How to prepare for the job interiew?
5 important rules you need to master before entering the job interview
The most important thing in an interview is your preparation. Candidates disqualify themselves time and again by showing up to an interview unprepared. Therefore, do everything you can to ensure that after the interview you can say: "I couldn't have prepared better".
Preparation
If you are invited to the interview, you can be happy. You will certainly be one of the 10 best candidates. No company today has time to see more than 10 candidates for a job. Your preparation tasks therefore include the following points:
1. Plan the route and allow for a time buffer
Being late for a job interview is probably the worst start you can imagine. Check the route during rush hour. Also plan enough time if you need to see a front desk or receptionist. Also plan that you might not be the only person during that time and you might need to queue. If you take the care, make sure you find a parking space nearby. Nothing ends a job interview earlier than being late, especially in Switzerland.
Prepare your wardrobe the evening before, including shoes.
Take your complete application dossier with you
Take the job description with you
Read through the annual report and take it with you and/or print out information from the company website and light it up.
Prepare questions
2. Prepare your wardrobe the evening before, including shoes
Take care for your wardrobe early. Think about what other people wear in this company and prepare yourself respetively. If you are unsure, rather go overdressed or the easiest way is to call the interviewer quickly and just ask. That gives you another touch point and shows your interviewer that you prepare yourself.
Take your complete application dossier with you
Take the job description with you
Read through the annual report and take it with you and/or print out information from the company website and light it up.
Prepare questions
3. Take your complete application dossier with you plus the job description
Having your application dossier with you makes it easier for you to go through your CV. Most interviews start with your professional career and it is easier if you can read the dates of your career changes and graduation on your dossier than thinking about it during the interview.
On top of that it is also easier to ask questions from the job description if you have it in front of you. Of course these document might also be on your tablet but don't forget them at home.
Read through the annual report and take it with you and/or print out information from the company website and light it up.
Prepare questions
4. Annual Report and other information
If the company is a public company read through the annual report and take it with you and/or print out information from the company website and light it up. This shows the interviewer a super high level of preparation and most people forget about the annual report where many important information is published. Also you should know the company and therefore at least having reviewed the website.
5. Questions
An interview should be a conversation and therefore please make sure you prepare questions. Don't ask questions that could be answered from the website or the annual report. Good questions entail the ones regarding the strategy or vision of the department head. What does the team look like? How do you interact within the team? what are the key cultural aspects of the department and where are the development points.
You can also prepare most of the interview questions before the interview. Most of the interviewers ask questions like:
- Tell me about your professional career
- Tell me somehtin about yourself that I don't see in your CV
- What is your passion in your private life?
- Why should we hire you? Why should we NOT hire you?
- What would your former boss tell us about you?
- What do you do for your personal development etc.
Good luck with your next interview and we hope that this gave you some positive insights.