Correct preparation

How well you perform at an interview will largely depend on how
well you have prepared for it. Failure to correctly prepare almost
certainly means you will not perform at your best. In some cases,
it will mean performing quite badly, which may contribute to the
erosion of your confidence.
Even if you’re lucky enough to be the favoured candidate, and
are almost certain to win the position by just turning up, you should
still take the time to prepare because the better you perform, the
greater the likelihood that you will negotiate a better salary—and
often the difference in money can be substantial.
We’ve all heard people boast that they’ve never prepared for an
interview in their lives and have done all right. Whilst this boast
may not be an idle one, closer inspection will usually reveal that
these people were:
• lucky—that is, in the right place at the right time;
• well connected;
• working in a favourable labour market where there was a huge
demand for employees coupled with low supply;
• applying for jobs well within their comfort zone—that is, not
stretching themselves to improve their position; or
convincing them you’re right for the job 13
• applying for jobs internally and competing mainly against
external candidates.

The case for preparation

The argument for interview preparation becomes compelling when
you give some thought to the basic nature of interviews. Not only
are you expected to sell yourself in a competitive environment, but
you’re also expected to compress large and often complex pieces of
information into neat and highly articulate answers that avoid any
negative connotations and contain the information the interviewer
wants to hear. It’s no wonder people’s stress levels increase. But it
doesn’t end there. There are three additional reasons that make the
case for interview preparation even more compelling:
• Interviews are rare events, thus making them unfamiliar and
awkward.
• Many people find it very difficult to sell themselves at interviews
because they’ve been conditioned by family and society not to
blow their own trumpet. Making simple statements such as ‘I am
very good at selling xyz’ can be quite an obstacle to overcome.
• In most interviews, coming second isn’t good enough. It’s not
just a matter of performing well; it’s also a matter of beating
everyone else.
It is unimaginable that you would fail to prepare for an event that
is infrequent, competitive and requires behaviours not normally
used. Yet that is exactly what people do when they walk into an
interview without preparation.

What is incorrect preparation?

Incorrect preparation is any preparation that will not optimise your
performance at an interview. Rote-learning generic answers that
someone else has prepared has limited value. At best, they can give
you an insight into what may constitute a good answer; at worst,
they simply lead you astray. It is important to understand that, in
14 interview skills that win the job
the vast majority of cases, there’s no such thing as a single answer
to a question. What may constitute a great answer for one employer
may be viewed as quite ordinary by another. One of the worst things
you can do is learn other people’s responses off by heart and repeat
them at an interview. Repeating other people’s so-called great answers
can make you sound disingenuous and make you look a bit ridiculous
when asked a probing follow up question. It makes a lot more sense
to prepare your own answers.

Advantages of preparation
Taking the time to correctly prepare for an interview will:
• improve your confidence levels;
• assist you in answering questions succinctly, as opposed to taking
forever to make a simple point;
• help you know what to say and how to say it;
• assist you in handling difficult questions;
• help you avoid saying things that will make a negative impression;
• improve your rapport-building skills.