Interview Professional’s Recommended Preparation Steps For Your Next Interview

INTERVIEW PROFESSIONAL’S RECOMMENDED PREPARATION STEPS FOR YOUR NEXT INTERVIEW

STEP 1 – Research the company
Start off by researching the company. Not only will this give you a good feel for the company itself, but this is a necessary step as you will need to know something about its background, accomplishments, values, and mission objectives as, ‘can you tell me about the company’, is one of the most common questions that you will come across in an interview.
It’s recommended that you research the company as your first step because in doing so you might come across valuable information that may be useful in subsequent steps of your preparation

Being able to give a knowledgeable and well-structured answer to this question will tell the interviewer that you are interested in the company and in its culture, and by taking the time to do some basic research it also indicates that you have a genuine motivation to want to work for them.
While this is considered one of the more perfunctionary questions in an interview, it is nevertheless a very important one. Not being able to answer it effectively will get you heavily marked down on the interviewer’s assessment sheet, and not being able to answer this at all will normally be enough to lose you the interview to another candidate. Luckily though, this is one of the easier questions to answer in an interview. Start by taking 30-45mins to gather some information about the company. You can base this on any (positive) factual information you come across regarding the company’s history, achievements, or present goals.
Condense the information you collect into 1 or 2 short paragraphs, then use practice and repetition until these paragraphs become easily recitable and you can deliver them with ease. The direction you take with your answer is up to you and your interviewer will usually be quite accepting of any answer you give as long as the facts you relay to them are relevant and accurate

You can normally find more than enough information about a company online. The company’s website (‘about us’, or ‘our history’ tabs) are normally the best place to get this information. If you are having difficulty finding sufficient information on the company’s own website, online news articles can also provide useful insight about that company and the industry it operates in. If you are still having difficulty finding worthwhile information, you could turn to alternative sources such as government websites like company’s house, (which will give you limited information on some of the most important people who work for the company). Another avenue you should be using to locate information about the company is through social media, and sites such as LinkedIn, (which is a networking site for employers and jobseekers), as well as Facebook, are both good places to start, because many large organisations today now maintain a social media presence online. If you’re still struggling to find sufficient information, you could always try phoning them and explaining to the receptionist or person who answers the phone that you will soon be interviewing with them and are researching the company – you would be surprised how supportive and helpful people can be, so as a last resort this can potentially be another good source to get useful information from

If you have exhausted all avenues and still cannot get any information on the company, instead compose 1 or 2 paragraphs about the industry the company operates in. If this question is then brought up at the interview, recite the answer that you have practiced (then explain to the interviewer once you have finished that you’d tried to research the company but found it hard to get any information and that there was nothing available on their website – the interviewer will appreciate your candour and its sure to reflect positively on your overall assessment (if indeed the company does not provide information about itself on its website) – as this is something the interviewer will need to feed back to the employer

Some people will also want to take extra time to try and find out who their interviewer(s) is as part of their research and preparation before an interview. If this information is given to you by the employer before your interview, which many times it often is, then it makes this process quicker. If it’s not, then finding this out can sometimes prove to be difficult or awkward. You can take steps to find this information by contacting the employer or recruitment agency directly – but if it’s not readily offered, then the employer obviously doesn’t want, or doesn’t feel it’s necessary, to give it out, and the advice is not to spend extra time digging around for it.
If you do get the name(s) of your interviewer(s), the best way to use this is to do a search on social media platforms like LinkedIn or Facebook – that way you can see any readily accessible information through online profiles which will give you things you can use such as where that interviewer studied, any awards or educational accolades they have achieved, along with any other notable contributions they might have made to their field over the course of their careers, and you can then take this information into the interview with you

While you have an excellent conversational tool at your disposal to use during the interview, you need to be wary of your approach, because as this is something pertaining to your interviewer, it goes without saying that they need to take everything you say to them in the right way. It is equally important that you mention that you’ve done this at the very start of the interview. Informing your interviewer that you have researched them will certainly create a lasting impression and make you stand out in the interviewer’s mind, however, it is important you work this into the conversation in a way that sounds intelligent and impressive, instead of one that sounds awkward and dubious. There is no set way to do this, you simply need to be confident within the interview environment you are in, as well as in your own abilities to deliver this successfully. If you want to stand out at the interview and show how competent and on top of things you really are, this is certainly a bold way to do it

