Figuring out What Needs to Happen for Your Career Interview Preparation
A typical job interview has a single candidate meeting with between one and three persons representing the employer; the potential supervisor of the employee is usually involved in the interview process. A larger interview panel will often have a specialized human resources worker. While the meeting can be over in as little as 15 minutes, job interviews usually last less than two hours.
The bulk of the job interview will entail the interviewers asking the candidate questions about his or her job history, personality, work style and other factors relevant to the job. For instance, a common interview question is “What are your strengths and weaknesses?” The candidate will usually be given a chance to ask any questions at the end of the interview. These questions are strongly encouraged since they allow the interviewee to acquire more information about the job and the company, but they can also demonstrate the candidate’s strong interest in them.
Candidates for lower paid and lower skilled positions tend to have much simpler job interviews than do candidates for more prestigious positions. For instance, a lawyer’s job interview will be much more demanding than that of a retail cashier. Most job interviews are formal; the larger the firm, the more formal and structured the interview will tend to be. Candidates generally dress slightly better than they would for work, with a suit (called an interview suit) being appropriate for a white-collar job interview.
You may encounter profession specific interview types. So for some singers or actors, they will be expected to perform well in an audition in order to secure the post. In consultant medical interviews, you may have to answer clinical questions or deliver a presentation.
Increasingly, companies are moving away from old fashioned interviews and employing assessment day strategies, in which a variety of activities are undertaken to learn about the different qualities of each candidate in a less contrived way.
A candidate should follow up the interview with a thank-you letter, expressing his or her appreciation for the opportunity to meet with the company representative. The thank you letter ensures that the candidate will stay fresh in the interviewer’s mind. The primary purpose of the job interview is to assess the candidate’s suitability for the job, although the candidate will also be assessing the corporate culture and demands of the job.
