Job Interview Tomorrow - Advice?

The Mad Rapper

The Mad Rapper

The Mad Rapper

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I am travelling into London tomorrow for an interview with an International company who specialise in my field.

I've been for a number of interviews in the last few years with similar companies, but have never been offered the position, although I've made it through to the last two candidates a number of times.

It's always been difficult to know where I've gone wrong because I've been unable to secure any feedback.

I am concerned that I may be coming across about my current position negatively and am not sure if that's causing problems or whether it's something else.

I am currently employed by a specialist 'entity' of the Government, but wish to move to a company that focuses purely on what I do, that offers variety in that position (I almost always do the same sort of work day in day out which bores me to tears), I'd like the opportunity to advance (there's currently no potential for that with my current employer) and my salary absolutely sucks - I am paid £20K a year less then then someone with my skills/experiance is paid in the private sector.

How can I communicate this to the person carrying out the interview in a way that is positive and not negative?
 
markyp23 said:
Obviously don't mention you want to move for the money. Say that you feel their company can provide opportunities that you wouln't be able to achieve at the moment.

Don't talk about/compare it with your current job unless you are asked, but focus on what you can provide to this company.
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I've been asked a number of times what "...salary are you looking for/on at the moment?" It always makes me feel incredibly akward TBH.


The other problem is that I always get asked "Why do you want this job?" and then if I am being entirely honest, it's impossible to answer that without comparing it to my current position.
 
That's the key though, don't say "because it's better than where I'm at" as that's not what they're looking for.

They interviewer will want something specific to their company. Find out as much as you can about them and find something to latch onto. Something that stands out and gives you a reason for working for them.

Everything has to be positive. What you've achieved, what you hope to achieve, what you can bring to their company and what the company will get from you.

Also, if you can, getting interviewers to talk about their own work (if relevant) is always a bonus as people love talking about themselves.
 
On what Johnny said, read up on the company loads before the interview, so you know just what they do, how large they are, if they are one of the main powers in the field they operate in etc.

I keep being told to do all this my my lecturers for when I'm organising an interview for my placement year.

InvG
 
I think the key to settling down in an interview is to interact as much as possible... throw the onus off the interviewer and ask as many relevent questions as you can think of... makes it more of a conversation that prime ministers question time.
 
I've just got home, so I thought I'd post my thoughts on how it went.

I was interviewed by the Head of Department, whom I knew as we are both on the committee of our Professional Standards body.

It seemed to go well, we had a good two way conversation and I kept the emphasis on the positive side of things as some of you suggested.

At the end, he told me he'd discuss my application with other members of the team and let me know by Friday whether they'd proceed or not.

It's strange because during the interview it went well, but when I left I wasn't sure whether I'd done enough to secure the position. I think the only possible thing that could count against me was that he mentioned that the rest of his team are trained accountants (which I am not). It doesn't make them any more capable than me in the actual location of digital evidence, but if the case were accounts related then they'd obviously be able to judge better then I the likely relevance of a particular file.

So, it's keeping my fingers crossed time! I'll post back on Friday and let you know whether I have been progressed to the next stage or not.

Thanks again for the advice ;)
 
The Mad Rapper said:
It's strange because during the interview it went well, but when I left I wasn't sure whether I'd done enough to secure the position.
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I felt this way the other day. I felt fine and things went well during, but then after the worrying started, incase I hadn't made a good enough impression. Still waiting on the "you got the job" phone call. Not sure how long I'll need to wait, but the suspense is incredibly annoying :p
 
I got an e-mail this afternoon from my Recruitment Consultant, not brilliant news I am afraid:

John,


I'm afraid it is bad news from (Company), 'Really liked John, thought he was very skilled etc but not really a suitable gap for him at present'.


I'm out most of this afternoon but let's speak tomorrow.
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Bah!

I am a bit disappointed, the chap interviewing me told me that he'd let me know whether they were proceeding last Friday so the notification is almost a week late.

I am not happy with the reason given, it doesn't strike me as being very clear. They had my CV before interviewing me so surely they must have known they had no suitable gap then?

I'm disappointed/annoyed TBH :(

Should I contact the chap who conducted the interview and ask for feedback?
 
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Old Wino said:
/belated tip from grizzled old worldly-wise type

All an interviever is ever doing is choosing who they would prefer to sit with 8 hours a day 5 days a week, for the next couple of years.
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Thanks for that mate. I have known the guy a while, we've always got on well, had a beer at conferences so I don't think it's personality. We were even having a laugh during the interview.

The only thing I can think of is that he's realised post-interview that I'd be after a senior position and perhaps they haven't got one.
 
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