Preparing for a job interview is a crucial step in your applications. But above all, congratulations! You have successfully passed the first selection in the recruitment process, and your profile seems to fit the position. Now, you will need to take some time to practice to be ready on the big day.
Summary:
Recommended read : How to access taxes online?
- Why prepare for your job interview?
- How to prepare for a job interview?
To go further, download our free guide with tips for succeeding in your job interview.
Why prepare for your job interview
If it is so important to prepare for your job interview, it is because a large part of the interview is actually played beforehand. Therefore, we strongly advise against spending twenty minutes the night before the interview to prepare it if you really want to get the job!
Recommended read : How to Choose Payroll Software?
It is important to train: being comfortable speaking, talking about yourself, selling yourself, being relevant, and convincing—all of this is learned! Training will allow you to be more relaxed on the day of the interview. Even if you have a natural oral mastery, it is unlikely that you will be able to improvise examples to support your remarks at that moment. If you do not practice, you could be caught off guard by certain questions.
Moreover, showing that you have done your research, that you have taken the time to prepare for this interview, will be noticed when the time comes, and this will be greatly appreciated by the recruiter. It will be seen as a sign of your motivation.
If you are still a student, you can find 2 or 3 people to “rehearse” your presentations with. It is very educational to see how others present themselves; it allows you to question your own methods and gives you opportunities for improvement.
To be effective in your training, it is best to understand what recruiters are looking for when they interview you. Their goals are multiple:
- Meet your future colleague
- Check that your profile matches the position
- Form a better opinion of you and your personality
- Test your motivation
- Eliminate certain candidates
But the job interview is an exchange; it also serves you as a candidate to:
- Get details about the tasks assigned to you
- Determine if the position is right for you
- Determine if the company and the environment suit you
Is preparing for a job interview the same when it is obtained following a job offer or a spontaneous application? The main difference is that in the first case, you will be able to analyze the job offer. In both cases, it is important to clearly define your professional project.
Following a job offer
If you are applying for an advertisement, you should know it almost by heart. Take a highlighter and pick out the keywords from the offer. Identify the required skills and make a table with what you fully master, what you know a little, or what you do not know at all. Analyze the expectations of the position, the explicit and implicit qualities required for the job. In principle, you should have already completed this step before sending your CV and cover letter, but it is always best to remember these points before the interview. Try to get as accurate a picture as possible of the profile they are looking for for the position, deduce the strengths and weaknesses of your application, and consider solutions to narrow the scope of your application.
To make a good analysis, the simplest way is to take your CV and the advertisement and note the divergent and convergent points between the two.
If you do not master all the skills stated in the offer, or if you lack experience with what is written, you will need to be ready to justify it during an interview. This does not mean that you have no chance! Your application was selected even if it does not meet all the requirements, so it is not a dealbreaker for the position.
For example: “It’s true that I do not fully master the Python language. However, I am someone who learns very quickly and I am currently taking a MOOC on the subject.”
Following a spontaneous application
If you receive an interview following an unsolicited application, be specific about the tasks you are looking for while being flexible and open to related tasks.
We advise you to check existing job offers on the company’s website and on job search sites. This will help you identify key elements that will be used during the interview. This includes information about the company culture, the types of profiles sought, the skills required for positions similar to the one you are targeting, the qualities valued by the company, etc.
Additionally, ask yourself:
- How did you hear about the company?
- Why are you applying spontaneously?
- Why are you targeting this company? What aspects of it attract you?
How to prepare for a job interview?
There are five phases to prepare for a job interview: knowing your CV and cover letter by heart, researching the company and the recruiter, thinking about answers to classic trick questions, considering questions to ask the recruiter, and finally putting yourself in a good state the day before the interview.
Know your CV and cover letter by heart
You need to know your CV by heart and anticipate the questions the recruiter may ask you. For example, if there is a gap in your CV, you must be able to justify it. If you have stated that you master a programming language, think in advance of an example that can prove it. Put yourself in the recruiter’s shoes: if you received your CV, what strengths and weaknesses would you see in relation to the position?
