How to survive the interview from hell

In this week's episode of the Apprentice, the final five face interviews from hell and if there is one thing you are going to learn from this year's series, it's how to conduct yourself (or not) in an interview.

While not a good example of how interviews should be conducted, with Sir Alan’s interviewers normally being insulting, aggressive, uninterested in the answers and determined to make the candidates feel ill at ease, the episode nonetheless will undoubtedly show that that in a tough job interview even the smoothest candidate can come unstuck.

For many it's the most nerve-wracking thing they ever undergo and is characterized by sweating palms, flushed faces and racing hearts, but fear not says Cardiff recruitment company Yolk Sales Recruitment it needn’t be as terrifying as you first think so long as you are well prepared.

Says director Dale Williams: “The importance of preparing for an interview correctly is all too often overlooked. The value of knowledge and of creating a good first impression will be invaluable when you meet your potential employers.

"There are four key areas of preparation before an interview – making sure your first impression is the right impression, researching the company and its competitors, preparing mock answers that are impressive and accurate and practical preparation about how you will get to the interview destination itself."

According to Aimee Bateman, a recruitment specialist from freshbaked who is helping redundant people return to work as quickly as possible through a scheme called Boomerang, within the first 60 seconds you already make an impression.

She says: “Remember, you are marketing a product ‘yourself’ to the employer, and the first thing the employer sees when greeting you is your attire, so you must make every effort to have the proper dress for the type of job you are seeking. As well as dress, there's body language, the way people shake hands, the way they sit, the tone and pitch of their voice - every mannerism is being scrutinised. The trick again is preparation. If you're dressed smartly and appropriately and have thought about the way you will interact with the interviewer, this can help smooth your path.”

Just as important as making a positive impression is knowing the company that you are being interviewed for, a bear trap that has caught out several of Sir Alan’s apprentices over the years.

Says Helen Nutton, head of recruitment at Micross Recruitment: “A shrewd interviewer is likely to see through the veneer if you really know nothing about the company. The only sure solution is to genuinely prepare. It's easy for anyone to do a search on the internet but go the extra mile and contact the company, ask for some brochures and do some research on what the company does, who are the key players and who is the competition.”

As part of your preparation it is also important to anticipate the questions you might be asked and practice the answers until you can deliver them smoothly and naturally.

More often than not questions such as ‘what are your strengths’ and ‘why should I hire you’ will come up and according to Dale from Yolk Sales Recruitment if you have prepared some mock answers in advance you will be in a better position to sell yourself well.

He says: “So far whenever Sir Alan has asked that relatively straight forward question of ‘why shouldn’t I fire you’ the candidates have fallen at one of the most important hurdles they face and have been unable to sell themselves effectively. Instead of spieling out a load of meaningless waffle, the candidates should focus on hard facts.

"Sir Alan’s apprentices are quick to call themselves good sales people but so far when it has come down to selling themselves in the boardroom or in this interview task, they haven’t cut the mustard.

"If interviewing for a sales role, it’s vital that candidates know their figures, including revenue figures, billings for the previous year, quarter and month and so having this information ingrained in your memory is crucial.”

Make sure you’re on top of practical preparations too says freshbaked’s Aimee: “Don’t arrive late - the interviewer generally does not care why you are late; remember they probably have another three great candidates waiting in the wings.

"They may worry that if you were late for your meeting with them, you may do the same to your clients/customers and even have a casual attitude towards your work and deadlines."

She continues: “Always leave home with plenty of time to spare and if you arrive early, you can just wait in the car or around the corner and have a coffee. You can use this time to go over your CV and questions.

“It is a good idea to then present yourself to reception about 10 minutes before the job interview is due to take place. If you do not know where it is exactly it is a good idea to do a trial run before the interview.”

Finally, says Micross recruiter Helen Nutton, don’t take a leaf out of last year’s candidate Lee McQueen’s books and a) lie on your CV or b) do a reverse pterodactyl impression.

She says: “Lee got caught out twice last year and despite getting the job in the end, he really did show exactly how not to conduct yourself in an interview.

"Firstly he got himself into a sticky situation by lying on his CV which raised questions about his integrity and secondly he became over familiar with his interviewer after being put on the spot did a demonstration of a dinosaur!

"Remember an interview is a formal interview situation and if a candidate tries to be over familiar with an employer they are likely to see it as an act of desperation and respond negatively.”

For further information on this press release, please contact freshbaked PR and ask to speak to a PR consultant. freshbaked PR is a full service public relations company based in Cardiff which represents a number of public sector and private business and charity clients in Cardiff, Swansea and Bristol, as well as Newport in south Wales, home of golf’s 2010 Ryder Cup at the Celtic Manor Resort Hotel.

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freshbaked PR provides public relations consultancy for fast growing companies in Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Bristol along the M4 corridor of England and south Wales.

For clients based in Cardiff public relations agency services are provided from our public relations department in The Maltings office near Cardiff Bay and Cardiff city centre. Newport public relations agency services and Bristol PR agency offerings can be delivered on site for the client if required. Please contact us to find out more about our Bristol public relations agency and Newport PR agency offerings.

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