Preparing for an Interview

The recruitment process for management and executive positions can be demanding so it’s important to put the same rigour and energy into your preparation and application.

If you do make it through to interview stage you may be only one step away from that dream job, so this is your chance to show that you meet the necessary criteria and are the right person for the role.

To ensure that you excel at the interview stage and make the right impression on your potential new employers GatenbySanderson’s Partner in the North, Rachel Hannan, offers the following tips:

Do your homework

• Be sure to really prepare by investigating everything about the post and the organisation.
• Ask in advance about the format the interview will take. This should help prevent any unexpected surprises on the day.
• Try to second guess the questions you may be asked; these may well be around the issues of leadership, managing budgets and change management.

Take control

• Remember that the interviewers are probably as nervous as you. They could be inexperienced in interviewing and may well be anxious about questioning you in front of their colleagues.
• Put the interviewers at ease by engaging with them. Introduce warmth and personal engagement to what is a formal setting.
• Take control in a subtle way. Be confident, maintain respect, but don’t take over.
• Never put an interviewer on the spot. Don’t ask a question that they may not know the answer to.
• Let them see you are serious about the role and that you have researched and prepared well.
• Show that you have the capacity for this new role and demonstrate that you have thought about how you can add real value to the new challenge.

Assessment & Development Centres

Our assessment processes are aimed at identifying where you as a candidate would best fit within an organisation.

Assessment also helps you to learn more about yourself. It provides you with a rare opportunity to reflect on your current strengths and areas for development, to think about what motivates you, and to decide where your career aspirations may lie.

After you have been assessed your feedback is collated and studied. This allows us to ensure that the process was effective in identifying your best attributes and also helps you to understand the areas where you might like to develop further in the future.