How to succeed at job interviews
Further information
Before the interview
Preparation is vital. Nerves are expected, but preparation can help you to stay relaxed. We will always provide you with as much detail as possible about the format of your interview day but if you feel unsure about any part of the process then please contact us.
You should also prepare your travel arrangements for the day. Details of our locations to help plan your journey can be found on our council offices page.
If you have a disability and need any special arrangements, e.g. a communicator for the deaf, then please contact us in advance to make the arrangements.
Research
These are some general points about the kind of preparation you should be doing so that you are able to perform your best on the day.
- Re-read your application form, thinking through your own career aspirations;
- Look at the job description and the competencies which have been provided. We will be looking for specific examples which demonstrate our core competencies;
- Learn as much as you possibly can about the job, the service and the organisation. A lot can be learnt about us from this website;
- Think about the questions you might be asked at interview and try to prepare some answers.
Think about your answer to the following questions, they will help you to focus:
- Why do I want this job?
- Why should the council select me?
- What are my ambitions?
- What have I gained from my degree/previous experience/training?
- What skills have I gained from my academic, work related and extra curricular activities?
- What does the job involve?
- What skills will I need to perform?
- What skills, interests and motivation do I have for this job?
- What examples can I give to show the interviewer that I have the skills required to do the job?
- What kind of training/additional skills would I like to gain from working for this organisation?
On the interview day
- Be punctual. If you are going to be late due to something out of your control, telephone us with an expected time of arrival.
- Be prepared. You should have read the job description thoroughly and used your initiative to find something out about the organisation.
- Have your own agenda of what you want to cover. Your questions should be relevant, and reflect you have done some research. You may want to know what some of the primary objectives of the job are, what responsibilities are critical, what will your performance be judged on and how it will be measured.
- Before you leave the interview, find out what the next step is and when you might hear the result of the day.
What do we look for?
The answer is simple – we want someone who can demonstrate that they match our core competencies and have the skills that we look for in the job description. If you are unable to put these qualities across then you will be unlikely to succeed.
Panel interviews
All of our interviews will be conducted by at least two people. When you are talking to the panel, remember that you are talking to all of them and not just the person who asked a particular question.
Related pages on this website
Contact us
| contact officer/team: | HR Team |
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| web: | online enquiry form |
| email: | hrteam@s-norfolk.gov.uk |
| telephone: | 01508 533664 |
| minicom/textphone: | 01508 533622 |
| address: | South Norfolk Council South Norfolk House Swan Lane Long Stratton Norwich NR15 2XE |
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If you need information in large print, audio cassette, braille, translation (written or verbal) or signed interpretation, let us know when you contact us.
