After you've put together that winning resume you read about in Part One of this article, you have now managed to get that all important interview. Now what? Knowing what makes for a successful interview is essential if you are to get that all important job offer. The tips and strategies that follow come from many years of experience, interviewing literally thousands of applicants, from junior executives right up to and including, Chief Executive Officers. We will look at what you really should do from preparation through rehearsal to follow up if you want to give yourself a better chance than those competing with you.

Research

Your first step MUST always be research and it should be extensive. It is essential that you find out as much as you possibly can about the company who is about to interview you. Why, you might ask? Because:

* It will give you the edge at interview, maybe a significant edge, as a high percentage of candidates know very little about the company to whom they have applied

* It will lead to your being able to ask sensible and even penetrating questions at the interview (more later on that)

* It shows your high motivation for joining the company

* It shows you have an enquiring mind

* It may reveal aspects that surprise you

* It may reveal aspects that you do not like

What sources do you have for your research? There are plenty:

* Friends and family

* The Internet

* Company Annual Report

* Yellow pages

* Word of mouth - talk to employees leaving the company office (if you're brave enough!)

* Professional journals and trade magazines

* Newsletters

* Stock-brokers

* National and local print media (via your local library?)

Gathering background information on employers is a crucial element in successful interview preparation. Just about all recruiters, internal especially, will expect you to be prepared to answer questions about their company. But more importantly, you will be far better prepared to ask deeper and more penetrating questions than any other candidate who has done little or no preparation (the vast majority).

* Find out about:

* Their history (you would be amazed how proud many interviewers are about their company's origins) and if you know a little about it, you might earn a few extra points.

* Their products and services

* Their typical customer profile

* Their recent financial performance. If you can spend a little time analyzing it too, so much the better

* Career options and future prospects

* What they invest in R & D, perhaps as a percentage of revenue or a percentage of employee costs? The answer can be quite revealing.

* Its locations

* Its size, diversity and recent changes

* When did it last introduce a new product?

* Its organisation structure?

Practice

Yes, practice, or rehearse. If you have or have access to a camcorder, so much the better, as you can critique your own performance. Better though is to have a trusted friend or family member to help you, as long as their critique is honest and frank. Go through the typical questions that just about every recruiter will ask, for example:

Typical Interview Questions

- What do you see yourself doing in five years time?

- What are your strengths?

- What are your weaknesses?

- How do you spend your spare time? What are your hobbies?

- In what type of position are you most interested?

- What jobs have you held, and why did you move on?

- What have you done which shows initiative and willingness to work?

- Why should I hire you?

- Give me an example of a work situation in which you were not proud of your performance. What did you learn and do differently as a result?

- Why should I hire you?

- What motivates you to put in your greatest effort?

- In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to our company?

- What have you learned from participating in - extra-curricular or outside work activities?

- In what kind of work environment are you most comfortable?

- Why are you seeking to work for us?

- Do you have any geographic preferences? Why?

- Tell me about any conflicts you've had with a co-worker and how did you resolve it?

- Define co-operation

- To which job in this company would you realistically aspire?

Types of Interview Questions

Many of the above questions are "behavioral" in style, in that they seek to hear what you can tell about actual experiences (ie how you behaved), not broad theories of what you might do in a hypothetical situation. This is a win-win. The interviewer gets to hear about real issues the candidate has faced (and of course, how, and with what outcomes) but the candidate too finds it much easier to answer from real life than having to think and theorize about what he or she might do.

For example, a typical behavioral question might be: "Give me an example of a situation you have faced where the outcome was critical to the overall success of a project." I use this one frequently.

Take time in your preparations to think of at least two situations you have faced where the eventual outcome was positive, and one where it was not. The latter is increasingly being asked. The interviewer will be expecting a fair degree of detail, so be certain of your facts. If you have limited experience in the workplace, think of situations at college/university, perhaps in one of other of the societies or associations of which you might have been a member.

You should be able to discuss aspects of your skills, your interests, your strengths and values, but you should also prepare discuss your weaknesses, turning them into positives. For example, you might not be strong on delegating, but you should be able to illustrate where you realised this was an area that needed improvement, and state what you did.

Even if other types or styles of questions are asked, it should be possible for you to apply the same techniques, in most cases, with most questions. Other recognizable styles would include:

* Directive, where the recruiter determines the focus of your reply, eg: "What skills do you have that relate to the position on offer?"

* Non-directive, where you determine the focus, eg: "Tell me about yourself" or "Tell me about your career to date."

