It’s official. You have a job interview, you know the time and date, the exact floor and room you need to go to, but you’ve never had an interview in Israel before, or this is one of the first times you have even had an interview.
Continue reading to learn how to land that job and succeed in your interview!
Interview preparation
Spending time preparing for the interview is always a good plan. This will increase your confidence, enable you to think about your questions beforehand so you will not forget anything and show the employer that you know your stuff:
Write down the location, time and name of interviewer and take them with you for any case you might forget it. You’d be surprised to know how many people miss the interview, turn up late or arrive at the wrong location because they have not properly noted the details. Don’t arrive earlier than 10 minutes for the interview.
Do your research on the organisation – this will help when it comes to asking questions and framing your answers..
Network – use your contacts to see if they know anything about the company.
Familiarise yourself with your CV – don’t risk getting caught out by questions about your background or experience
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Answering difficult interview questions
Try to anticipate the less obvious questions you may be asked about your skills and achievements and reinforce your replies by giving tangible examples.
The idea is to try and impart as much information as you can about what you have done and how you can contribute, so make sure that you have evidence to back up your answers.
Making an impression
It is often said that the interviewer makes up their mind within 30 seconds of you walking through the door and then spends the rest of the interview justifying that decision.
Dress code: Make sure that your appearance is clean, smart and business-like, even if the company has a dress down policy.
Be alert: Smile and try to relax as soon as possible.
Try to avoid any irritating mannerisms, such as playing with a pen, tapping on the desk, chewing gum, swinging about in your chair and so on.
Advice on asking questions
Always have some questions ready for the interviewer – it looks bad if you have not prepared at least a couple of questions. It is best not to ask detailed questions about terms and conditions until you have been offered the job. Instead, try to ask about things that will show your keenness for the position.
For example, ask:
What the team is currently working on? What are their challenges?
What type of training and development opportunities are normally provided.
What does a typical day at the job look like?
How will you measure my performance? What counts as a success?
Who will I report to? What is the hierarchy at the office?
What is expected of me?
What the next stage in the recruitment process will be – to get an idea of timescales, etc.
At the end of the interview, ask if there is anything else they need to know, or that you have not covered properly.
After the interview
If you are not getting asked back for second interviews, or you are not getting the job offer, you should take some time to look at your interview performance.
Don’t be afraid to ring up the interviewer and ask for feedback. Try and find out if it was simply that there was a candidate who more accurately met the job description.
Ultimately remember one key point. Getting to interview stage in the first place is an achievement. It is unlikely that you will succeed at every interview, but it is in your power to ensure you are prepared well enough to increase the chances of success.
Remember the interview is a two-way street. They have to convince you that they’re a great organisation to work for.