Top tips for interview candidates | Cornerstone Resources

At Cornerstone Resources HR Consultancy, we provide an outsourced HR service for various companies, so if you happen to apply for a job with a company who make use of our recruitment service then congratulations… you’ve just hit the jackpot. Here is exactly what you need to do to get us to hire you. Recruitment is currently at an all-time high. We have been recruiting, referencing, and advertising continuously over the past few months. So here is a thorough list of our top tips for interviews, from specialists who have seen it all. Buckle up.

What top tips we will cover in this blog:

Make a good first impression
How to prepare
Common questions

Top tips for interviews #1– Make a good first impression:

Appearance. In the age of Zoom, we have lost a level of privacy as your potential future employer is able to have a look at you within your own space. During our time interviewing we have seen a variety of effort levels put into appearance. Ranging from a shirt and tie to poorly positioned camera angles featuring mouldy walls. Of course, we appreciate not everyone has access to a quiet, clean space to take an interview. However, if you can find the time (2 minutes at the least) to properly arrange yourself, it’s not difficult to position yourself in front of a plain wall and point your camera straight on rather than toward the top mouldy corner of the room. First impressions count, and that little bit of effort makes a huge difference.

Lights, camera, action.

Please (please) save us from looking up your nostrils and point your camera directly at yourself.

Call us old fashioned, but we love a shirt and tie. A smartly dressed interviewee demonstrates that they have already put thought into the interview, that they care about how they are perceived, that they understand the formality of the interview process and they are prepared to impress. Don’t be afraid to be to dress up for the interview and aim for a plain background if you’re on zoom.

Relax….

Take a deep breath and allow yourself space to be yourself.

Extra tip: if you’re doing an online interview make sure you have downloaded whichever app the interview is going to be performed on prior to the interview taking place. Faffing about downloading different apps/sorting microphones/camera angles onscreen wastes your interview time and your employer’s time. It’s not a good look.

Finally, remember that your interviewer is just another normal person too. If you’re nervous, prepare a comment on anything to say the very start of the interview as soon as you’re online/in the building. Maybe a remark about the journey there or (very British) an observation of the weather. Thinking of a small comment to say gives you something to fall back on if you need it and it puts your interviewer at ease, demonstrating that you are a friendly normal person.

Top tips for interviews #2 – How to prepare:

Research the company you’re applying to!!! This is such a simple step that so many fall at. There are two questions you can absolutely guarantee an employer will ask you in an interview:

What do you know about the company/why are you interested in working for this company (usually the first question)
Do you have any questions (usually the last question)

Answering these two questions properly will increase the likelihood that you will go through to the next stage tenfold. How to answer them properly you ask?

The first question requires you know about the company (obviously). Answering this with a well-informed understanding of the company’s values and purpose demonstrates that you care about the role you’re applying for. In our modern, technological society we find far too often people apply haphazardly to every role they scroll past on Indeed. Demonstrating you’ve researched the company shows you are genuinely interested in the role. In a sea of online half-hearted applications, that stands out. Prepare a response to this question in advance. Here is an example response for if you were applying to our company:

Top tips for interviews – example answer..

Interviewer: “What is it about Cornerstone Resources that you’re particularly interested in?”

Interviewee: “Well I can see that you are people focussed with a passion for high quality HR Support. I particularly like that you work across multiple sectors, which I’m sure leads to unpredictable working days. I enjoy working in environments like yours, with differing focuses throughout each day. Your website is very easy to navigate so I also noticed that you offer a wide range of HR support, everything from policies to coaching and mentoring. I am particularly skilled and experienced in Recruitment and Induction, so am hoping to be able to assist you further in this area.”

Key words

Identify key words within the job description and make use of those within this response, as well as throughout the rest of the interview. You could even make a list of the keywords to have next to you during the interview to prompt yourself. These may look like the image to the right, but with added role specific key words and core values of the company.

Be clear on your own experience. It is highly likely that they will ask you to walk them through your work experience and qualifications. Practice talking someone through what you’ve done, and throughout refer to what you learnt during the role/qualification making sure to focus on those keywords.

The second guaranteed question is “Do you have any questions?” (usually the last question). ASK A QUESTION. Any question. Sensible questions to ask may be:

How do you see the company growing over the next few years?
What do you expect from team members in this position?
What is a typical day like at this company?
If I want to develop my career in this direction, what opportunities for development are there?
What are the next steps in the job process?

Or a role specific question. Asking a question is a simple and easy way to demonstrate a genuine interest in the role to the interviewer. Just ask anything sensible.

Top tips for interviews #3 – Common interview questions:

Here are some common questions. Think over how you would answer each one. Maybe get a friend to ask you them so you can practice responses. Interview technique is all about prep.

Why do you think you’re a good fit for our company?
Why do you want to work for us?
What do you do in your spare time?
What are your hobbies and interests?
When have you faced a challenging situation and how did you handle it?
Can you tell us about a personal achievement at work?
When have you ever taken the initiative?
Have you ever failed at a task?
What are your main strengths?
Are there any gaps in your experience?
Why should we hire you?
Why did you decide to apply for this position?
I notice you’ve decided to change your career path? What was your thinking about that.

For further development:

Aside from our top tips for interviews, there is plenty of material out there to help you.

Struggle with imposter syndrome? We recommend this ted talk.

Struggle with self-doubt? We recommend this ted talk.