While there are no set rules on how you should introduce this to the interviewer, there are however a few rules you need to follow if you want to make this approach successful:

• State clearly to the interview that you’ve researched their background
• Be clear about your intentions and explain your rationale for doing so (this would go somewhere along the lines of wanting to prepare more proficiently for your interview, wanting to get a better insight into the company and into the job role by learning about your interviewer as part of this process)
• This needs to be done somewhere at the start of the interview – either before the interviewer asks their first opening question, or by working this into the end of an answer to one of the interviewers opening questions (people who use this approach normally find it easier to do the latter as it gives them the scope to get acclimatized to the interviewer first and also gives them better scope to work their approach into the conversation)
  Note. Opening questions are normally the first 2 or 3 questions the interviewer will ask at the start of the interview to get you settled in. These are straightforward and are easier to answer than the rest of the questions in an interview. (These might be questions such as…How was the journey here? Can you tell me about yourself? How did you hear about the position? What can you tell me about the company? etc…)
• And following on from this we reach the golden rule of interviewing – it’s imperative you put across everything you mention here in a positive manner

See example.

(Keep in mind there is also a small risk that the person interviewing you will be subject to change. This can happen in circumstances where a recruiter, or recruitment department, has a heavier than expected workload. Or it could be that your interviewer is off sick, or has other unexpected commitments at short notice, etc)

STEP 2 – Review the job description
Reviewing the job description is a must for any type of interview preparation

Not only will this introduce you to clear, smooth, professionally written jargon that is very helpful when preparing for an interview – but more importantly it will give you an idea of what your interviewer will be looking for when they interview you

The fundamental step going into any job interview is to understand the job and what its requirements are. In doing so, it helps you form an idea of the types of things you want to say, and of the qualities and experiences about yourself that you want to emphasize. From there, you can construct answers to rehearse that you feel will be relevant and go into the interview feeling more prepared and confident after having formed an idea of the direction you want the interview to take

The best way to do this is as follows:
Write out a list of your most relevant skills as pertains to the requirements of the job description. Now do the following:

STEP 3 – Study your resume
This is another one of the most basic and important steps you should take before an interview. Simply going over your C.V and familiarizing yourself with the descriptions and duties you’ve listed there is essential because you need to have a clear idea in your mind of what you will say when you are asked about them. By reviewing your C.V and familiarizing yourself with its content it will ensure you are able to eloquently explain your previous job roles and the responsibilities associated with them. And it will ensure you are able to give strong answers to each one of the questions asked regarding anything on your C.V

STEP 4 – Ask colleagues and supervisors what they think about you
Another valuable practice you can utilize before your interview is to ask your colleagues and supervisors what they think of you, as this can provide some very useful and thought-provoking insight which is not only helpful for answering this specific question, but many other types of interview questions as well. A good way to do this is by asking your colleagues and supervisors two short questions: Firstly, ask for constructive pointers in regard to what you could be doing better within the workplace, and then next ask their opinion of what you are already doing well. The feedback you receive can be invaluable not only for deciding on what direction you want to take in your interview, but also for providing you with great content that’s easy to remember when answering other questions about yourself in an interview

(Furthermore, you can even use this to your advantage in the workplace too. A PDP is a general outline that people put together and utilize as a plan for progression within their places of work, and many people today now have one. The feedback you get from this question can be really helpful when trying to take your PDP further and build on the steps outlined in your plan – either in your current place of work, or in a new one)

STEP 5 – What can you do that other candidates can’t…
(Write down what makes you stand out from other candidates)
One of the main thing’s interviewers are looking for is what distinguishes you from other candidates. Part of the interviewer mentality involves looking for candidates that can add something the company doesn’t already have. Convincing the interviewer you have something that other candidates don’t will have a massive impact on their overall assessment of you