You need to know your cover letter by heart, especially since often the motivations are somewhat embellished. You should be ready to answer any questions related to your cover letter. If you have indicated your professional project, be prepared to elaborate on it if the recruiter asks you.
Research the company and the recruiter
This step is particularly important in preparing for a job interview, as recruiters expect you to have a thorough knowledge of the company you are applying to.
You have different ways to conduct your research:
- Discuss the company with your friends and see what their image is; perhaps you even know someone who is or has been at the company, so ask them your questions.
- Browse the company’s website to find all the information you need, including:
- Its size
- Its organizational chart with the managers; locate the person who will guide you through the interview if you have their name
- Its values
- Its position in its market
- Its products/services
- Its main clients
- Its internal organization
- Follow the company’s news on social media. This will allow you to have information that may not appear on the website. Often, companies share their new projects there, inform about recruitment periods, and you will have the opportunity to better understand the company’s mindset. Here are the main networks you should focus on:
- LinkedIn, certainly the most important because it is the premier professional network
- Facebook, for less conventional information
- Read articles about the company and its news to get an external look. For example, you can type the company’s name into Google under the “News” category.
Research the recruiter if you know their identity. Do an initial search on Google; if no photo appears, look for them on LinkedIn. This will first allow you to recognize them easily on the big day, but also to eliminate your apprehension.
It is also important to research the recruiter to determine what position they hold in the company and, if possible, learn more about their career (e.g., did they obtain a technical training degree like you?) and why not find common points. As such, LinkedIn can be particularly useful for preparing for a job interview.
Trick interview questions
When preparing for a job interview, it is important to think about the answers you can give to a number of trick questions.
Based on the information you gathered during your initial research, write your answers to the following questions:
- What does the company have that others do not?
- What attracts me to this company?
- Why did I apply for this position?
- What are my skills in terms of know-how and competencies for the job?
- What makes my application unique, what do I have that others do not?
- What are my medium and long-term goals?
- What concrete elements support my salary claims?
- What do you want the recruiter to remember at the end of the interview?
Answering these questions will allow you to do some introspection on your motivations and reflect on your strengths and weaknesses.
Based on these elements, practice answering the entire set of trick questions that often come up in interviews:
- Introduce yourself, tell me about yourself
- How do you see your professional future?
- Why you and not someone else?
- What are your motivations?
- Questions about qualifications
- Issues of flaws
It is difficult to improvise answers to these questions, which is why it is important to practice to make your response as clear, concise, and impactful as possible on the day of the interview.
The most important thing is to provide concrete illustrations to support your argument, but you need to work on these examples before the interview.
Questions to ask during the interview
Finally, do not forget to prepare questions to ask the recruiter! We have dedicated an entire article on this topic; feel free to check it out to find those that are relevant and make a difference.
The day before the interview
Preparing for a job interview also means preparing your business the day before the big day! It is best to have peace of mind when you go to your appointment and avoid preparing your bag at the last minute. To ensure you do not forget anything, proceed as follows:
- Your appointment letter if you have one
- Several printed CVs and your cover letter
- The job offer/job form if you are applying following an advertisement
- If applicable, your step/work certificates
- Your thesis if it is related to the position you are applying for
- The company’s access plan
- What to take notes on
- Notes you took while preparing for your interview, so you can take a look if you forget something just before entering
- Prepare your outfit for the big day
- Locate places on Google: once on site, you will already be more comfortable with this new environment and it will save you time
Finally, the day before, do not forget to check the time of your appointment (or the date…)!
In conclusion, an interview is not improvised! You need to ask yourself many questions before going and practice talking about yourself. So put all the odds in your favor and give yourself the time to prepare for a job interview!
And on the big day, how to succeed in the interview? Do not hesitate to download our guide to discover many tips to put into practice during the maintenance! Download our guide on job interviews
Tag: the job interview explained