What makes for a successful job interview
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PCS Executive, the UK’s leading Career Management
providers, have released statistics gathered from over 3000 UK career
professionals demonstrating that people consider interaction with the
interviewer to be the most critical success factor in interview.
The results, gathered from a web poll over January and
February of this year, show that most people (49%) believe that interaction with
the interviewer is the most important factor in the success of an interview.
This is followed by knowledge of the role and company (21%), while the least
important factor was perceived to be appearance and dress.
Jo Rawcliffe, regional director of PCS, states that these
results do reflect the more contemporary nature of interviews. “So many
candidates feed back to us that, when they have had an interviewer who they
managed to strike a chord with, the whole process seemed much less intimidating
and success much more probable.”
Comments from Timothy Hawke, who enlisted the assistance of
PCS following redundancy, also alludes to the fact that his recent interview
success was largely down to the interviewers mutual interests. “I was lucky as
in the first interview we realised that we both had an interest in
archaeological digs and had even visited many of the same places! From that
point onwards, I knew that I had it in the bag!”
Jo Rawcliffe continues to say that for most candidates, the
interview ‘Holy Grail’ is to find that common interest or hobby with the
interviewer, or even better a mutual contact.”
Jo however, also feels that the fact that so few people
listed appearance and dress as a crucial factor in interview success is highly
concerning. “So few people rated this, but it is still absolutely essential to
make sure that you come across as smart and polished in any situation when you
need to impress. After all, if you can’t make the effort for such an important
event, what does that say about your work ethic?”
PCS Executive are the UK’s leading Career Management and Outplacement
consultancy. All support offered through PCS is bespoke and tailored to the
individual’s particular campaign as they appreciate that each and every
jobseeker has a unique offering in the marketplace and also understand that
senior level individuals are fishing in a smaller pool than the majority of
jobseekers. As the only BS EN ISO 9001:2000 accredited company in the sector,
you can also be assured of PCS Executive’s commitment to quality.
For further information about the services that PCS Executive offers please
visit www.pcsexecutive.com
or call a member of the team on tel. 0844 8806690.
