by Philip Lop

Created on: December 12, 2010   Last Updated: November 28, 2011

Good preparation for a job interview is a crucial part of success. The interview remains the pivotal hurdle to cross when applying for a job. Hours can be invested in a good resume and cover letter but they will almost certainly be wasted if the interview does not go very well.

What is an interview, by definition? It is nothing more or less than a discussion about an individual’s capabilities and experience and nobody knows more about the candidate that the candidate him/herself. Nonetheless, the most common reason that candidates fail interviews is because they have not prepared appropriately. Interview preparation need not be an enormous job in itself. One or two hours’ work should suffice and it will be one or two hours well invested.

Start with the basics

Spend an appropriate amount of time on personal appearance. Smart, clean, well-presented clothes are essential and the candidate should be well-groomed. Short, clean, tidy nails are advisable, along with a neat, sensible hair style. Candidates should refrain from wearing lots of jewelry or strong perfume. The idea is to look clean, smart and mature. It is well worth investing time in a good haircut and a facial the day before an interview. This will also help boost confidence.

Understand the role

Many candidates fail job interviews because they do not demonstrate a full understanding of the role that they have applied for or the qualities that they need to be able to show to pass the interview. This is easy to prepare for. Any advertised role should come with a job description or profile. Study this carefully and pick out the key qualities and skills that the employer is looking for.

Do not assume that these are generic to a role. One company may be looking for a project manager that is strong in IT, whereas another will be looking for a project manager with particularly strong stakeholder management skills. These requirements will be included in the role profile. Study the profile carefully and note the key qualities required. Candidates should prepare two or three strong scenarios that show that they can demonstrate these skills.

Prepare scenarios to demonstrate skills and experience

Most recruiters will adopt a similar interviewing style. One of the most common methods of asking questions will be to adopt the SOARA technique. In preparing examples of their experience, candidates should be able to answer five key questions about the scenario as indicated by the acronym SOARA.

Situation –

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