To do this effectively, you should write out a list of your best and proudest accomplishments, tailoring this to the requirements of the role. (Having the time to write this down and think about it should enable you to provide examples and specifics on how you achieved these things).
Then simply condense this into a short paragraph that you can easily recite

The purpose of this step is that it helps you orientate the direction you take with some of the more challenging questions that come up during an interview. By taking the time to think purposely about what makes you stand out as a special candidate, you will be able to provide effective answers about yourself that you can back up with solid verbal examples – instead of giving generic responses as, ‘I’m a hard-worker, I’m a good listener’, etc…

STEP 6 – Invest in an interview coach
This step may not be for everyone – but if you have the money, investing in an interview coach is the best way to make sure that you are 100% prepared with the fundamentals for your next interview

While much of an interview is intuitive, and most of your success will be based on your own personality, experience, and performance on the day – having that extra bit of professional help will give you a solid platform to get your foot in the door from the application stage onwards and can significantly increase your chances in the interview itself.
They say you can’t put a price on landing your dream career, well interview coaches are normally among the top professionals in the recruitment field, so if you can afford their services, hiring one will pretty much guarantee you are prepared from the application stage onward with things like a top-class resume and cover letter that will stand out from most others, a professional personal statement (or closely related elevator pitch), as well as a professional online profile. In addition to the experience and confidence you will gain from working closely with them, even spending a short amount of time with a professional interview coach will help you significantly hone your interviewing skills, and you can expect them to work closely with you to help answer particularly difficult and challenging questions. They can also be invaluable in helping you craft answers and statements that will help you sell yourself more effectively, as well as also providing critiques and structure that will help you enhance your S.T.A.R responses (competency and behavioural based example answers).
Like with any service, what you get out of it is up to you. These coaches can also provide professional assistance in strategizing your salary negotiation approaches, explaining gaps in employment history, explaining bad references or firings from past jobs, along with anything else you’re having difficulty with

C.V PROFESSIONAL’S LIST OF TOP-RATED CAREER COACHES

STEP 7 – Review answers to the most common interview questions
Reviewing commonly asked questions can be very helpful when preparing for an upcoming interview, especially when incorporating these questions into a mock interview scenario.  This can definitively be true when answering difficult or awkward questions such as, ‘What are your weaknesses?’, ‘Why did/ are you leaving your last/ current job?’, ‘Why was there a gap in your employment?’, and other questions like them. While there is no way of predicting exactly what will be asked at the interview, this at least will give you a feel for how the interview will go and gives you practice for the types of questions you will encounter during the actual interview itself. With this being said, be careful of how you prioritize your time on this step, remember that other parts of your interview preparation will also require your attention. Also, remember it is impossible to know specifically what questions will be asked at the actual interview, and no matter how much you try to predict this there will always be a few surprises. But by reviewing the answers to the most commonly asked interview questions you’re giving yourself an opportunity to think about your own strengths and skills, as well as forming ideas on how to answer some of the most critical interview questions you can expect to encounter

While it’s advised not to spend too much time rehearsing answers to specific questions as you’ll have no way of knowing what the interviewer is going to ask beforehand, there are however times where this practice can still be useful for you.
To begin with, honing your responses to specific questions can help you compose your thoughts and give you more to say when making conversation or when answering other types of questions over the course of your interview. On top of this, preparing for specific questions will be invaluable if you end up encountering those particular questions in the interview itself. As regards the types of questions it might be useful preparing for, there are no set rules here, it’s really down to the questions you feel might best help you compose your responses and give you more to say when making conversation or elaborating on points over the course of your interview. When we consider how such rehearsing can help us, it makes sense that while there are no set rules as such, there are however a few guidelines that are wise to follow wherever choosing specific questions to prepare for:

• Firstly, these should be questions that you’d expect to commonly encounter in an interview itself. Outside of the typical, ‘what can you tell me about this company question’, these are normally obscure, yet challenging to answer questions. When it comes to specific questions to prepare for, some of the main suggestions we’d have would be things like – Why do you want to work for this company? What is your biggest strength or strengths? When is a time you made a mistake? What are your career aspirations should you land the role? And, why should the employer should hire you?
  
