Interview Advice

Job Interview Tips: How to Prepare and Make a Great Impression

As a job seeker, you may notice that there are some general interview questions in every job interview; therefore you must be prepared for them. Whether is the first or second job interview, you need to do your best to get the job. 

Some examples are:

1. Why do you want this job? Why do you want to work for us?

One of the most predictable questions and very important! You need to demonstrate that you have researched the employer and tie your knowledge of them into the skills and interests led you to apply.

Try to find some specific feature on which the employer prides themselves: their training, their client base, their individuality, their public image, etc. This may not always be possible with smaller firms but you may be able to pick up something of this nature from the interviewer.

2. What is your greatest strength?

There is no right answer for this question, because each person has their own strengths. However, it is advisable to choose one related to the job, for example: if you want to work in an accountancy firm you can make special emphasis on your attention to detail and that you are process focussed.

3. Have you got any questions?

At the end of the interview, it is likely that you will be given the chance to put your own questions to the interviewer.

Keep them brief: there may be other interviewees waiting.

Ask about the work itself, training and career development: not about holidays or salary.  Prepare some questions in advance, it is OK to write these down and to refer to your notes to remind yourself of what you wanted to ask.

It often happens that, during the interview, all the points that you had noted down to ask about will be covered before you get to this stage. In this situation, you can respond as follows:

Interviewer: Well, that seems to have covered everything: is there anything you would like to ask me?

Interviewee: Thank you: I’d made a note to ask about your appraisal system and the study arrangements for professional accountancy exams, but we went over those earlier and I really feel you’ve covered everything that I need to know at this moment.

You can also use this opportunity to tell the interviewer anything about yourself that they have not raised during the interview but which you feel is important to your application:

Don’t feel you have to wait until this point to ask questions – if the chance to ask a question seems to arise naturally in the course of the interview, take it! Remember that a traditional interview is a conversation – with a purpose.

Behavioural or Competency based Interviews

There are many types of interviews, from the free flowing to the formal, but one that you are likely to come up against at some point is the competency-based interview.

They’re designed to make the job application process as objective as possible, removing any conscious or subconscious bias by the interviewer by asking each candidate the same questions.

These type of interviews are very common, especially in large organisations and the public sector, so it’s worth refining your technique.

ST/AR

• Situation – set the context for your story. For example, “while I was working at XYZ company, we were due to be delivering a presentation on financial figures to a group of 30 interested industry players on our new product and the CFO due to deliver it, got a flat tyre so was running late.”

• Task – what was required of you in the role. For example, “It was my responsibility as Assistant Finance Manager to find an alternative so it didn’t reflect badly on the company and we didn’t waste the opportunity.”

• Activity – what you actually did. For example, “I spoke to the event organisers to find out if they could change the running order. They agreed so we bought ourselves some time. I contacted our Finance Manager, who at a push could step in. She agreed to drop what she was doing and head to the event.”

• Result – how well the situation played out. For example, “The CFO didn’t make the meeting on time but we explained the problem to the delegates and the FM’s presentation went well – a bit rough around the edges but it was warmly received. The CFO managed to get there for the last 15 minutes to answer questions. As a result we gained some good contacts, at least two of which we converted into paying clients.”

Contact us to find out more about how our skilled recruitment team can help you take the next step in your accounting or finance career. You can also browse our current vacancies, learn more about Search or register as a candidate to get your recruitment started with Search.