Many people want to improve their interview skills, so they can secure the roles they want, however it can be difficult to know how to do this.

This article provides interview skills help by outlining a structured approach to improving your interview skills which focuses on identifying and improving your weaker areas, rather than simply providing interview tips.

In order to improve your interview skills, I suggest the following steps:

• Understand what recruiters are looking for in your answers – so you can deliver it
• Understand what makes a great interview answer – the benchmark you are aiming for
• Identify your development areas – so you know where to focus
• Learn how to improve your weaker areas
• Practice your interview skills – improving your skills and confidence

Understand what recruiters are looking for

In order to deliver excellent interview answers and accurately rate your own interview performance, you need to have a clear understanding of what recruiters are looking for in your answers and what makes a great interview answer.

If they have invited you to an interview, your CV has already demonstrated that you have most of the required skills. Interviews assess who they think will be best at doing the role, who will enjoy it most, and who will fit in best with their team. During interviews, you are asked to provide specific examples which are used as evidence to assess your suitability for the role. Most companies are looking for high achievers with the potential to progress into more senior roles, although this is not always the case. This is why it is crucial to choose examples which clearly demonstrate the impact you have made, perhaps by saving an amount of money, increasing sales or improving a process.

Many interviewers also want to understand what motivates you, because someone who is passionate about their role will be highly motivated and achieve far more than someone who is less engaged. Interviewers also look at how confident and comfortable you look, how well you are communicating and your body language.

Understand what makes a great interview answer

A great interview answer clearly and concisely answers the question, and provides evidence to back up what you have claimed. This requires an excellent STAR based example. (insert link)

• Choose your best examples, where you have made the largest impact for the company, worked on high-profile projects, or completed more senior tasks than would be expected at your level. Outline what you did and the impact this had for your customers, department, business unit and or the wider company. Ideally, most of your examples will come from your most recent role(s).
• Listen carefully to the question and ensure you directly answer it. It can be tempting to prepare interview answers in advance, which may or may not directly answer the question they actually ask, this can seriously impact your interview score.
• Be positive, highlight what draws you to this company, not what pushed you away from your previous company. Use positive language, especially when discussing issues and challenges.
• Ensure you talk about what “I” did, not what “we” did. On most other occasions this makes you look like a great team player, however in interviews you need to be very clear on what you contributed, rather than your colleagues.
• Think about the implications of what you’re saying, avoid anything which may imply weakness, or insecurity E.g “I went on a personal effectiveness course” (Why did they send you on this? How ineffective are you?)
  

You can find more information and sample interview questions via an internet search, however this often provides conflicting information, so I suggest limiting the time you spend researching this. It’s far better to invest this time in improving your development areas.

Identify your development areas

Once you have a good understanding of what you are aiming for, the next step is to assess your performance against this benchmark, and to identify your strengths, weaknesses and development areas.

The most efficient way of improving your interview skills is to focus on improving the areas where your performance falls short of expectations. This provides far better results than simply searching for interview tips, which may or may not help you to improve.

This is one of the most difficult steps to complete on your own, unless you regularly interview candidates as part of your role. The best way to identify this is through interview feedback, either a mock interview with an interview coach or through detailed feedback from a genuine interview. Many people find companies can be reluctant to provide detailed feedback, as we live in a litigious society.

If you are attempting to identify your own development areas, I suggest evaluating a recent interview. What were the main topics they asked you about? Which examples did you use? Did you struggle to answer any of the questions or to provide good examples? How well did you introduce yourself and communicate your answers? Do you feel there was anything else which let you down? Could you have improved the content of your answer, or the delivery of your answer? You may wish to refer back to the criteria on the job description and consider scoring yourself out of 10 for each area.

Improve your development areas

Once you have identified your development areas, strengths and weaknesses, it’s time to learn how to improve these areas. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, so I’ve outlined how you can do this below, as it’s impossible to outline all possible development areas.

If you are aiming to improve your own development areas, I suggest producing a table with columns for your development areas, assessment of your current performance, the techniques you will try, progress review, and interview feedback. Then use an internet search engine to research how to improve each area. You will also want to review and record your progress so you which techniques were helpful and so you recognise when you reach the desired standard. It can be difficult to accurately assess your own performance, so it’s worth recording your interview feedback.

Practice your interview skills

Practising your interview skills refines your interview skills and builds your confidence. Our confidence is based on our perception of our ability, which is affected by our experience, the feedback we receive and our assessment of our own performance. You may find it helpful to practice with an interview coach, friend or family member. You can also practice your interview skills during genuine interviews and measure your improvement based on interview feedback.

You may wish to read some of the other articles providing interview skills help and guidance to improve your interview skills.

Interview Coaching

The quickest and most efficient way to improve your interview skills and confidence is through interview coaching. This provides tailored interview skills help and targeted advice by identifying your individual strengths and weaknesses, teaching you improvement strategies, and providing you with written feedback and an improvement plan. During a session, we practice answering interview questions written specifically for a role of your choice, whilst I provide honest, constructive feedback, guidance and support to refine your skills and improve your confidence. If you book more than one session, I can measure your improvement between the sessions, providing you with the confidence that you are either interviewing at the desired standard, and / or providing you with an easy-to-follow plan to help you to refine your interview skills.

You may wish to visit the interview coaching section of my website, where you can find more information and prices. Or you are welcome to contact me, and I’ll be pleased to discuss how I can plan a session to help you.