CAREER GUIDE: How to prepare for an interview
Welcome to our Career Guide Series. A selection of sharp and shiny guides that will help you achieve success in your next career step.
So you’re planning and preparing for an upcoming interview? This guide will ensure you are totally equipped to impress the socks off that interviewer infront of you.
Our Interview Preparation Guide explores the following preparation steps:
1. Research the Brand
2. Research the Interviewer
3. Become Familiar with Common Interview Questions
4. Plan Presentation and Arrival
These four simple steps will leave you feeling confident and organised as you put your most fashionable foot forward for that dream role.
Image Credit: Jill Sander
HOW TO: Research the Brand
It’s important to research a brand properly and thoroughly before you attend the interview. This is a key part of the application process that will show your passion for the brand, set you up to ask some great questions at the end of your interview and most importantly, help you understand if the role and brand is right for YOU.
We recommend researching a brand by:
Using LinkedIn to look at employees that currently work there. Use the company page to access the ‘people’ tab of Linkedin to scroll through the brand’s current workforce. Consider what role titles are in the business right now (Specifically, how big is your department? Who is in it?), what backgrounds have key people of interest come from and how long have most employees been there? This can give some insight into the company culture around hiring, promoting and the structure generally
Do a quick google search for recent articles or journals about the brand. This step of research can be more powerful than just looking at the brand’s direct website. You will often find information pointing to recent collaborations or partnerships with other brands, perhaps some philanthropic activity, or insight into founders or CEO’s that can be lots of fun to read.
Listen to a recent Podcast feature. Your google search may lead you to a recent podcast, and if not, search on your podcast platform of choice. You might find an interview with a founder or a specific leader in the brand that will allow you to unlock a deeper connection to the culture and people who work there.
Visit a Store. If you’re meeting with a brand who has bricks & mortar presence, we recommend visiting a store or multiple stores ahead of time. This is particularly important for retail applications (mystery shop and come with service suggestions!) however it will have impact even if you are applying for a support office role. We also love a little website and Instagram audit ahead of time too.
All of these things will help you speak much more authentically to the brand in your interview than just looking at the ‘about us’ page on their website and will ideally equip you with your own unique questions to share at the end of the interview.
HOW TO: Research Your Interviewer
Researching your interviewer can help you feel more comfortable and confident in your interview. To do this, simply use Linkedin to look up the hiring manager and other interviewers. View their profiles (don’t be shy!) and get a snapshot of what experience they’ve come.
Looking at other profiles of employees in your department can give you insight into what they might be looking for in that next hire.
Image Credit: Jill Sander
HOW TO: Become Familiar with Common Interview Questions:
Familiarising yourself with common interview questions will allow you to answer more thoroughly through your interview. You don’t necessarily need to rehearse your answers (unless this works for you!), but we do encourage you to have a think about how you might answer the generic questions that pop up so that you have some fuel in your tank when they arise.
We’ve made a complete guide that explores common interview questions - you can read this Career Guide here.. We encourage you to explore our Guide to Common Interview Questions in conjunction with this guide for the full preparation experience!
Some hot tips on planning interview answers 🔥
Have data prepared around key achievements from your role and more importantly, be prepared to answer the ‘how’ you achieved those outcomes. You will always find a place in the interview to share this even if not asked directly
Listen carefully to each question so that you can answer directly and concisely. We know it’s easy to go off track and on a tangent when you are nervous. Always come back to the key question to ensure you’ve answered it directly and not taken a new direction in your conversation
Answering concisely is a skill! This is why we suggest prepping the data and the ‘how’ ahead of time so that you can use examples throughout without fumbling
Use our Common Interview Questions Guide to prepare for (at a minimum!):
o What are your weaknesses
o What is your salary expectation
o Plan your own questions for the end of the interview
o And of course use our above research tips to be prepared to answer Why our brand/what do you know about the brand?
HOW TO: Plan Presentation and Arrival
Planning your arrival and outfit is as important as any other step! We’ve shared tips for both Zoom and in-person interviews for you to consider.
01. Ensure your outfit, hair and makeup is on brand for the company - We always say, dress as if you already work there! You can get a feel for staff presentation from your store visits or from the business Instagram. Snaps for wearing current product, but old or similar pieces will always be impressive too.
02. Be Punctual – Lateness to an interview is never, ever a good look. Be sure to arrive 5 or so minutes early but nothing too much more than this as we don’t want to put pressure on the interviewer to kick-start too early and waiting for 10 minutes or longer can often add to the nerves and leave you twiddling you thumbs. If you’ve got time to kill, take a short stroll in the local area.
03. For In-Person Interviews – Prepare for travel time and parking. Always plan arrival as a worst case scenario and if you can, do the drive once before your interview so you can scope out the parking situ. Don’t be afraid to ask for parking tips from your interviewer if you can’t scope out the area ahead of time.
04. For Digital Interviews - Test all links and accessibility ahead of time. This means ensure you can access the link via the app or website easily and check your camera and mircrophone settings are operating as they should be. For digital interviews, we still absolutely recommend dressing exactly as you would for an in-person interview and ensure your background is professional. Either blur your background or have an uncluttered, simple backdrop behind you.
And there we have it. Our favourite interview tips guaranteed to help you present your best self as you apply for that next dream role.
With love,
Your Team of Recruitment Angels xo