* Hypothetical or Scenario, where the recruiter describes a situation or an issue, and asks how you would handle it. Eg: ""Suppose you are working on your first day in our office and a fire breaks out. How would you handle it?"

During your preparations, do not neglect to include questions that you wish to ask. This is a genuine two-way event, not merely you being interviewed for a position, it is also you assessing, through your questions and their answers, if you consider the position and the company are in harmony with your own aspirations.

Be on time!

Yes, I know I'm stating the obvious, but I have been faced with candidates giving me all sorts of excuses for being late, 99% of which I am not interest in, and nor is any other good recruiter. If the train was late, too bad, you should have anticipated that possibility. If there was an unexpected traffic jam, same answer. You had a problem finding the office? Sorry, everyone knows to check out a location with which you are unfamiliar, at least the day before.

I advise people to be in the general area of the office where they will be interviewed, at least 15 minutes before the interview time, and standing in front of the receptionist or secretary, 5 minutes early.

Be nice to the security guard!

No, I'm not kidding you. Whether it is the security guard, secretary or a receptionist, at the entrance to the company's office, you MUST be really polite and pleasant to them. It is an old trick for the recruiter to prime those at the office entrance that candidates are coming and the recruiter wants to know how courteous, friendly and polite they were, or of course, exactly the opposite.

At last, the interview itself

Greet the interviewer appropriately - essentially follow his or her lead. If you are an expatriate or foreigner in a Muslim country, and are being interviewed by a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf, she may not want to shake your hand. Don't be offended, for 99/100 times, she will give you just as welcoming a smile. This is very common in many parts of S E Asia (especially Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore) and you may well encounter the same in many parts of Europe today. To be honest, in my long experience in S E Asia, many of the female HR managers and recruiters make excellent interviewers and are particularly good as putting the candidate at ease.

Take care how you sit. Hopefully you took notice of what I wrote in Part One about dressing appropriately. Girls, I hope your skirt or dress was well chosen for seating. Guys, is that suit really too tight, especially when you sit? Guys, please do not slouch in the chair, and take great care (as I said in Part One) about the way in which you cross your legs. The bottom of your shoe facing the floor please.

If you have prepared as suggested, then you should be fine at the interview itself. In fact I have had trainees who have been on my company's interview skills training program tell me that the role plays we did prepared them so well for the real thing, the role plays were far tougher!

Remember....

* Be a good and careful listener

* If you need to take a few seconds to think about your answer, that is fine

* Do really listen to what interviewer is saying and not think about what they are going to ask next - you will seem disinterested

* Show real interest, nod, smile, 'ah', 'oh' 'I see', etc

* Use positive body language

* Try to maintain good eye contact, within cultural norms

* Even if they are taking notes, do make sure you still listen carefully to what they are saying

* Do not fidget with pen, or paper clip or whatever

* Do not interrupt

* Do not be a passive listener

* If you are unsure about anything the interviewer has said, do not be afraid to ask for clarification

Be aware

* Of what your body language says (clusters, not just one element)

* That what you are saying is not at variance to your posture and body language

* Of your impact

* Of posture, yours and the interviewers

* Of your hands and gestures

* How much (or how little) you are smiling and frowning

Do not forget

* To ask your questions. Never, ever, say you have none to ask

* To think before you speak

* To show the recruiter how much you know about his company, but not in a boastful or arrogant way

* To demonstrate that you are a good planner, through carrying an organiser or PDA into the interview.

* An organiser (no matter how old-fashioned) is actually preferable, as not only is it easy for you to make notes, if you wish to, but also unlike a PDA, which invariably has a phone function, it will not be switched off!

* To demonstrate through examples, of where you are equally comfortable working independently or as a member of the team

* To thank the interviewer for his or her time and to ask approximately when you may expect to hear the outcome

* To send a written (or emailed) "thank you" note. This is rarely done, but always positively received, and will leave a lasting impression. Keep it very short and simple.

So, that is just about all I can impart in a brief article. If you happen to be reading this and you are in Asia/Pacific, my HR consulting company has a two day interview skills training program for recruiters and one for candidates too, particularly aimed at those unfortunate employees who might be made redundant during a downsizing exercise. It is a part of our full outplacement program. Don't hesitate to contact us for assistance.

Michael is a British citizen, but long term resident of Hong Kong and now Malaysia. After 25 years with a global banking leader, he is now a partner in his own Management consulting company http://www.skillnet-resources.com also covering database/direct marketing. For Internet and Affiliate Marketing, Michael may be contacted through his other web site, http://www.makingdollars4u.com where links may also be found to other his articles on HR and internet/affiliate marketing.