Another miserable interview experience?
Yes, there are many reasons for this.
To your credit, the interview could have been a great success and you didn't get the job because there was an every better candidate than yourself.
On the negative side, perhaps you didn't answer the questions very well. Perhaps you fluffed the answer to, 'Did you find us without any problems today?'
Whether positive or negative, you have to recognise a number of things about the current climate. There are a plethora of exceptional candidates on the market. At least 30% of those challenging for the best jobs, already have a good job. In a recession, it is very much a buyer's market. Job demand is high and companies can be extremely choosy about whom they will employ.
That said there is an interesting change in the market these days. There are a large number of highly qualified, highly motivated and highly experienced people out of work through no fault of their own. So how and why do people less qualified, less talented and less experienced manage to obtain the best jobs?
Planning and Preparation are the answer. It's the best prepared candidates that succeed. Those that leverage their personality and persuasion skills.
So how do you prepare? That's easy. Research your prospective company on the world wide web. Check your contacts; identify any friends, staff or contacts. Do you know any of the company's clients or competitors? Research your target business in detail. Identify press releases and information from Companies House. What products and services do they supply? What is their major market? And what are they renowned for? Have they ever been researched by companies like Which? Have a look on FT.com or Nasdaq.com. Have there been any financial analyst reports recently?
That type of preparation and planning will help you exude confidence when you walk into the interview room. There are few things worse than not having bothered to study your prospective company's profile. There is so much information in the public domain these days about large companies. Even small companies have web sites where it's possible to get a flavour of their size, services and products.
This kind of research is invaluable in helping your interviewers come to the correct decision that you are the ideal and best prepared candidate.
Vince Stevenson is one of the UK's top speaking enthusiasts as well as an award winning trainer in the field of personal development. Vince works at the College of Public Speaking, one of the UK's leading presentation skills companies and has taken over the personal development brief. Visit the College of Public Speaking at => http://www.collegeofpublicspeaking.co.uk/Interview_Skills.ht ml