If you have done the hard part of finding a job and being invited to an interview, the last thing you want to happen now is for it all to go wrong. This is the time to prepare carefully and be as ready for the interview as you can be.

Below are some tips for Graduates attending an interview.

#1 Dress professionally

This is very important. Even if the company is a bit more casual you must always turn up in professional dress and look the part. Employers expect people to be smart and it shows that you have made the effort and are interested in the position that they have open.

#2 Maintain eye contact

If you maintain eye contact then the interviewer is aware that you are concentrating and listening to what is being said. This is very important in an interview and shows your interest. If this is a job you really want then you need to act like you want it and listening and showing that you are listening through eye contact is the key.

#3 Do your research

Always do your research before going to any interview. No matter how good you feel you know something, it is always important to prepare well. Before going to any interview you should know everything you can about the company and the role walk into the interview feeling confident that you do know everything you can.

#4 Be interested

Make sure you are interested in the interview, the company and the person or people who is/are holding the interview. You can show your interest in a number of ways throughout the interview but if you are genuinely interested, as well as answering the questions you will be able to have a dialogue conversation which always feels better in an interview situation.

#5 Questions

Make sure before you go to your interview that you have pre prepared some questions to ask. This is essential in case you cannot think of any questions during your interview. By not asking questions at an interview you will appear disinterested and by asking poor questions you will seem like you have not been listening so scour the website through your research, look at the job role and have two or three questions in the back of your mind that you are prepared to ask.

#6 References

Have you got any written references that you could take along to your interview and leave with the interviewer at the end of the interview? Employers will always want to take up references anyway if they are to employ you, so by pre-empting this and have something that you can readily give to them from someone you have worked with before can but only quicken the decision process.

#7 CV

Make sure your CV is top notch. Get someone to look over it for you and ensure that not only is it grammatically right and the spellings are right but by getting someone else to read your CV allows them to be objective and to think of things that you have not included or things that could be written differently.

#8 Presentations

Usually for any graduate schemes you could be asked to do a presentation of some kind so it is important to get talking to yourself in front of the mirror to practice your skills and perfect them so that when you get asked to do a presentation you are not daunted by it.

#9 Portfolio

Depending on what you have studied at university will depend on what work you have done that you could show a potential new employer. If you have some work that you think would be of interest to an employer then it is advisable to take it with you to an interview to demonstrate what you can do. This is only going to work if it will be of interest to a company.

#10 Practice

Finally the best thing for any interview is to practice. Do a role play scenario with one of your friends or family and make sure you practice acting questions and being able to answer them. The more practice that you get the better as it will make you feel more confident when you get the interview of your dreams.


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