Interview tips for face-to-face interviews

Face-to-face interviews can be quite nerve-wracking, but I'm sharing some tips that can help calm you and prepare you.

This year, I've submitted god-knows how many job applications. Some, I've heard back about, but others, I have not.

The job market is incredibly challenging in today's world. There was even a news article on the BBC about how job opportunities are shrinking for young people.

Not only is it hard to succeed when applying for jobs, it is also tough even finding the right jobs to apply for.

A lot of jobs I've noticed being advertised as entry-level or 'assistant' roles require at least a year's experience in an office or some sort of admin role. In my opinion, that's not an entry-level position.

Then, if you are successful and get taken through to the interview stage, that can be just as nerve-wracking. Especially if it's face-to-face and you don't know what to expect.

So, I thought I'd share some tips for face-to-face interviews that I've found have helped me this year.

Ask for a drink

When in an interview, one can assume that you'll be doing a lot of talking: answering questions, asking questions, and generally chatting to the interviewers.

During that time, there is nothing worse than having a really dry throat. An easy fix for that is to ask if you can have a glass of water, or if offered, saying yes.

By having a drink in front of you, you can take small sips to keep hydrated, allowing you to speak clearly and to avoid clearing your throat.

It can also come in handy if you're unsure about a question and need a little time to think. If that's the case, when asked, take a sip of your drink and think of your response, and then answer the question.

I recently had a face-to-face interview that lasted an hour, and without a glass of water, I would have struggled to deliver my responses confidently and clearly.

Chat on route

This one is key for a face-to-face interview. When employers are looking for new hires, they're not only looking for someone capable of completing the job.

They want someone who will gel well with the colleagues already there. And the route to your interview is the perfect opportunity to showcase why you would be the ideal person.

When someone collects you to take you to your interview, strike up a conversation. It doesn't have to be in-depth, just something to show that you are confident, can easily chat to people, and are excited about being given the opportunity.

If you've done something interesting recently, or been anywhere nice, you can mention that. For example, in my latest face-to-face interview, when asked 'Did you find the place okay?', my response was: 'Yes, thank you. I actually just had lunch with my sister at the nearby café, so it wasn't too far to come.'

Use a S.T.A.R

If you've done lots of interviews before, or have already researched different ways to prep for them, you've probably come across this acronym.

S.T.A.R refers to a method of answering interview questions that allows you to showcase your skills, abilities and positive outcomes.

It stands for:

• S - Situation

• T - Task

• A - Action

• R - Result

When answering a question, it's good to outline the situation that you were in; then briefly describe the task which you needed to complete, what your goal was and the challenges of it; the action refers to what YOU did to achieve this; and finally, the result is the positive outcome/impact it had.

An example answer that demonstrates strong teamwork could be:

Situation: At university, I was part of the Harry Potter society, and we needed to raise funds to organise a trip to the Warner Bros Studio Tour.

Task: My job was to work with the other society members to come up with fundraising ideas.

Action: I organised a meeting for us all to brainstorm different ideas, and worked with the society president on sharing the responsibilities out to different members. I made sure we all knew what we were responsible for by sharing a list on the society group chat with the fundraising activity, those in charge, and when it would be held.

Result: Everyone pulled together and knew what they needed to do, which meant we raised enough funds for everyone to go to the Tour.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Whilst I class myself as a confident person, I can be quite introverted, so having face-to-face interviews is rather daunting. But I found that practising as much as I can really helps.

Before your interview, research some interview questions that could be asked. If it's a competency-based interview, there are lots of lists online of different questions.

Draft some answers to these questions and make sure you know what you said in your cover letter and what was said on the job advert. Once you have all that information, do a mock interview.

Get someone to ask you the questions, and practice answering using the S.T.A.R method. Or if you don't have anyone to practice with you, use a mirror or Zoom/Teams/Google Meet to practice on your own.

This helps you remember your answers and feel more confident about clearly and concisely responding to the questions.

Be passionate

Skills are one of the most important things interviewers look for. Can the applicants demonstrate the skills required in the job advert?

However, one of the other important factors they need to consider is your passion.

There is nothing worse than applying for a role and being asked to an interview if you're not passionate about the job or the company. And employers can see if you're passionate.

When in an interview, make sure you portray your passion and enthusiasm to the interviewers because it will only work in your favour.

Explain your motivations for applying, not only to the role, but the company. If there's a particular aspect of the company that you like or interests you, mention it; for instance, if you're applying to a publisher, mention a book they recently published or a campaign you particularly enjoyed.

Showing you're passionate about the job is key and will only be beneficial for you.

So, if you have any face-to-face interviews coming up, I hope these tips can help prepare you for it and help calm your nerves.

They're not easy, but everyone has to go through at least one interview in their life, so you're not alone.

If you have any other tips, feel free to share them in the comments below.

Otherwise, good luck!

Until next time...