Interview Tips to Help you Secure your Next Role by Elle Birrell King

Elle is a Digital Marketing Alumna at Tortoise Media writing for the Community Blogging Team.

Love them or hate them, you have to do interviews in order to get a job. I’ve had a fair few interviews already in my short career (can I call it that yet?!); ones which went perfectly and ones which were a bit of a disaster. 

Although the disasters may feel like the end of the world in the short term, in the long term, they are the ones where you learn the most; trust me! I have put together a list of my top tips to help you secure your next role. 

Prepare, prepare, prepare!
Like everything in life, preparation is key; you simply can’t wing it with an interview. I’ve learnt lots from my Dad about this: it seems his interview technique was to just turn up and think what he calls his “natural charisma” (yes, really) would somehow be enough. It took him several attempts till he realised that this technique wasn’t working….

One of the best ways to prepare for an interview is to start with the person's spec and job description. 

Pick out all the skills needed for the role, put them in a document, and start finding evidence of where you have demonstrated this skill. No need to worry if you don’t have direct experience with the job description; think of examples of where you have transferable skills. For example, if the job description states ‘in this role you will be regularly interacting with clients’ and you have no direct experience interacting with clients you may have other transferable communication experience in hospitality.

Another helpful way to prepare is to research different types of potential interview questions; there are millions of useful websites - sometimes the challenge is to know which are the good sites but don’t worry I have listed some below, so you have no excuse not to prepare!

Practise makes perfect
Practise makes perfect - trust me! Take every possible opportunity to rehearse your interview with a parent, friend, partner or mentor; anyone will do. You could even reach out to someone on LinkedIn with a similar role to the one you are applying for and ask for advice or mentorship - don’t ask, don’t get! 

The more interviews you have, the stronger your interview technique will be. When I think back to my first proper interview to my most recent interview, I have grown in confidence so much. In almost every interview, you are always going to get a question that may throw you off, but there are plenty of ways to deal with this:

1. Ask for the question to be repeated: if you don’t understand the question or need just a bit more thinking time just ask for the question to be repeated. If you still don't understand what your interviewer is asking, why not ask for more clarification or even ask if they can tell you a bit more about the subject. 
2. Use filler phrases: now, in no way am I telling you to admire the politician style diversion tactics of certain politcians , but, there are some lessons to be learnt. Phrases such as ‘I can’t give you a direct example of this, but what I can tell you is this’ are always a good way to deal with any surprise questions. 
3. Refer to your notes: If you have prepared properly for the interview you should have plenty of ready made examples and evidence of when you have demonstrated a particular skill for your potential job -  I told you preparation is key! Nowadays, most interviews are held virtually which means that you could stick post-it notes on your laptop as prompts for the interview. 

Give a good impression 
For any interview you want to present the very best version of yourself - so, the little things matter.  Boring and probably a bit obvious but I’ll say them anyway, having a good night's sleep, eating well and rehearsing the interview are all vital. 

In the pre-pandemic world you would have most likely had an in-person interview however, times have changed and initial interviews tend to be held virtually. Interviewing from home isn't an excuse to interview in your pyjamas… Treat it as an in-person interview - wear what you would wear to an in-person interview, this will help you get in the right frame of mind for the interview. 

Always remember to make sure your room is free from distractions, sound, camera and technology are all working. It is also worth remembering that your interviewer will not just see you, they will also see your background - so make sure to tidy the room or blur your background. In addition, you also want to make sure that your interviewer can see you clearly, so avoid areas with too much light. 

There will always be technical difficulties; so, trialling the interview on whatever software you will use is a great way to avoid any potential problems on interview day.  The last thing you want is to be late to the interview because of technical difficulties. But do remember, if you are encountering any technical issues - and these things happen - don’t panic! The key thing to remember is to contact your interviewer immediately. 

Don’t take it personally 
Listen, this one is easier said than done… When you give your all in the interview and you don’t get the job it can be difficult to not take things personally. However, there is no need - sometimes things just don’t work out. It is important to remind yourself that to even be selected for an interview is an achievement. 

If you want to find out why you didn’t get the role, you can even ask for feedback, this is a fantastic way to find out what went well and what you can improve for next time. 

I would also highly recommend keeping in contact with the interviewer, if you don't secure this role, they might consider you for another and you will be at the top of their mind. Networking is crucial, so the more connections you make the better; make sure to add the interviewer on LinkedIn and register your interest in any future opportunities. For my first proper interview, sadly I didn’t get the job, however, a month later an additional role was added to the company and I received a job offer without having to re-interview. 

Whilst interviews can feel overwhelming, I have grown to … perhaps ‘enjoy’ is a bit too strong, but certainly, really appreciate them. They are an excellent way to reflect on your previous job, what went well, what you enjoyed, challenges you faced and how you overcame them. 

It is also vital that you remember that an interview isn’t completely a one way street. The interviewer should also be trying to sell their company to you, we are in an ‘employee market’ after all. So, make sure you come up with some questions to ask them; maybe, ‘what do you enjoy about working for the company?’ or ‘what are the company growth plans?’. 

It is inevitable that at some point you will have a tough interview and things may not go to plan, but, it is true, these are the ones where you learn the most. 

Useful resources:

• https://www.morganstanley.com/people-opportunities/students-graduates/resources/interview-preparation
• https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/job-interview-tips-how-to-make-a-great-impression
• https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/careers-advice/interview-advice
• https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/interview-tips
• https://www.morganstanley.com/articles/common-interview-questions-how-to-answer 

As ever, don’t hesitate to drop me a message on LinkedIn or the Community Hub if you have questions, I am always open for any follow up discussions. 

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