(12min 36) Being prepared can make a big difference to the outcomes of a job interview, irrespective of your experience or career change. Today on BTalk Australia Sue Currie from Shine Communications gives Phil Dobbie ten tips to try and stand out and win the gig.
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- Today’s Transcript
Phil Dobbie: Hello, I’m Phil Dobbie and welcome to BTalk Australia. Today the 10-point plan to a successful job interview. You might be on the lookout for another job right now and for many it’s a long time since you last had to sell yourself in that nerve-wracking half hour or so. So how do you ensure that you’re presenting yourself well and getting that competitive edge? Personal brand consultant Sue Currie from Shine Communications believes most of us need to smarten up if we’re going to get the gig. And she has ten tips to try and secure the job that you’re after. So first off Sue, you say we need to do a bit of research.
Sue Currie: Sure. It’s like anything; you really do need to do a little bit of research before you go off on a job interview. You might have the skills and the talent but what’s going to give you that extra edge? So you first of all need to check the company’s website, find out any information that you can that’s relevant to your role and look at the organisation’s brand values. It’s usually on there. Have a look at their mission statement. All of those things, and find out if they match your brand values and your future career direction. Have you thought about that? What are your brand values? Because if you’re closely aligned to your future employers, that’s going to make it you know, a lot more interesting and pleasurable for you. You just got to see if you’re a good fit.
Dobbie: Does it gel? Dress appropriately. Now that’s harder these days. That’s your second one isn’t it? Because you’ve got to know how the company dresses.
Currie: That’s right, and a good idea, I think, is to again do a little bit of research. Go stand outside the places of future employment and watch people come and go as they go on their lunch breaks. See how people are dressed. Up the ante a little bit and, and dress appropriately. Do dress well for your interview. Not too corporate if it’s a casual industry and also not too casual if it’s a corporate job that you’re going after. So have a look at how people dress and look smart.
Dobbie: Right, so your third suggestion is really to invest in a quality suit, but I guess that means if you don’t have to wear a suit for the interview, you should still be wearing smart clothes.
Currie: I think it’s a good idea to wear something obviously very smart, but I still think a suit is quite a good idea. You don’t necessarily have to wear a tie with that, but I think a jacket always gives you that extra edge. It makes you look a little bit more professional. So it could be that you are going for a casual, a you know, smart, casual look. But I still think a jacket can help. So invest in something that doesn’t cost a lot, but it’s going to look really good on you and of course, you’ve got to make sure that it fits well. That’s why I say don’t borrow something from someone because more than likely it’s not going to fit you well, it’s not going to be the right colour, the right cut for you — buy something. I mean, you will wear it; it will be an investment for your future career.
Dobbie: That’s right, once every five years, maybe, if you work in the industries I’ve been working in.
Currie: Right.
Dobbie: And point four is being positive. Now can you, can you go over the top with that?
Currie: You probably can go a little bit over the top and be too animated and too gushy. I think the idea is to try and be yourself as much as possible. But what happens is that we, we hold back a little bit in job interviews because generally we’re a little bit nervous. So I think, it’s largely being more animated than you, you would normally be, just to, to lift you that little bit extra. Be a little bit more positive, have an energetic vibe about you, but try not to fake it. Just be yourself as much as possible.
Dobbie: Right. Don’t listen to the news that morning is probably the best way of staying positive.
Currie: Yeah, put some uplifting music on, have a dance around the house before you go off to your interview. Put yourself in a good mood. Of course.
Dobbie: Delightful. They’ll think you’ve gone mad. Point five is to be confident. Now that’s not easy is it? Because the whole thing is an artificial, nerve-wracking situation.
Currie: Oh, it’s awful. I mean, we’re putting ourselves in front of people and often it’s more than one, it might be a panel of people. How intimidating can that be? So I think one way that will help you overcome some of those nerves is, again, just to prepare well. It’s a part of doing that research. So you might think about some possible questions and answers that the perspective employer might ask you, have a little bit of a rehearsal, go over some points with your partner or, or flatmate or whoever it might be and, and practice some possible questions and answers. Have a look on some of the recruitment websites and see the sorts of things that they suggest and that will help you. That’ll help you feel a little bit more confident.
Dobbie: All right, OK. Point six and it’s a small one, but I think it is important, isn’t it. Handshakes. There’s nothing worse than a wet handshake.
Currie: Nothing worse than a wet handshake. So don’t have a cold drink before you go in and, again, you might be a little bit nervous. If you have a sweaty palm just wipe your hand delicately somewhere before you go in and do give that handshake. Guys usually can do a good handshake — girls often aren’t that comfortable with handshakes, but you’ve just got to practice. Get good at doing a handshake.
Dobbie: And a fairly firm one. I mean, I always remember that, that time that John Howard was coming out of the radio studio and Mark Latham was there, that was probably not a good handshake.
Currie: That’s the old power pull.
Dobbie: It was like they were going to rip each other’s arms off.
Currie: That’s right you know, the limp fish, the power pull, and, oh, the pumping action. There’re lots of things to avoid. But, but that’s it. Just a nice, strong, firm handshake. Look someone in the eye, smile and, and again, it will give you that sense of confidence.
