An interview is a short, badly lit sample of how you work. These five things move the result more than anything else we have watched candidates try.
1. Read the company, not the careers page
Find out what the team ships, who it sells to, and what changed in the last year. Then read the listing again and mark the skills it repeats. Those are the ones being tested.
2. Decide what you want them to remember
You will not get to say everything. Pick three things and make sure each one lands with an example attached.
3. Prepare the examples, not the answers
Rehearsed answers sound rehearsed. Rehearsed examples sound like experience. Situation, task, action, result — in that order, and keep the result specific.
4. Ask something you genuinely want to know
The best questions are the ones you would ask on your first day. What went wrong in the last quarter. Who you would sit with. How the last person in this role is doing.
5. Send the follow-up
Within a day, in four sentences: thank them, name the one thing that stuck with you, restate the strongest example, offer anything they asked to see. Most candidates skip this, which is exactly why it works.
Senior HR Consultant
Sophie Martin
Recruiter and talent consultant, ten years in and still reading every CV