  

Hopefully, you’ll find that by rehearsing for questions like this and honing your responses to them, that it’ll not only prove invaluable if you encounter those questions in particular, but on top of this, that honing your responses in such a way will serve as a kind of template that you can apply when answering other types of questions over the course of the interview too, helping add depth to your answers, and stopping you from falling back on more generic replies where asked about skills, qualities, or other facets of your experience, such as. ‘You should hire me because I’m highly experienced, I’m very determined, I’m a hard worker, etc’.

• Secondly, try and limit the specific types of questions you rehearse for to 2 or 3 at the most. This is because, again, for the purpose of trying to have as an effective and balanced a preparation leading up to your interview as possible, you can only retain so much information, and there are other areas that will require your attention before your interview too
  
  
• Lastly, there are no guidelines as to what specific questions it may be useful to rehearse for. While we have provided some suggestions above, ultimately, this is down to your preference and can be any question you feel might help add depth to how you deliver your answers over the course of the interview. That’s why you should be looking to rehearse for questions that will not only help you hone your responses to those specific questions themselves, but equally or more importantly, will also give you more to say when answering other types of questions or when making conversation over the course of the interview too.
  For example, by rehearsing for and honing your response to a specific question outlining your main strengths, or what your career aspirations are, you could not only effectively answer these particular questions should they arise, but could also embellish other responses over the course of the interview, as well as making it easier to start and maintain conversation as pertains to those areas throughout the interview too

(Sometimes the employer will inform you as to what type of interview you will be attending beforehand. Take advantage of that information, as each interview type will have different questions and challenges. Remember that knowing and revising for a specific type of interview will give you a feel for the sorts of questions you can expect to encounter and will enable you to hone your responses so that you can answer them more effectively when the interview finally arrives)

STEP 8 – Prepare a short personal statement
An additional step you may wish to take at this point is to prepare a short personal statement about yourself. The statement is only two or three paragraphs long, and can be a variation on the personal statement from your C.V. It can be used as a conversation opener upon being introduced to your interviewer, and you should practice this so that you can relay it to a person or audience in a clear and concise manner

The statement should be comprised firstly of a simple introduction beginning with your name, and where you’re from or where you live. It should then go on to briefly mention your education, and any relevant work related experience. Next, it should then briefly touch on any expertise or abilities you possess that are relevant to the role

From there, you are then looking to close your statement off

Do this first by mentioning one or two strengths you have that are relevant to the role, and then tie this in with a sentence about your work ethic or what other’s might say about you. Lastly, end your statement on a high note – usually by mentioning a hobby or an interest you have that is related to the role, or by bringing up something you particularly enjoy about working in that role or industry

INTERVIEW PROFESSIONAL’S BEST WRITTEN PERSONAL STATEMENTS

STEP 9 – Compose and practice your answers to competency and behavioural-based examples
See. S.T.A.R. Interview Database, COMPETENCY AND BEHAVIOURAL BASED EXAMPLES
This is one of the most important steps you will need to undertake in preparation for most types of interviews. In many interview types there are normally always 1 or 2 competency or behavioural based questions, that’s why it’s essential for anyone attending interviews like the structured, semi-structured, panel, stress, or behavioural interview types to compose their own selection of competency and/ or behavioural based examples so that they are fully prepared and can answer these questions effectively when asked. Remember that rehearsing competency and behavioural based answers is not only necessary for answering competency and behavioural based questions, but they’re also extremely helpful for answering other types of questions you’ll be asked in an interview too

Competency and behavioural based interview questions are used in around sixty percent of all interviews – that’s why you should prioritize a large amount of your preparation time practicing them. Do this by giving yourself as wide a range of scenarios as possible, writing out your example answers first in full, then rewriting and rehearsing them in the form of bullet points so they don’t sound scripted when you recite them. Keep in mind that you can never fully predict what the interviewer will ask, that’s why the best advice is to use the job description to help you decide what examples you want to create. Between 5-8 different scenarios should give you a versatile enough range of examples to answer most competency or behavioural based questions the interviewer might pose to you. They’ll also come in extremely useful for answering other types of questions you’ll encounter over the course of your interview as well

