At VH we see the interview process as a project which consists of 4 stages.

1) Preparation before the Interview
2) The Type of Interview
3) The Interview
4) Feedback

Preparation before the interview

Background
Read as much as you can about the organisation and the position. With the availability of information about organisations on the internet it is unforgivable not to have some knowledge about the company that you are meeting. Asking relevant questions and displaying knowledge about the position will always impress a potential employer

Be on Time
Sounds obvious, but it is essential that you check the journey and time it so that you are at the Clients office at least 15 minutes before your meeting. If you are calm because you have had a chance to sit down before the interview, you will be 100% more in control than the candidate that has kept the client waiting!

Look Smart
Sounds obvious again, but you'll be surprised how often we hear about applicants turning up to interviews inappropriately dressed. We would expect that you will feel at best in a suit so you can be comfortable and at ease. Remember, however good your CV is, and whatever position you are seeking, companies are all looking for well-presented professionals who will best represent their company.

Types of Interview

Unstructured interviews
· These interviews are loosely organised. Discussion is often wide-ranging, with the focus shifting on those issues which may hold the interest of the interviewer, or on those which may give some indication of future job performance. Despite not being the most satisfactory format for evaluating candidates, this type of interview is very common and is very subjective.
· However, you can enhance your chances of success if you carefully prepare in advance a number of key features (say five or six) of your application which you want to focus on. Keep your responses short and very much to the point.
· Look for signs of interest as well as indifference through eye contact and body language. While you may not control the structure of the interview, you can influence its content.
· In this type of interview more weight is likely to be given to two things: how you say things rather than what is said (tone, emphasis, accent, pitch, volume, fluency) and the impression you make through your non-verbal behaviour, often in the first few minutes.

Situational interviews
· These are designed around a number of questions which focus on situations which might happen in a job. You, the applicant, are then asked what you would do in such a situation. In essence you are presented with a series of hypothetical questions which are very future oriented and which tend to test your powers of imagination. The attention of the interviewer is far less on your actual job experience.
Behaviour description interviews
· These are concerned with your past performance and behaviour and how you coped in different situations in your previous role or activity. The emphasis is very much on your previous job experience and how it relates to the opening for which you are being considered.
· Attention will centre on how much additional training or development you may need and if, having done the job already, you can now do it all over again in a new context.
· Your preparations should bear these important issues in mind, since more and more organisations are moving towards this form of interview for candidates with relevant work experience.
Panel interviews
· These tend to consist of between three and five members, often drawn from different parts of an organisation and may include an independent assessor
· Panels are often designed to make quite rapid decisions (frequently on the day of the interview), as well as giving a number of people a stake in the decision making.
· Be aware that they also have some serious shortcomings and an appreciation of these will help you to prepare more effectively for this type of interview.
Facing a panel. The very formality of facing a panel may make it difficult for you to relax and establish an early rapport with all members.
· Rather than being a conversation with a purpose, which is the basis of most interviews, panels may be inflexible and somewhat rigid in approach; questions are fired at you, often with little relationship to each other, since they reflect the particular interests of members.

What can you do to gain advantage?
· You need to make an impression on all members and by using eye contact with each questioner and scanning the others on the panel this will reinforce your message.
· Be aware of the body language of panel members, from nods and glances, smiles and posture shifts.

Pay very special attention to answering technical or strategic questions from experts on the panel.

Also focus on what might be simple or naïve questions from other members and answer these with the same assurance and focus.

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