retention in ways that it's not done so far?"

"Where do think there might be opportunities for this role to connect with/cooperate with other functions, and what's stopped that happening in the past?"

"What are the vulnerabilities in processes/people/business retention/grow/ technology, ITC systems within the organisation/department that need to be attended to?"

And so on.. You get the idea?

Serious, strategic, thoughtful, facilitative questions. Questions that amaze the interviewer - about things they might not have even considered. In fact the best questions should make the interviewer think, "My God, if this person can have this level of insight, and such a positive enlightened approach at the interview, just imagine what they'll be able to do when they get their feet under the table..."

This sort of positive expansive questioning is not limited to strategic management positions - every job role is potentially strategic - what makes the role strategic is the person doing it, not the job title or status.

And the role can be in any function, any industry, any type of organisation - doesn't matter - every role interfaces in some way or another with people, processes, other departments, customers and suppliers (internal or external), and so has a strategic dimension. recognise the strategic dimension; influence it positively, and you get asked to do it on a wider scale. Asking good questions at a job interview helps the job candidate to demonstrate that they have this potential.

Organisations, and therefore interviewers want to recruit people into all roles who can come in and make a positive difference. By asking well-prepared and thoughtful questions, you can demonstrate that you are one of these people.



Being an advocate of the maxim 'accentuate the positive' I am usually loath to dwell on negative examples, however in this case I make an exception because this is an important no-go area.

Just as it's helpful for interviewees to prepare and ask good questions, so it's helpful also to avoid asking routine questions that waste time and can often be covered more efficiently in some other way (by reading a document for example.)
questions to avoid asking

Contrast the expansive, positive strategic questions above, about job scope and contribution to organisational effectiveness, with this stuff below. Interviewers will generally react negatively (secretly usually) to questions such as the following examples, so unless you are a very junior person going for a very junior role with an employer who has not prepared in advance this type of routine information, avoid asking questions like these at your interview.

Do not ask these questions 
"How many weeks holiday do I get?.."
"When would I get a pay-rise?.."
"What are the lunch times?.."
"What sort of car do I get?.."
"What other perks are there?.."
"What are the pension arrangements?.."
"Do you have a grievance procedure?.."
"What expenses can I claim for?.."
"How soon before I could get promoted?.."
"When is going-home time?.."
and others like these

Generally speaking these questions suggest to the interviewer that the candidate is mostly interested in what the organisation can give the employee, rather than the other way around. Interviewers want to meet and recruit interviewees who see things in terms of what the employee can do for the organisation.

Find another way to get this sort of information if you really need to know it at the face-to-face interview. Good employers will explain all this to interviewees during the interview or in written terms and conditions, which many employers will send out prior to the interview. As suggested in the tips at the start of this page ask prior to the interview for a copy of the employment terms and conditions or an employee handbook. If they don't have this or can't send it, and you have a burning question about these sort of 'hygiene factors', the best way to approach it is to ask something like:

"What's the best way for me to see the routine details about the employment terms and conditions relating to this role? Do you have a handbook or sample contract for example? I don't want to waste time here going through incidentals..."

By doing this you demonstrate several important things, that:
you regard these things as secondary - implication being that you regard doing the job as the priority
you respect the value of time, since you appreciate there are better things to concentrate on during an interview
you understand the principle of efficient information management and communication, on the basis that all this detail will be available somewhere to read rather than have to waste effort asking individual questions
you are professional - because providing information like this in the way you suggest is the most professional way to do it.

Of course the job-grade and seniority of the vacancy and the size of the employer organisation will affect the significance and transfer of this sort of information. In an interview with a tiny little company for a junior clerk's position the interviewee can be forgiven for asking these sorts of questions relating to terms and conditions, not least because the company might not be professional or organised enough to have produced a proper handbook or contract, nevertheless, whatever the role and size of employer, the less time spent asking about all this sort of information the better. And certainly avoid the entire area in interviews for professional positions with professional employers, especially in commercially competitive functions and industry sectors.

Giving presentations at job interviews

Being asked to give a presentation at your interview is a great opportunity for you to shine and stand out from the crowd.

While giving interview presentations can understandably be daunting, a little preparation and thought will enable you to use the situation to great advantage. This is chiefly because giving a presentation offers you a much better platform than is normally available when simply answering an interviewer's questions.

A presentation enables you to showcase your attributes and qualities - and often to research and prepare - way beyond the constraints normally encountered in reacting to conventional interview questions.

So if you are asked to give a presentation - regardless of the time available for preparation - welcome the challenge - be prepared, and make the most of the your chance to show what you can do.

Demonstrating an organizational or strategic interpretation and enthusiasm for the role - showing that you can add value beyond what the employer hopes for - is the key to standing out as a star candidate.

Research, preparation, and freedom to create and deliver a great presentation are the main the ingredients for anyone seeking to make an impact in any situation - and all of these are enabled when you are invited to give an interview presentation.