So you’ve got to the interview stage with a client, things are starting to progress and you could be getting very close to landing an exciting role… so how do you ensure you do your best?
One of the key things that’s important to remember with interviews is to keep your wits about you, no matter how casual the interview might seem, you need to be careful. We’ve had a few serious lapses of common sense happen in our interviews (candidates being too tired to answer questions as 4pm, and talking about taking ‘sickies’ when hungover…). Fortunately, this isn’t too common, and most people know what not to say in an interview, but they aren’t quite sure how best to prepare. Here are a few tips which could help you:
1. Learn about the company
Take a look at what you find online about the company you’re meeting with, if there website doesn’t tell you too much then use other tools to find out more (Google, media news websites like Mumbrella or AdNews, and of course LinkedIn).
2. Know who you’re meeting
I always advise candidates to check their interviewer’s LinkedIn profile, it’s good to understand someone’s background and can even help you with the types of questions to expect… if they have a particular technical or analytical background you know they might throw a numbers question at you.
3. Know the role you’re going for
Sometimes clients don’t have job descriptions for the roles they are recruiting for, or the job description is very generic, however, it’s always worth taking a look at the documents you have, and making sure you know what they expect. If you are a junior candidate looking for a role, it’s important you understand the role requirements, if there’s a technology or an abbreviation you don’t understand in the job description try and find out what it means before the meeting.
4. Dress smartly
If you are interviewing with a media or digital agency, chances are they are going to be dressed quite casually, however, it’s always a good idea to dress as if you are going to client meeting, you want to show how well you can present yourself. For most of our clients, a full suit would be a bit much, but a smart dress for women and a shirt and trousers for men tend to be safe choices.
5. Be on time
Sounds obvious, but this is a really important one in order to make the right impression. If you aren’t sure where the office is then make sure you go early, being late, to some clients is just simply unacceptable.
No matter how senior, or how junior you are, it’s always important to be prepared for an interview, it shows how interested you are in the role and the company.
At nuclei, we will do our best to provide you with as much information as possible about your interview and the people you are meeting, but it’s always worth doing your own research too.
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