Confidence for an interview comes with being prepared. Our top tips will see you leaving a positive, lasting impression in no time.

DO YOUR RESEARCH

Look at the company’s website, their competitors – even look at their news page – to learn more about the company. Researching will show an employer you know about the company: their ethos, history, products and market sector. A few sentences will demonstrate the work you’ve put in, and it could go a long way during the interview.

TIME TO CONNECT

Take the time to learn how certain employees got to their current position. Did they work their way up the ladder? LinkedIn is a perfect tool to get a deeper understanding of a person’s career path, and of the opportunities available in a company.

SO, TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOU…

This is your chance to shine. In  a 30-second summary of your educational career, your interests, extracurricular achievements – and finally, what job it is you want – you will take your skillset to new heights. During an interview, we call this the elevator pitch.

EXPLAIN

During the interview you may be asked to explain, or expand, certain points on your CV, so prepare concise explanations to detail what you did or learned in each experience listed. Illustrate what you achieved and the skills you used – and how you plan on expanding them further. When explaining your skillset, highlight how you are best placed within a position, it will help the interviewee to understand what you’re looking for and what you can bring to the table. Don’t forget: the interview is a twoway process.

DRESS (AND ACT) THE PART

Unless stated otherwise, it is important to attend your interview  in appropriate, smart clothing (so, leave the baseball cap at home). Remember, you’re going into an office environment for your interview and turning your phone off to providing a firm handshake – whilst maintaining eye contact – will impress.

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

Life can throw a curveball. Transport links failing or waking up with a serious case of flu: it happens to the best of us. Maintain a professional stance in this case. If you are running late take the time to let the interviewer know over the phone, you might not be the only interview booked in. Similarly, don’t turn up 30 minutes early, the earliest you should be for an appointment is five minutes.

For personalised interview advice from one of our consultants, get in touch with your nearest branch today.

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At Connect Appointments the initial information we get about you is from your CV. Use our top CV tips to ensure that you impress your consultant first, then the employer.

KEEP IT CONCISE

Use your editing skills to ensure your CV only includes the relevant information. Try to keep your CV to two A4 pages at most, and make use of bullet points.

POWER OF THE PERSONAL STATEMENT

There’s no denying that your cover letter is crucial, but keep in mind that recruiters may lose track of your letter and focus entirely on your CV. For this reason, a small blurb – or personal statement – at the top of your CV detailing your career objectives and what you’re looking for in your next career venture allows you to reintroduce yourself to a recruiter. It’s a fantastic method of summarising your entire CV into a couple of sentences, and gives you the opportunity to really sell yourself. Make sure to tailor your personal statement for each job role you apply for, this shows attention to detail without taking up valuable word count.

HIGHLIGHT YOUR SKILLS

Regardless if you’re proud of your grades from school or you wish you had done better, it’s important to include each qualification on your CV. It lets a recruiter get to understand your base knowledge of a subject and see how you’ve taken it forward into your working life and progressed on those skills. However, if there is a particular grade you would rather not shout about you could list the topics you studied and highlight the ones where you achieved good grades.

When you progress further in your career, and have a wealth of experience and roles to reference back to, the onus on your grades from secondary school or college aren’t as integral. Briefly mention them, but give more focus to the skills and experience you’ve gained through various jobs and work placements you’ve held.

KEEP IT STRUCTURED

Every employer studies a CV differently. Even so, each CV should be chronological and showcase your skills and personal attributes. Always include your name and contact details at the top followed by your personal statement. Then go onto include your work experience and qualifications. When it comes to work positions, only include roles you think are relevant for the industry you are apply for. The education section should include all your qualifications from school, degree or apprenticeship, to industry qualifications.

REFLECTION IS KEY

Always include roles that are pertinent to your chosen career to highlight your former experience. But, make sure to go beyond the job role – many positions will have similar responsibilities. What did those roles teach you? Reflect on what you’ve learned, any awards or qualifications you achieved and how you went above and beyond the call of duty to excel in the workforce. From being nominated as employee of the month, training new team members, or even holding a clean, full drivers’ licence will instantly appeal to our recruitment consultants and any potential employers.

IN THE PICTURE

Fun fact: recruiters spend on average just six seconds looking at a CV. Grabbing their attention is vital, and images are a great way to do just that. Use the logos of your past employers to make your CV more visual. In a glance a recruitment consultant will recognise what companies you’ve worked for. Bear in mind this works far better if you’ve had a role with an instantly recognisable brand – a grainy photo of a small business logo won’t make the cut.

CHECK IT TWICE

Mistakes happen, but try to avoid errors on your CV. The best way to do this is to check it over for any spelling or grammatical errors, or ask someone you trust to proof read it for you. A typo could land your CV at the bottom of the pile, even if you have all the relevant skills – so get checking.

Get connected and discover how Connect Appointments can help you achieve your next permanent, temporary or contract role. Get in touch with your closest branch today!