In some instances, you may find that the interviewer will present a competency or behavioural based question that is one you have not rehearsed for. In these instances, it is up to you to be creative and try to tailor an example you have practiced to fit the situation you are being asked about.
For instance, if the interview says: ‘tell me about a time where you assumed an additional position of responsibility in your role. What were the challenges, and how did you overcome them?’ You may not have practiced a specific answer for this question.
Therefore, think over each of the scenarios you have practiced. If you can, try and fit one of your practiced examples by amending some of its details to match the question. If you are unable to do this, offer the interviewer an alternative answer instead, using whichever one of your practiced examples you think is closest to matching the question, and this will usually be acceptable to the interviewer.
For instance. ‘I can’t think of an example where I assumed an additional responsibility on top of my usual job role. But I can give you an example where I performed a different job role while a colleague was off on leave.’ 
By offering an alternative answer, you are still responding to the question and the interviewer will be able to score this and evaluate it accordingly. The worst thing you can do is not provide any answer at all as this will get you heavily marked down

STEP 10 – Research salary in the industry
It is essential that you go into any interview prepared 

When we consider that salary is one of the most fundamental things regarding any job, it is understandable why researching this should be considered an essential step in our interview preparation

In many interviews, you will be asked what your salary requirements are to determine if the role is suitable for your needs and expectations. In some jobs you will interview for you may also be able to negotiate your level of salary as well, (you will usually know if this is the case beforehand as it will normally mention somewhere on the job description if a salary is to be discussed). It’s for reasons like this that it’s highly important you research salary before the actual interview begins. That way when brought up, you will have a good idea of how much you want to ask for where answering this as part of a Salary Negotiation question. See the Salary Negotiation Section for more information on how to negotiate a salary.
Alternatively, if asked as part of a routine interview question, you can ensure your answer falls well within the median range for what that employer is willing to pay. The best way to do this is to base your answer on the industry standard, (unless you can find more specific information on what that company pays while researching salary)

What makes it easy is that many jobs will have the salary listed beside the job description – if not, it is easy to research what different companies offer for the same roles by looking online or using our Salary finder. Some employers will deliberately try and be vague about the salary they are offering until the interview stage, and there’s nothing much you can do about this other than prepare as best you can and research the industry standards for the salaries on those jobs beforehand. The good thing about doing salary research is that it is usually fun, easy, and the information you need is usually straightforward to get and easy to remember

INTERVIEW PROFESSIONAL’S SALARY FINDER

STEP 11 – Prepare questions to ask the interviewer
At the end of an interview your interviewer will normally ask if you have any questions for them. Having something to ask the interviewer shows them that you have been engaged in the topics you’ve covered over the course of the interview, and it also signals to them how interested you are in the role as well. That’s why you never want to respond by telling the interviewer that you have no questions at all. And its why preparing questions to ask your interviewer should always be considered as another integral part of your interview preparation

There are numerous questions you can choose from so what you ask is up to you. You can reference the job description to help you come up with your own questions, or you can use Interview Professionals Top List of Questions for the Interviewer, if you’re looking for some expert ideas instead. You should regard any chance you get to ask questions as an opportunity to gain further insight into the job and the company, as well as an opportunity to show the interviewer that you are well prepared, knowledgeable, and interested in the role

Preparing 2 or 3 questions to rehearse for the end of your interview will be sufficient for this step…Try and keep these open-ended to give your interviewer as much opportunity as possible to respond with long, well thought-out answers that you can use to build a conversation on

Do not ask questions regarding salary, benefits, or time-off during your first interview.
In other words, “sell yourself first”.

