The lack of preparation of candidates, whether from within or outside the organization, is frequently observed by managers and workforce management consultants during interviews.
Preparation for an interview is therefore essential. In particular, it will allow you to:
- reduce your stress;
- perform better;
- show the best of yourself;
- confirm your interest in the job
First step: getting to know you well
A good knowledge of yourself will allow you to determine the elements that will make your application stand out and to illustrate your comments with various examples during the interview.
What do you need to know?
What makes you the best person for the job you want?
Here are a few questions you should be able to answer to help you think about your application.
What are your professional achievements?
What are your strengths and skills?
What are your talents?
What do you need to improve?
What are your career aspirations?
What are your career goals in the short, medium and, if possible, long term?
What are your motivations and what is your interest in the job in question?
What do you expect from a manager?
What are the sources of information?
Your CV: It reflects your professional and educational background. Take the opportunity to update it. You may have had new work experiences or completed years of schooling between the time you applied and the interview.
This update will also give you an overview of your professional and educational background.
For information on CVs, we invite you to consult the article on writing a CV.
Your professional and personal entourage: Consult your professional and personal entourage in order to obtain feedback related to your work, personality and skills. This feedback can be formal (e.g. a performance appraisal) or informal.
Step 2: Know about the job and the organization
This step will enable you to determine which of your skills you should use based on what is required to do the job.
What do you need to know?
What are the employer's expectations with respect to the job to be filled? What are the skills required to do the job?
To increase your knowledge related to the job and the organization, here are some examples of questions to ask yourself.
What is the employer's profile?
What are the challenges and mandates related to the job?
What is the organizational and administrative unit context?
What is the organization's mission and that of the administrative unit?
What are the organization's strategic issues and those of the administrative unit?
Who are the organization's and the administrative unit's clients?
What is the workplace?
Is it a time-limited job?
Who can I contact if I need more information?
What are the sources of information
The job offer
It is also open to candidates from outside the organization, which implies that the information contained therein will be general;
It contains information about the place of work, the administrative unit in which the post to be filled is located, the main tasks that the person holding the post will be called upon to perform and the skills required.
The job description is a document which describes in a general way the most significant tasks related to the job and the skills required to perform it.
It can be obtained upon request from the labour management advisor responsible for the recruitment process.
Intranet (only accessible by company employees)
It is full of information on the various administrative units that are not otherwise accessible. For example, you will find organization charts, action plans and mandate descriptions.
The company's website
It's for everyone;
It makes it possible to establish links between the mission, mandates and projects of an administrative unit and the target clientele.
Your knowledge network
Those responsible for the application
Step Three: Practice
If necessary, do not hesitate to ask for the cooperation of someone close to you to simulate an interview situation. This person will be able to give you feedback on the way you present yourself, speak and move. This will allow you to better structure your thoughts and arguments and to gain confidence.
Other resources to help you prepare for an interview are available on the Internet.