6 Interviewer Secrets Revealed

Have an interview coming up? Greatly improve your chances of success by being aware of these 6 interviewer secrets.

Interviewers do judge but are not out to get you

Interviewers have a short time frame to determine if you will be the right person for the job, therefore they not only judge your ability in an interview, but also how you speak, how you present yourself and even how you behave yourself while you wait in reception. In saying that though, they’re not trying to catch you out! An interviewer is just looking for someone who can present themselves well and someone who would be a good cultural fit so don’t be afraid of them.

Don’t assume they know your CV

Firstly an interviewer will probably have several other interviews the day they meet you, so even if they read over your CV that morning come 2 o’clock it’ll be a distant memory. Secondly, in panel interviews in particular, an interviewer may have been asked at the last minute to sit in on the interview so never assume that they know your CV. Therefore, while you may feel like you’re repeating yourself, reiterate and expand on what’s in your CV to ensure that your interviewers know exactly what you are referring too.

Don’t assume your interviewer knows how to interview

Speaking of assumptions, another mistake many candidates make when attending an interview is assuming their interviewer knows what they’re doing. However chances are at your second/third round interview you’re meeting the hiring manager and/or team members rather than HR and these individuals may not be trained in interviewing skills. Therefore you may not be asked in depth questions or given an opportunity to show why you are the right person for the job. When this happens, try and take control of the interview and redirect the conversation to talk about your experience, skills and reasons as to why you deserve this position.

Interviewers see right through your buzzwords!

You may think by using highfalutin terms, you’ll appear as if you know your stuff. However, there are only so many buzzwords you can throw into a conversation before you’ll lose their attention and they start a game of Buzzword (Bulls**t) Bingo. Interviewers appreciate answers that are concise, direct and to the point. You need to show your interviewers that you can do the job so your answers need to be relevant to the questions they ask. We all have a tendency to waffle when we’re unprepared so the secret is in the prep you do before your interview. Practice, practice and practice again until your answers just roll off your tongue.

Know why you want this job!

Interviewers have seen it countless times – a candidate is acing their interview and then just lose it when asked why they want the job! Why? As their answer tends to be one of the following: (a) I love your company, (b) as your company are the leaders in the industry or (c) I’m bored where I am currently. These are all generic answers that suggest you haven’t thought about where you want to work.

By hiring you, an interviewer wants you to solve a problem for them. The above answers do not suggest you can solve this problem. You need to treat this question as an opportunity for a sales pitch, think about what the interviewer wants in a candidate and what it is that they need to hear – enthusiasm for the role, knowledge of the company and what the role entails and finally how you can be of value.

They’re going to check all your social media profiles

Finally they are going to check up on you online and it’s not just LinkedIn and Facebook that will be checked. Realise that your online comments and discussions are not private, therefore don’t post anything that you wouldn’t want a prospective employer to see. Particularly be conscious of public profiles you hold such as a Twitter account as a snarky comment about your current employer could leave a bad taste with your interviewer. Make sure that all your profiles are private and that your profile pictures are flattering (the interviewers can still see your profile picture when your account is private)!

Posted by Recruitment Consultant, Sigmar on 29 November 2017

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