STEP 12 – Before your actual interview, participate in a practice interview
Having a practice interview before a real one is one of the best ways you can prepare for your next interview. Referred to by the term, ‘mock interview’, they provide participants with an opportunity to practice their interviewing skills in a setting that mimics an actual interview environment

It’s been proven that there are many benefits for people who participate in mock interviews; for starters, they are commonly touted as reducing the stress and anxiety of a real interview situation. This is because practicing your responses to commonly asked questions beforehand will help familiarize you with the types of questions you will face, which in turn, will help you feel more at ease when the time comes for the actual interview itself.
On top of this, mock interviewing also enables you to practice for the most important and challenging questions an interview can throw at you, such as describing the main points/ duties of current or previous jobs, answering probing questions, such as ‘why do you want to work for this company?… as well as helping you rehearse for the infamous S.T.A.R. competency and behavioural based example questions. It will also help you hone the questions you want to present your interviewer with at the end of your interview

Practice interviewing also plays a major part in helping to improve confidence levels going into your actual interview, meaning you should find you compose your answers better and present yourself in a more confident manner too. This is another essential ingredient of interviewing, and alot of people don’t perform at their best during an interview simply because of nervousness on the day – meaning that interviewers often don’t get to see the best that people really have to offer.
Practice interviews also provide an excellent opportunity to receive feedback on various aspects of your interviewing technique; things like your presentation, body language, demeanor, and how confidently you deliver your answers.
In summarization, a mock interview provides an excellent opportunity to gain valuable experience in an interview setting, and more importantly gives you an invaluable chance to practice your responses to difficult interview questions before your real interview begins

INTERVIEW PRACTICE AREA

STEP 13 – Before your actual interview, consider holding an informational interview
Different from a practice interview, an informational interview is another tool in the jobseekers repertoire that provides a great way to learn more about a specific job or industry so you can remain one step ahead of the competition before you step into the interview room.
Although not considered a formal interview as such, the informational interview is where a person looking for employment in a certain field seeks advice on a job or organisation within that field from a person who has an in-depth knowledge of it

While it can be more accurately likened to an informal meeting, an informational interview is nevertheless unique in that instead of the one being interviewed, you are the one who is conducting it. That’s why when it comes to the informational interview itself, one of the biggest problems you’ll encounter is finding someone to conduct it with in the first place, because you’ll need to convince that person to take the time to sit down with you to do this, which is typically one of the reasons why this is a method mainly used by people with career or professional backgrounds who have accumulated such contacts over the course of their careers. However, if you’ve got friends or family who work for a company or in a field you’re trying to get into, getting them to sit down with you like this and tell you about it in such a structured way can be incredibly useful – it can even provide an additional talking point that you can add to the personal statement on your C.V, or tell the interviewer about in person

The whole premise of an informational interview is that it plays the exact opposite role to that of a normal interview in that you are the one who is conducting it. To hold an informational interview, you would simply approach a person within the industry or organisation you’re looking to get into and ask them if they would be willing to take the time to participate in one with you. You could either do this by asking them verbally, or by writing this out as a formal invitation to them. On it, you’d be looking to express your reason for wanting to hold this interview, which may go something along the lines that you are looking to gain insight into a certain field or organisation. You may also want to explain what working in that particular role would mean to you, and personalize your request by telling them how much taking the time to do so would mean to you too…

For more information on the informational interview – see Informational Interviews

STEP 14 – Consider composing an interview cheat sheet for last minute revision on the day of your interview
Taking a cheat sheet with you can be a great thing to do – On it you can note important details, such as the names of your interviewer(s) if you know them, your personal statement (if you’ve decided to make one), and perhaps one or two different conversational openers, along with any questions you want to ask at the end of your interview. Making this sheet is not a necessary step, but it can be extremely helpful, especially if you are overly apprehensive about interviews or nervous about what to say to people when meeting them for the first time. Composing a cheat sheet isn’t necessarily for everybody, but many interview experts recommend it. What you put onto this is entirely up to you…ultimately, a cheat sheet is there to give you last minute revision on the day of your interview. Having this with you can significantly reduce anxiety levels, that’s because it gives you something to focus your attention on before the interview starts, and that’s what makes it such a great way to get some last-minute revision in on the day. While other candidates are worrying about the looming interview ahead it gives you a means to revise so the most important things are all fresh in your mind before you head into the interview room. Our templates are designed to be intuitive and easy to use, we have some great designs to choose from, and you can put anything on them that you think will help

