INTERVIEW TIPS

Interviews are an opportunity for you to find out more about the job, the company, and who you'll be working with, and for the interviewer to find out more about you, how you work, what you like doing and what you're good at...

Here's our top tips for how to get the most out of the interview process...

• ‘Be Prepared' - The cornerstone of the scouting movement, and successful interviewees alike. Make sure that you research the company and the job you're applying for thoroughly. This will give you more confidence, and an edge over your non-scout-like competitors.
• Arrive early, dress smartly, give a good handshake, and look the interviewer in the eye. First impressions do count, and all these little things matter.
• Turn off your mobile phone, especially if the ring-tone is, urmm...unconventional. you'd be surprised how many people forget to do this and it's always embarrassing when it happens.
• Prepare and ask questions, not just in order to look keen, but to actually find out the answers.
• Do a dummy run. Practice answers to questions you are likely to be asked in advance. If you have a hopeless sense of direction, practice your route to the interview so that you won't get lost and arrive flustered.
• At the end of the interview, if you are keen on the job, say so. Ask what the next stage is likely to be and greet the answer enthusiastically (even if the next stage is an all day stress event starting at 7am tomorrow in Wrexham).
• If by the end of the interview you've realised that you're not that keen on the job, say ‘thanks' anyway. It's polite.