While your ultimate aim is to convince the employer that you’re the best fit for the role, a job interview is your opportunity to learn about the role, the organisation and its culture. 

In short, you want to leave with the knowledge of whether this role is right for you. So, do your research. Read up on the person you’re meeting with, check out the organisation’s website, their mission statement and know the name of its CEO. 

Check out the organisation’s clients, competitors, or the people they service. This will help you to build a picture and provide some context for this role.

Spend some time re-reading through the job description and familiarise yourself with the scope of responsibilities, reporting lines and how the role contributes to the organisation. 

Also spend time writing out answers to the selection criteria so you feel comfortable repeating these during the interview.

On the day of your interview, do another quick check of the company on the day of your interview, you don’t want to be the last to know if they are suddenly part of the daily news.

These days job interviews can vary in format from a casual chat, highly formal to even a video meeting. 

In a post COVID world, employers are embracing the video interview, which has its benefits, you can check your notes more easily. 

Though, there are of course drawbacks  – making sure your Wi Fi is set up, you have access to the right platform and there’s nothing off-putting in the background.

With that in mind, there are common questions almost universally asked during job interviews.  

Do these sound familiar?

Tell me about yourself? Why are you the right fit? What are your strengths, questions specific to the skills and responsibilities of the role? 

In terms of trickier questions, the most common are – What’s your biggest weakness? Where do you see yourself in five years?

Another to add to the mix is explaining a career break.

Focusing on a few examples from your own working life. Times you’ve solved a problem, accomplished something are a great start when tackling these questions.

Conversely, there are certain questions that employers are legally not allowed to ask.

The Australian Human Rights Commission explains that employers are not supposed to ask questions that are unnecessary, or invite potentially discriminatory information.

For example, it can be unlawful to ask questions about your physical health, or your mental health conditions, or how much sick leave you’ve taken in your previous job, or whether or not you’ve ever made a work health and safety claim. 

This is why it’s important to know your rights.

Some job seekers have experience with job interviews but haven’t done one in a while. This can play on your mind, causing your confidence to waver.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with struggling with inner confidence. It will just take time to find.

With this in mind, when you do go for your interview avoid trying to be liked and avoid centring the conversation about your accomplishment on teamwork. 

Don’t talk about how you worked with someone who was cleverer than you. Own your own achievements. This is the time for you to speak proudly about you.

Before your interview, take the time to practice what you’re planning to say out loud.

This might sound silly, but it will help you sound authentic and will also build your confidence.

Studies have shown that talking to yourself promotes better learning, and it helps you deliver your material with greater confidence. If you feel uncomfortable talking to yourself, call on a loved one or trusted friend.

Research shows people do make snap judgments about others. It can take just seconds for a judgment to form.

They make judgments about our trustworthiness, our likability, our confidence and our earning potential. In a digital world, a simple glance at someone’s social media affect a good professional impression.

It’s common practice for interviewers and organisations to do a bit of Google search to see what your online presence is like.

So, before you go into that interview room, check your LinkedIn is up to date and make sure your social media presence is either not accessible to everyone or curate it.

Keep it simple. Don’t overthink your outfit, make it almost a non-issue. 

If you are in creative areas and colour and creativity comes naturally to you then wear whatever you want, but most importantly, wear what makes you feel comfortable.

Being nervous before your interview is completely normal. 

One way to help settle your nerves and cool those sweaty palms is a pep talk.

A pep talk is designed to help you harness your nerves on the day. It is also a way to help you focus on your whole swag of skills that you have learned a lot over your career. 

If you don’t have time for a pep talk, take a few deep, slow breaths.

Finally, remember to make sure you’re polite and friendly to whoever you meet once you walk through the organisation’s door. 

It’s quite common for an interview team to go to the receptionist and get their thoughts on how you presented yourself. 

The way you treat everyone often says a lot about who you are and what sort of team member you will be.