How Do You Prepare For an Interview and Line Up Your Interview Answers?

How do you prepare for the Interview?

OK, so you have one or more interviews lined up. You have created a really good Resume or CV and this has impressed the employer enough to want to interview you. Your interview answers and your preparation make all the difference between coming second or getting the job.

How do you stand out from other candidates and maximize your chances of landing each position?

The answer to this lies in your preparation for the interview. Your CV will have presented your skills and achievements in the best possible light and whetted the employer's appetite. By now, you should already have marked yourself out as one of the best candidates. Most employers will interview several people even when one Resume stands head and shoulders above the rest, so you need to make the extra effort.

The start of this process is to understand as much as possible about the employer and their position even before you walk in the door. If at all possible you need to re-read the advertisement or other source on the position. Can you get more details on this? Talk to the agency if relevant and grill the consultant. They will normally have worked with the employer to build the job specification and may be able to add some insight. They will understand you wanting to be as well prepared as possible and will see this in a very positive light. It is not unusual for a positive comment to get back to the employer, which always helps your case.

You will need to undertake some research into the company. There are a number of ways to do this. Try these for starters:

Website. Take a look at their website. This provides the glossy, "Spin Doctor" view on life. However, it will give you a good understanding into the direction they are taking and should also contain turnover figures as well as their key customers.

Yearly Reports. Ring up the marketing department and ask for the Annual reports. If they are a public company, you just need to say you are looking at buying some shares. For a private company, just say that you are coming for an interview and want to get some details about the company.

Brochures. The sales brochures are another good way to get information. As above try the marketing department. If you are going through an agency, they can get these for you.

Internet Investment Sites. There is a choice of share trading sites on the net providing up to date share prices. They also give background gossip and comment on company performance. Try using google.com to search for the company name and see what information you can find. Many companies such as Dun & Bradstreet also offer paid services for getting more detailed company information.

Financial Newspapers. Web Sites like www.ft.com and http://online.wsj.com/public/us provide a useful archive of information published about UK & US companies. You can search on the company name to find any recent articles on that company. However, if the company is small, there may not be any entries.

Industry Publications. Again, these are an excellent source of information. Most have a web site that provides facilities to search for information.

If the business is under pressure, this research should dig the dirt and give you some warnings. If not, you have already found out far more information that most candidates will ever do.

If your position is likely to be management or Consultancy related, I would recommend that you construct you own draft Business Plan. The aim of this is to think through how you would move forward in your new position. How would you fix any obvious problems? This can be a great way to show your skills at the interview. However, it may be best to focus on similar problems you have fixed in your current or previous jobs. Sometimes fixing other people's problems can make you look arrogant or even threaten the interviewer's position.

Most business issues have common sense solutions, but it is worth examining the associated tools and cost. There are many ways to solve a problem, but the costs, timescales and company politics usually place constraints on what is the possible. Thinking through the options helps prepare for your interview.

To get more tips on interview answerswhere I show lots of tips and tricks for getting your next job.