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1. First, don’t be late. Check well in advance the address and the best way of getting to the interview. Arrive with plenty of time to spare and ensure, if necessary, you have good childcare arrangements so you are not worrying about this during the interview. Allow a half hour for traffic problems and other unforeseen events en route.
2. Dress simply but well. Now is not the time to experiment with overly bright colours and overly short skirts. Make sure what you are wearing suggests calm authority and professionalism. Do not wear something that is so tight or uncomfortable that you are squirming your way through the interview process.
3. Make sure you do not come across as being half asleep or bored. Try to make eye contact and appear engaged, no matter how blank your mind is or how nervous you are.
4. Make sure you have done both your research on the company and on the job and have thought up some intelligent questions to ask at the end of the interview. These should not look too desperately focused on money.
5. Keep answers short and clear, but not too short. Try to give concrete examples when asked questions such as how are your team building skills. Remember to read through your application before the interview so that how you responded to the person specification is fresh in your mind, but do not just repeat the application form word for word in your answers. If you have career gaps in your cv, think of intelligent ways to explain them and mention any skills you have picked up as a result, for instance, of being a parent, of running the parent teachers association, etc.
6. Listen carefully to what the interviewer is saying and don’t go off at a tangent on questions. Keep it very professional. Do not start slagging off your previous workplace or colleagues. If you have recently been in work and are asked why you wanted to leave keep it very general such as ‘for career progression’.
7. When asked what your weaknesses are do not list a whole set of failures or, on the other hand, say you don’t have any as this looks overly confident and potentially hiding a whole vat of shortcomings. It looks better to suggest you are aware of your failings, but point to things which have a positive rather than a negative, for instance, you tend to be over-conscientious or to situations where you have learnt from your failings so that you are now the perfect candidate.
8. Fit your experience to the job you are being interviewed for so it looks like you are the ideal candidate and all roads in your life have been leading to this job.
9. Leave confidently, thanking your interviewers for the opportunity and on a high note, explaining why you think you are ideal for the job.
10. Flexible working: it’s the elephant in the room. If you want flexible working, think carefully about how to bring this up. It is better to ask a general question about the company’s policy on flexible working. This alerts them to the fact you might be interested in negotiating this while also giving them the opportunity to talk about something that makes them more attractive to potential employees.