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Unfortunately our current environment sees a rise in numbers on the live register, the knock on effect being that many of us are back in the job seeking world again.  For some it is a time of excitement and possibly even familiar territory if not long out of college.  For many others however it is a vastly different territory to the job search world they knew before.  It may be the case that recruitment agencies and online job seeking is new or indeed, the move advanced and savvy interview techniques can often throw many of us.

As an experienced panel interviewer and general HR professional and skills coach, I have taken my broad experience and laid out my top 5 tips for interview preparation below.  Hopefully you'll find this useful and if you do, please leave your comment / thoughts / suggestions for other reasons here on the blog!

1. STUDY the Role Specification

You'd be amazed at the number of people who turn up for interview and are speechless with blank expression when asked a question directly linked to a responsibility of acronym which was clearly outlined on the role description!

• Read the role description and highlight each task / duty / responsibility expected for the job
• Identify trends / commonalities (if they use word 'lead' etc. a lot)
• If you are unclear about an acronym / term / responsibility area then do your research
• Don't be afraid to contact the HR department in the organisation to ask more about the role before you apply or are interviewed
• Find out if you know somebody currently doing this job and arrange to speak with them in order to find out more about a)the role and b)the characteristics of people who do well at it

2. RESEARCH the Company and the Market

There is now so much information available online and easily accessible to us all, the level of research you conduct on the company is essential in order to show your commitment, eagerness and serious approach to the job application.

• Where is the company based? one or multi locations?
• Is the company part of a wider group?
• Is the organisation local, national, international or global?
• How many people are employed by the organisation?
• Have they won any awards recently (this is great to be able to refer to)
• What industry / market do they operate in?
• Who are their main competitors?
• What does the company do? (You'd be amazed how many people turn up for interview not fully knowing WHAT the company actually do!)
• What products / services does the company offer?

3. Think 'COMPETENCY BASED ANSWERS'

'Competency based interviewing' is a technique used by most good HR professionals now in order to ensure objectivity and better fit selection.  This means they they ask questions which are specifically searching for proof / evidence of your competency (ability) in answers.  Some examples of competency based questions would be;

- "tell me about a time when ..."

- "can you give me an example of a situation wehre you did X..."

- "have you ever done X? If so, tell me how you did it"

The key point when answering competency based questions is to prepare answers that show your ability based on past track record and not what you 'think you can do' or 'feel you can do' or even 'know you can do' - it's all about WHEN & WHAT you DID !

We cover this in a lof of detail on our Interview Skills & Techniques training programme.

4. Get Passionate and Ask Questions!

Personally I find it a bit of a turnoff when I ask people - as I always do at the end of an interview - if they have any questions for me/the panel.  The purpose of my doing this is to allow the candidate to show their depth of research or eagerness or even that they are clued into things!  So when I get a response "no questions thanks" I'm frustrated.  This is your time to show the interview panel that you've thought about the role, that you're eager to get going, that you are already thinking of yourself in that position!  Below are a few examples but next week's blog is specifically about this topic!

- "Will there be any training provided for this role"

- "How soon will you be ready to hire this person and move on this?"

- "How many candidates are you looking for?"

- "Are there any particular traits / characteristics that you're looking for in a hire for this role?"

5. One Chance to Make a First Impression!

As the only saying goes "you only get one chance to make a first impression so make sure it's a good one!  In my book, you can't overdo the grooming or presentation preparation for an interview which is important to you.  We cover this in a lot more detail on our Interview Skills & Techniques training programme

• Men - preferably wear a suit but at the least trousers, shirt and tie
• Women - preferably wear a suit but at the least a well tailored shirt and trousers / skirt
• Women - skirts should be no shorter than knee length and cleavage should be kept to the minimum
• Sleeveless tops / blouses are not recommended (many corporates do not allow these in their dress code)
• Clothes should be clean and pressed
• Hair and nails should be clean and well groomed
• A firm handshake (press the flesh - web contact!!) is important but remember its not an arm wrestle
• Friendly eye contact is a must - don't stare them down
• Remember to smile at each person interviewing you!
• Be early - at least 15 minutes before the scheduled time
• Smell nice - aftershave / perfume - not cigarettes!
• Fresh breath (you can get great little bottles of mouth drops which really work well and fit in tiny pockets)
• Thank the panel for their time and for meeting with you
• Be enthusiastic about the role - don't forget to tell them that you want the job!

Hopefully you have found these hints and tips useful - please share your thoughts and ideas in the comment space below!

Being a manager can be tough at times.  In the current climate, managers are often stretched to perform at their best - minimising costs, reducing headcount, maximising revenue... while increasing productivity and building team morale!

At BrightSkills, we work with managers from all industries and of all sizes - from small business right through to global enterprises and corporations.  We're continuously curious and passionate about management skills and styles - 'What are they doing to achieve those results?'

In this blog, we've outlined our Top 5 Tips for Better Management - based on our experiences and observations working with management teams over the last 10 years;

1. Lead -v- Manage

It's important to understand the difference between leading and managing.  There are hundreds if not thousands of definitions of the two.  In our book;

• "leadership is the skill of moving forward towards a vision, communicating that vision to others and inspiring others to move forwards alongside you" - Eve Bulman
• "management is the combined skill of understanding the strategy and organisational goals while implementing the operational measures necessary to achieve these goals" - Eve Bulman

In the current climate, there is a need for strong management skills on the ground to keep operations moving as efficiently as possible.

2. Listen & Ask

Some managers become masters at assigning work and/or delegating tasks.  Great managers devote time on a daily basis to Listening to their team members.  They Ask questions to gain more insight into operations on the ground and they devote time and energy to understanding the challenges, frustrations and general feelings of their team.  Managers who Listen and Ask don't get surprises and are always best positioned to communicate messages to the team because they understand the team's personality and mood at any given time.

3. Adapt Your Style

Every manager has a preferred management style - whether that is Directing, Collaborative, Democratic or Coaching , great people management depends on the individual's ability to adapt their style to the needs of the employee - not their preferred style.  Remember, people, don't want to be treated equally, they want to be treated individually!

Adapting your style to the preferences and needs of others will enable you as a manager, to get the most out of every team member.  We work on this skill and knowledge in depth on our Insights for Leaders programme.  Contact us for more details.

4. All Feedback is Good Feedback

Running a tight ship means keeping people operating at their optimum levels.  Great managers know that acknowledging both good and poor performance is key in achieving this.

Strong people managers don't shy away from dealing with difficult situations and delivering hard feedback to team members.  They do so in a caring but professional way.  Great people managers also recognise the importance of positive feedback and always recognise a job well done.

At BrightSkills we use the AID model for delivering feedback to individuals and teams - this is a tried and tested model for successful feedback delivery.

5. Smart Capacity Planning

Our job as managers is to empower our teams to do the best job possible.  To do this, we must ensure that our teams are operating in an environment where they CAN perform well.  Smart capacity planning and team time management is essential here.

We recommend that managers develop weekly and monthly capacity plans for their teams.  This will allow them to assign and monitor workload realistically and will also create an objective foundation on which they can negotiate with stakeholders and senior management.  We cover smar capacity planning in detail on our 'Team Time' and 'New Manager' training programmes.

If you found this blog useful, please leave a comment / thought below!