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Home>Australia>Students>Career Services>Interviewing Tips

Interviewing Tips

The key to interviewing success, is being prepared, knowing your qualities and practice, practice practice!

Remember that an interview is a two way street, you are not only being interviewed but interviewing the employer. Good fit is not only crucial for the employer but it is crucial for your enjoyment and success in the role, so ask questions to ascertain if you are a good fit for the organisation and be as honest as possible. You are unlikely to last long in a job if you were untruthful about your skills and attributes.

There are many different styles and types of interviews. You may be interviewed by someone that Interviews everyday and is very professional and competent or you may be interviewed by someone that rarely interviews and is as nervous as you. Arrange for a mock-interview with the Career Services Manager to assist your confident and success at interview

Interviewing Advice

When you receive the call

  • Ensure you know which jobs you have applied for
  • Ensure your mobile phone or answering machine has a professional message
  • Ensure you listen to the name of the person that is calling you and the name of the organisation
  • If offered multiple times, take the earliest time you are available (unless this does not leave you with enough time to prepare well)
  • Ensure you know exactly who you will be talking to and where you will be going
  • Confirm the details with caller before you hang up and affirm your enthusiasm for attending the interview “I look forward to meeting with Sarah O’Connor tomorrow at 9.30 am at the Torrens Title Building”

Preparation

  • spend time researching the organisation (you should have done some
  • research prior to submitting your application).
  • Aim to understand what it is the organisation does, what the role is and the culture of the organisation and your fit to this.
  • Prepare a list of questions and answers you think they might ask. Know your application and resume in-side and out.

Questions you must know the answer to: 

  • Tell us what you know about our organization?
  • Why does this position interest you?
  • Tell us about your self?
  • What are your 3 best strengths?
  • What is your greatest weakness?

Attending the Interview

  • Ensure you know the address and name of the person you are seeing
  • Consider doing a “practice run” or “drive by” if you are not sure where the in­terview is
  • Ensure you arrive in plenty of time to allow you to review your notes and take a deep breath before the interview starts

During the Interview

  • Give eye contact to all interviewers (if there are multiple interviewers, ensure that you provide them all with eye contact during the interview)
  • Listen carefully to the questions asked, ask for clarification if you are not sure what the interviewer is asking
  • Take time to think about your answer before you speak,
  • Refer to your notes if it will help you answer the question well (ask the inter­viewer if it is ok to refer to your notes)
  • Try not to waffle or continue to talk after you have answered the question
  • Don’t get disheartened if you feel the interview is not going well, do the best job you can at the time, the interviewer may be challenging you or may have already made a positive decision and is wanting to wrap it up.

To assist you to formulate your interview question answers, consider using the STAR method.

S: Situation – describe the situation
T: Task or problem – what dilemma or problem did you face?
A: Action – what action did you take?
R: Result – what was the result of your action?

This method will be requested of you when you are being interviewed by someone using a Behavioural Interviewing Technique, however is a good way to frame an answer regardless of the interview method being used.

Closing the Interview

  • Affirm your interest in the position
  • Thank the interviewer/s for his/her time clarify what the next step is if they have not told you


After the Interview

  • Review your performance in the interview, make notes on ways that you could improve next time (it is unusual to come out of an interview believing you have answered everything perfectly).
  • Consider whether you want the job, if you do review what your salary require­ments are.
  • Contact the interviewer if you have not heard in the specified time frame.
  • If contacted and offered the job, if you are not sure ask for time to think about it and provide a suitable time frame for your response.
  • If unsuccessful, ask for feedback.