Nearly 15 years ago I co-founded a social enterprise that is dedicated to helping those leaving education into careers. It continues to this day and places around 30k young people into work, something I’m personally very proud of. It’s fair to say over that time I learned a lot about what recruiters want and as importantly, what they don’t want. When I was invited to write this piece therefore, there was no shortage of material to draw from.
However, a simple ChatGPT search of “Top interview preparation tips” will give you much of my 15 years’ experience in a 60 second read, I guess my first tip therefore is, you must do that. It will give what I consider the “cost of entry” things you should do as an average applicant.
I would expect to see the need to research the company and where possible your interviewers. Practicing common interview questions and understanding the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method of answering. Preparing your own questions to ask your interviewers, that focus on the role, the culture and future organisational challenges. Dressing appropriately and being punctual, polite and conscious of non-verbal communication. Maybe even the importance of polite, timely follow-up email summarising the interview highlights and thanking those involved for their time.
So, my challenge was how to add real value to differentiate your approach and equip you for more consistent success. Afterall, the aim is not to get a job, it’s to get the dream job! Here are my top three…
Understand AI in recruitment
You may not be replaced by AI but you will be replaced by someone who uses it, is the mantra. In recruitment, AI is now ubiquitous. There is no doubt your CV and cover letter will be scanned by AI and the highlights and percentage fit for the job presented to the interviewer. As such make sure you’re tailoring your application to the role, not firing off generic CVs.
The best way to do this is to utilise AI to revise engineering key skills and behaviours required and make sure they are included in your application. Here’s the magic: you must tailor the language, especially in cover letters. You’re not the only applicant doing this, interviewers run AI filters to pull out copy and paste applications. It’s a tool not the answer! With the role profile and job description loaded into AI, you can also ask for suggested interview questions for the role. This will help in your preparation and give you more confidence.
Make the interviewers life easy
Most hiring managers are not recruitment experts, and while they may have HR support the decision will be theirs. They interview relatively infrequently and it’s likely when they meet you, they have had or are going to have a very long repetitive day or two. Making the experience easy, enjoyable and most importantly memorable is therefore your priority. Most importantly, show a personal interest. Most easily achieved in your own questions, by asking how they came to be in their position, what their current challenges are or simply what made them successful in their role.
Bring some ideas to the table. In your research on the company, the industry and the role, develop and weave your thoughts into your answers to other questions. Going the extra mile will help you standout. This can be very effective in online interviews where you have the opportunity to share your screen and potentially show ideas, thoughts and research you have completed.
Practice good mental health
All the preparation in the world will be wasted if nerves get the better of you. Personal resilience is one of the most commonly requested strengths of any modern role and like all things, it can be worked on and developed. Treat finding a job. Set time aside for key tasks, look for continual improvements in your technique. Always take up the offer of feedback as this gives a route to improvement and confidence. Practice mindfulness techniques that work for you and give yourself time, space and the right environment before an interview to do these.
The best interview advice I ever had was to remember that an interview is a two-way process. Draw confidence from the fact it is as much about deciding if you want to work in an organisation as it is about them choosing you. Finally, reward yourself after an interview. Good or bad is irrelevant, it’s all a learning experience. Do something you enjoy as quickly as possible after, condition your brain to learn this as a positive experience... after all, there are many more to come!
John Parkes, head of charity at Enginuity and co-founder of Get My First Job.
The Student Engineer is a special channel of The Engineer aimed at educating and inspiring engineering undergraduates about the career opportunities in engineering and also offering practical advice on how they can access these opportunities.
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