Pt. 1: Interview coming up? – What to do (and not to do) in a recruitment process

Time flies and a new year is approaching. Are you in the mood to grasp the next challenge that might have come across you? In that case it might be suitable with a few tips regarding the recruitment process. Luckily for you, we’ve decided to share our insights in a series of four articles, covering the process from pre to post interview and even what you should do when it’s time to quit your job (and be welcomed back).

First one out is the pre-interview preparations, logically. And yes, this applies for all you superstars that have applied actively for a job and, of course, you lucky sun-of-a-guns who got hunted down by a well-mannered recruiter :-)

Preparation is king!

• A CV stating assignments with relevance to the role
  - Throw in some personal characteristics and what you like to do in your spare time
  - Go for the personal touch – it will make it fun for the interviewer to read.

• Do your reading!
  - If you get the question “Have you read about us on our website?” you want to be able to answer Yes. And be honest about it.
  - Get a sense of what the company does, sells, promotes as well as its values, vision etc. And start your thinking process – is this a match for me?

• Be curious!
  - Who’s the recruiter? Visit their LinkedIn, maybe you have some common interest/connections/past colleagues that can create a bond between you from the beginning. Ice breakers are gooood.
  - What type of interview will this be? A skillbased, get-to-know or a combination of the two? Ask when you schedule the meeting and prepare accordingly.
• Dress to impress!
  - Check in with the recruiter if there’s a dresscode at the office. If yes, dress suitably. If no, go for business casual (does not mean you have to pull out the suit from the back of your wardrobe, but maybe avoid the blue jeans and your worn old sneakers).
  - Always be yourself, or at least the best you possible. :-)

Still nervous? Well, don’t be! You should know that the recruiter really wish for you to be the superstar they’ve been waiting to employ! Which leads us to the interview part. Coming up in the next article is "Our top 5 insights and advices regarding the interview session". Stay tuned.

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Sara Brandtman
Attract & Recruit, One Agency