Unblocking the barriers to giving a good Interview.

Like it or not, a job interview is inevitable for most of us at least once in our careers. As an Organisational Development professional, so many times, I hear people say " I'm dreadful at interviews", and I wonder if this is because we just dislike them? You have a job already, you must have done well at interview at some point, and if you haven't been successful for a role at some point it doesn't necessarily mean that you are dreadful! Someone may have performed better, or just be a better fit for the people and the place! Interviews bring up a lot of fear for people, and can cause a lot of quite confident people to doubt themselves and their value.

Back in the 2000 and somethings, I was nursing and wanted to go for my first promotion to a Deputy Sister. I remember reading a research article, thinking about my strengths and weaknesses, revising my skills and thinking I was prepared. Off I went, and off I completely nose dived! Unlike a lot of people following an interview, I requested, and was granted some honest feedback. The Sister that spoke to me was brutally honest, and actually we had quite a laugh when she said I was waffling on and talking ****. She was right. I wasn't clear about who I was, what I could bring, and how to ensure my answers were scoring those needed points to get me the position. Armed with a book called Perfect Interview- available on Amazon for a few pounds, I studied the process and I made sure I was ready for the next time. The next time I got 63/65 available points and made sure I was never underprepared for an interview again.

I found myself becoming an Interview Whisperer, with colleagues and friends coming over to my home, or me visiting them before interviews. The much loved book was borrowed by many over the years, as I started to dabble in what would eventually lead me to working in Organisational Development and completing my Coaching qualification with the ILM.

So after 14 years of interview coaching, here are my top tips for how to prepare for a successful interview:

1. Start with yourself. You can never know yourself enough. I'm not talking about "good time-keeper". I'm talking about the value you bring as an individual, how and why. Start with a piece of paper, put yourself in the middle. Think of everything that you do in your daily life at home and work. From then on, think of examples, think of what it means and how it translates. For example, "caring"- how this is demonstrated, what does it mean for the business, or for you as a leader? If you are struggling with this, a one off session with a coach can be very useful.

2. Study the job description. This will contain the key words and phrases that indicate what they are looking for. Be sure to match these with your answers

3. Forget about selling yourself! Selling is unnatural for a lot of us. Sharing yourself is better. You are sharing your career journey, your story. This is about you and what you have done and can do. No selling required.

4. Prepare your scenario's. You will need examples of times you have dealt with certain situation e.g conflict in your team. Learn them and be ready to provide examples as evidence of your skills and abilities.

5. Practice. If formal question and answers seems too difficult, then start talking to yourself. In your car, in the shower. Start providing answers to questions, or just practice talking about yourself " I am a compassionate leader with 15 years experience in this sector..." The more you get used to talking this way the easier you will recall it when you are nervous.

6. Prepare. Prepare what you need for the role. Case studies, research, data the company rely on. Do your work and be ready to impress them. What are the companies values? You will be expected to have taken the time to read them.

7. Get comfortable with being nervous. A simple narrative shift is to tell yourself that the nerves are there to help you become focused and tunnel visioned. When you start to feel them, take some deep breaths and be more mindful and appreciative that your body is preparing you for the focus time. After all you don't want to be distracted. Sometimes, using nerves and seeing them as a positive is enough to relax a bit more.

There are more, of course, and I believe in taking an individual approach for everyone I speak to. One of the reasons I offer Interview Coaching as a service, is I believe massively in the value of unblocking previous experience and working through positive actions that place you back in charge of your progression. Boosting confidence before an interview primes you to be in the best place for it. A one off coaching session is an affordable and reasonable charge, as I believe in it being in your reach when you need it. Please get in touch today if this is something you would like to hear more about for yourself or for your company staff.