Personal Marketing

There is no doubt that first impressions count in an interview situation. Apparently, it only takes three seconds for a prospective employer to make assumptions on your personality, suitability for the role and how you will fit in with the rest of the team based on your appearance.  So, it’s important that you make that first impression a good one.

Remember these top tips:

A suit is always a safe bet, regardless of the type of job you are going for. Make sure that the suit fits and is clean! Make sure the jacket and trousers/skirt match.

For men:

• Wear a long sleeved shirt and not one made of nylon. Nylon can look cheap and shiny and also make you sweat a lot in the interview.
• If it is a new shirt then make sure you iron it and it doesn’t have creases from where it has just been removed from the packaging!
• Wear a tie, but do not wear an outrageous one to show how “zany” you are. The interviewer will assume you are a complete clown.
• Don’t wear white socks with a business suit. Or brown shoes with black trousers! It may be fashionably acceptable now to combine brown and black, but some interviewers are “old school”.
• Make sure you are clean shaven, or if you have a beard, that it is neatly trimmed.

Women:

• No short skirts or low cut tops and unless your job interview is within an industry that encourages it, don’t dress like a fashion victim.
• No midriff on show and make sure your shirt/blouse is not straining across your chest!
• Keep accessories and make up to a minimum. You want your personality and experience to shine, not interrupted by the clatter of bangles and jewellery.
• Avoid red shoes! I used to have a boss who would instantly dismiss female candidates in red shoes, “Red shoes and no knickers”, she would say and cross them off her list. I am sure that is not the case, but I made a mental note never to wear red shoes in case that is a common expression!

Both:

• A lot can be assumed from a person from looking at their shoes and their fingernails as to how much attention they pay to detail.  It’s always the first thing I look at and I know many other interviewers check these out too. So, make sure that your shoes aren’t scuffed, no matter how sharp your suit, and that your nails are clean and trimmed.  Chipped nail polish also looks slack too.
• Don’t marinate in perfume/after shave before your interview. If you wear a certain scent for a long time you may need to apply more before you can smell it as you become so accustomed to it.  However, that quantity to everyone else can be choking and VERY off putting.
• Tattooes and body piercings will always stereotype you, no matter how individual they make you feel. Make sure you remove these/cover them up to project a more professional image.
• Make sure you have had a shower and have freshly washed hair. It may seem like common sense but I’ve seen some absolute specimens roll in for an interview!

Here are some top confidence tips to not let nerves get the better of you in the interview:

• Firm handshake.  You have probably heard this a million times and may need to practice beforehand. Do not crush the interviewer’s hand but also do not offer them a wet lettuce of  a handshake. (Make sure you wipe any clamminess off on the way in!)

• Make a mental note to yourself of the interviewer’s eye colour. Not by staring in a weird psycho way, but ensure you make eye contact with him/her.

• If you are offered a drink just ask for water.  If there are two interviewers you may find yourself making awkward conversation while one of them is off boiling the kettle which may unsettle your nerves. Plus, spilling water down yourself is better than getting coffee all down your front!

• Interviews general compromise three elements:

Ability – this is the preparation prior to the interview (see Part One blog note). You know your abilities and have examples of experience.
Personality – make sure that you smile (but not like a Cheshire Cat), ask lots of questions and don’t butt in when the interviewer is talking.
Enthusiasm - avoid being negative about previous employers or moaning about anything! They want to see that you like the sound of the job, like the company and want to hear what YOU can offer them.

• Watch the pace and tone of your voice. Don’t talk too fast or you will find you have reached the end of one sentence before you know what to say in the next. Then you end up talking rubbish. Make sure you don’t sound montonous or waffly.

• You may get asked “What are your strengths?” – an easy question to answer if you have prepared well, but many people fall down and splutter when asked “What are your weaknesses?”. Obviously you don’t want to reel off a load of things you are not very good at but choose a couple from your preparation list and ALSO tell them what it is you are either doing at the moment to overcome this weakness (which is why I prefer to call them “areas of development”!) or what support you would need to improve in this area. It shows that you are aware of where you need to improve. Nobody is perfect.

• Make sure you say “I” instead of “we” when talking about your past experience and abilities. “I did this…I did that…” rather then “We….”. You need to show that YOU were the one that did these things and not dilute it by suggesting that you were just a passenger.

• Ask some “killer questions” at the end of the interview. Don’t rush straight in talking about salary but ask questions about the company’s future plans, career progression, market trends. Anything that will make you sound engaging and interested in what they do.

• Finally, thank the interviewer/s for their time and shake their hand/s again.

Coming soon: Part Three…AFTER the interview

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Robbie Williams hums the Rocky theme tune to psych himself up – but in the real work it takes a little more than that!

What can you do to ensure that you don’t become a bundle of nerves and instead exude an air of calm, clear headed confidence in the interview room?

Preparation is  key!

• Look the company up on the internet. Understand what they do/make,  who their market and competitors are. It will impress your interviewers that you have shown an interest as they will probably open the  conversation with “OK, so what do you know about us?”. Nothing is worse than an interviewee saying “Ummm…nuffin”. It means they haven’t bothered.

• Obtain a copy of the job description, read through it and note examples of tasks/achievements in previous roles where you have demonstrated the skill required. If you have facts and figures then even better!

• Write a list of your strengths and weaknesses. You will feel boosted by reading your list of strengths. With your list of weaknesses write down what it is you need to overcome that weakness. Is it training maybe, or practice?

• Many interviews  tend to be based on a “behavioural interview” type.  This is to assess how a person copes with situations and means that the interviewee has to give specific examples. To prepare for this, get a piece of paper and write examples under the following headings:

Influencing – can you think of a time where you have persuaded someone round to your way of thinking? Where you have convinced others of a good idea?

Communication – practice your answers without waffling or talking too fast and think of examples of written communications you have used. How effective were they?

Change management – demonstrate that you can cope with change. Many companies  are undergoing major restructuring and so require the work force to be flexible and not negative about progress.

Teamwork – where you have worked well in a team? What was your role in that team? With many workplaces being open plan, employers often look for people that will “fit in” and work easily with others.

Planning and organising – how do you prioritise? Most jobs you will have to do numerous tasks at once – can you demonstrate how you have handled this in the past? You may be required to drop everything and refocus your attentions on another task – do you have any examples of this?

Problem solving – think of  an example where you solved a problem effectively. Did you save a sale/customer/a life/the company money?

Working under pressure – as resources get tighter pressure on workers is higher than ever before. How do you cope with stress? Can you think of an example that shows that you are cool under pressure?

• If you don’t have much work experience then think of examples from other areas of your life.
• Think of some good questions to ask at the end of the interview.  Intelligent questions such as, “Where does the company see its services/products developing over the next two years?” rather than “How long will I get for lunch???”

So now you are prepared. You know what your strengths are and you have identified your weaknesses (or “areas of development” as I like to call them.  I’ll come to why this is important in Part Two – DURING the interview).

One more top tip:

Think of a time that you felt on top of the world! A time when you achieved something that made you feel so proud and happy that you couldn’t stop beaming from ear to ear. Think about how you felt and, at the same time, squeeze your earlobe and hold for a few seconds. Do this every day in the days running up to the interview. Then, as you are sitting waiting for your name to be called and the butterflies start setting in, gently squeeze your earlobe. All those feelings of confidence and achievement that you have “locked in” will come flooding back and you will sit upright and feel calm and positive. Try it!

Coming soon….Be Confident! Part Two – DURING the interview!
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