For more information on how to compose a cheat sheet, see the INTERVIEW CHEAT SHEETS area in the application section

LINK TO INTERVIEW CHEAT SHEETS

STEP 15 – Write down notes from the interview as soon as its finished (Post-Interview)
This is a very useful practice and should be done while the interview is still fresh in your mind. Write down any highlights from the interview, good answers you have given, any moments of rapport shared between yourself and the interviewer, or any other insightful things that were said. This will help you not only with preparation for any subsequent interviews, but will also help with any post-interview follow-up steps

STEP 16 – Sending a thank you note is still a recommended practice (Post-Interview)
This doesn’t have to be, and nor should it be, a long note. 4 to 6 sentences will be perfectly adequate

In the opening sentence, you should thank the interviewer for their time, ensuring you iterate that you found the interview both informative and enjoyable, and making sure you reference the interviewer by name. If you were interviewed by more than one interviewer, send a thank you note to each interviewer.
Over the next 2 or 3 sentences try to reference a part of the interview that went particularly well. This could be a specific question or piece of dialogue where you delivered an effective answer, or a moment where a genuine bit of rapport was shared between yourself and the interviewer(s).
You should then end the note by reiterating your interest in the role and reiterating your availability to begin on the earliest date that you can. It is easy to find a professional thank you template on which to do this (see below). A thank you note can be sent via numerous formats, although nowadays email is the most popular. Email doesn’t cost anything to send, it’s quicker and more efficient than sending correspondence by post, and it is also much more likely to get to its intended recipient. It’s also more convenient for a person to put an email address on a business card and hand it to you rather than for you to sit down at the end of a long interview and write down a full postal address

Perhaps the most important thing about sending a thank you note is not the actual note itself, but rather your decision in whether or not to take the time to write it. Prioritising how you spend your time is one of the most important aspects of both the application and interview processes. The time you decide to spend doing one thing will have a knock-on effect on the time you have available to do other things. While thank you notes are still acceptable, people tend to write them less nowadays and there has been a notable shift away from this practice. A thank you note is certainly not expected by most employers in the same way that a cover letter might be, so it’s up to you to decide whether or not the job is worth the time it takes for you to do this. While a thank you note indicates to the interviewer that you have a definitive interest in the role, you should also keep in mind that many times if the interviewer likes you, they will not hesitate to contact you straight back or offer you the position on the day.
Sending a thank you note is most effective where the interviewer hasn’t quite decided and it’s a close decision between you and another candidate

It’s also acceptable to send a follow-up after your initial thank you note. The length of time you should wait before you do this is subjective and dependant on the job itself. Keeping in mind that you should be looking to send your initial thank you note a day or so after the interview, on top of which at the end of it the interviewer will probably advise you of a timeframe in which you can expect to hear back from them. Only once this initial timeframe has expired should you look to send a follow-up on your first thank-you note. Again, you need to prioritise whether or not the job is worth the time it takes to do this. The note itself should be no more than 2 paragraphs long, iterating to the interviewer that you have previously sent a thank you note, reminding them that you haven’t heard back from them, and that you’re still very much interested in and available for the role

The advice given here is that if you need to write a follow-up to your thank you note, then the likelihood is that the interviewer has probably already chosen someone else. With this said, a follow-up note can still be a useful tactic. If you are lucky enough to send it at the right time, and if you happened to be one of the candidates up for consideration in the original interview – in a situation where the initial candidate they have offered the job to withdraws their interest, which can occasionally happen, the interviewer may sometimes refer back to candidate’s who have sent thank you notes or followed up with them, which can sometimes culminate in you being offered the role instead

C.V PROFESSIONAL’S THANK YOU NOTES AND TEMPLATES