Dobbie: Now point seven you’ve said is grooming. It’s good to see the June Dally Watkins way of doing things is, is still around, so what do you mean by grooming?
Currie: It’s paying attention to the little details. We sometimes forget those finer points but they are so important. Particularly in this competitive environment. It doesn’t have to be old fashioned, it doesn’t have to be formal — that’s not what we mean by grooming. It’s just being aware of having clean hair, wash it, make sure it’s washed, neatly combed. For men and women. You know, guys, be clean shaven. I know the three-day stubble is a modern look, and it looks good in those model shoots and magazines, but if you’re going for an interview, be clean shaven. Girls, wear a little bit of makeup, even if you’re not used to wearing makeup. It’ll warm your face. You’ll look a little bit friendlier, a bit warmer with just a bit of lipstick, even if it’s not something that you normally wear. So pay attention to those finer points. Because they really are important.
Dobbie: Now, body language. I find this is one of the hardest things. Because you’ve become so aware of how you’re sitting, you’re sitting there conscious about it and then you forget about it and you almost wake up and find that you’re slouching sideways on the chair with your head resting on your arm. It’s difficult to try to keep that awareness of how you’re sitting without it being distracting.
Currie: That’s right. One of the things I find, if you sit reasonably well back in the chair when you first go into the interview, because your lower back is in the back of the chair, that will help you sit up straight and it also makes it a little bit more difficult to cross your legs in that casual sort of style as well. So that’s something to be conscious of. It’s like being prepared for your questions and answers — you could perhaps practice by just going in, sitting in a chair and putting your back firmly in, in the back of that chair so that will keep you upright.
Dobbie: I think the other thing to remember though is you sometimes feel like you’re sitting there like a stiff pole, not moving. It must look unnatural, you think, to the other person, but in fact they don’t notice it. I mean you’re more conscious of it than they are.
Currie: That’s right, you do need to move. I’m not suggesting that you sit there and be totally stiff. It’s a bit like people on television, if they don’t animate or they don’t move their heads they look like wooden dolls, I suppose. So you still have to be a little bit animated and lively, and hand gestures are fine. But just try not to be over the top, and be as natural as possible.
Dobbie: Now point nine is clear speech. How do you think we should — everyone hates hearing themselves, don’t they?
Currie: Oh, don’t we all.
Dobbie: I’ve gotten used to it now, but do you think you should record yourself and have a listen to how you sound so you understand how you’re getting points across?
Currie: When you do record yourself it does sound different to how you really do come across because of the mechanisms that are used to tape you. Whether it’s even just on a tape recorder, for instance. It does sound different. But basically it’ll give you an idea of where you’re dropping the “ings” and perhaps not being clear, or where you’re putting in “you knows” and “umms” and those sorts of things. So if you can listen to yourself, it will give you a bit of an idea of what you need to improve. You might be really flat and monotone and have nothing interesting about your voice and you might have to perhaps animate a little bit more. So it does help I think, to listen to your voice before you go off and do an interview.
Dobbie: Yeah, and actually putting inflection in your voice, I think people think that they’re going over the top and it normally doesn’t sound that way. People have this strange idea that when they’re sounding overly animated, they’re not really.
Currie: And we’re being a bit animated now.
Dobbie: We are. Exactly. We’re probably holding a conversation with more animation in our voices than we normally would.
Currie: That’s right. But it’s important. Particularly, I mean on radio of course because you need to sound alive and interesting and all of those things but you also need to come across in an interview as though you’re alive as well.
Dobbie: I see. Well, I try my best, you know. The final point is to relax. Now the obvious question is how you going to relax while trying to remember those first nine points?
Currie: Well, it’s just being aware of those particular points and it’s just a matter of enjoying as much as possible. So if you’re prepared, if you’re looking good, if you’re sounding good and you know what it is that you’re going to say when you go into that interview, that will help you feel a little bit more confident. Just don’t try too hard to remember all the points but the main point is just to enjoy your interview. You know, talk to the interviewer and actually enjoy that conversation. And have fun with it.
Dobbie: Now a lot of it is chemistry, isn’t it, when it all gets down to it. And sometimes you might be right for the job but you just don’t get the job because you just didn’t gel with the interviewer. I guess there’s an element of the luck of the draw, isn’t there?
Currie: Of course. There is an element of the luck of the draw and as I’ve said, you might have the skills and the talent on your resume, everything sounds great. You’ve even looked the part. You’ve done your best in the interview but at the end of the day, you just don’t know who the competition is. So it’s not to say that by remembering all of these points you will definitely get the job, but it will certainly help towards making a positive impression on that person.
Dobbie: Right, the proof’s in the pudding, Sue. In your, in your lifetime, in your corporate life, how many job interviews have you had, and what’s your strike rate been like?
Currie: I’ve had hundreds and hundreds of job interviews and I haven’t always succeeded. When I started out in my career actually started modelling and I mean that’s a high rejection industry because you’re going to casting calls all the time. On that day you’re may be just not right for that particular role. But sometimes I’ve been lucky and sometimes I haven’t.You’ve just got to do your best.
Dobbie: Yeah, absolutely. Well listen, my success rate in the modelling industry was zero, which is why I had to turn to radio. Listen, Sue, it’s been a pleasure talking to you today. Thanks for your time.
Currie: Thank you Phil.
