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There is a wide variety of interviews jobseekers can face. You have the traditional interview, panel interview, competency based interview, internal interviews and of course the phone interview.

From experience many jobseekers cut corners with a phone interview as most seem to be relaxed about the thought of answering questions away from the glaring eyes of the interviewer.

It is important to prepare for phone interviews and below is a few phone interview tips.

1. Ensure that you use polite and proper phone manners.

2. Have your CV beside you for references

3. Ensure that there will be no disturbance or disruptions during the call.

4. Pause after each question and do not rush to answer the question, think it over first of all and take your time to answer it.

5. Have a pen a paper to take any notes that might assist you.

6. Focus on the hard facts with examples. Phone interviews can be short and to the point. You need to ensure that you get your message across.

7. At the end of the interview ask about feedback or the next stage of the process.

Some additional information that may help – interview tips skills, interview questions and answers and how to handle competency based interviews.

I have just finished running two successful CV & Interview Workshops over the last week. One was for a group of individuals who had just lost their jobs and the other for a group of students seeking work placement. What struck me was the amount of misinformation feed to jobseekers about CV’s and Interviews. Some of this information is so out of date it is unreal. More worryingly is the source of this information.

Jobseekers beware!! There are many career experts and wannabes in the market place offering so-called expertise. Unfortunately most of their knowledge has been taken for a lecture hall or text book. It is not real world and many of these experts have not experienced real world recruitment or job hunting.

CV Services and Interview Coaching services should be treated like any other service – purchase with care!! I suggest you seek referrals or recommendations from friends or family. If this is not possible check the service out online etc …..

Happy job hunting

Below are some useful articles to support your interview preparation.

Preparation for Job Interviews in Ireland describes important areas to cover as part of interview preparation. You must also research the employer and interview preparation tells you how.

Preparing for Competency Interviews / Behavioural Interviews

Competency Based Interviews tells you how.

Interview mistakes and how to fight back

Interview mistakes highlights common interview mistakes. Read interview preparation advice about how to turn an interview around.

Closing interviews effectively

Interview Coaching will tell you how.

Professional Interview Coaching and CV Writing Services

Need professional interview coaching then visit Interview Coaching. Need CV support?

Interviews can be challenging events which can through up a wide variety of possibilities. There are many different types of interview that you can face such as traditional interviews, competency based interviews or behavioural interviews, panel interviews and phone interviews. But what about the different types of interviewer. Below are different types of interviewer that you may face at interview and how to handle them.

The different types of Interviewers

“Buddy” Interviewer – They will smile and joke and get you to relax at interview. They can fall into two categories – just a poor interviewer who wants to be liked OR a skilled interviewer trying to get you to relax and reveal more information. You need to be friendly with this interviewer but don’t drop your guard.

“Inquisitor” Interviewer – This interviewer has a poker face and never cracks a smile. Normally throws a stream of tough questions. Try to remain calm and project confidence. Don’t be put off by the tough exterior as all interviewees will get this treatment. This type of interviewer believes that the real you will come out under pressure.

“Laser Beam” Interviewer – These interviewers have one topic and will focus on this area. The best approach is to try to satisfy their request for information on this issue. This will normally satisfy their agenda.

This article was provided by an interview expert in Ireland offering interview coaching across Dublin, Meath, Louth and Kildare.

If you would like to read about three additional types of interview visit this post.

Interview Tips, Skills & Techniques

I came across an interesting employer survey by law firm in the UK called Peninsula. The survey asked employers t identify what they disliked most about jobseekers. Well here is what the survey found.

These are the top 10 reasons why jobseekers do not land their dream job:

1. 26% of those surveyed disliked candidates with improper dress.

2. 19% of those surveyed said lateness was their greatest frustration. The survey also revealed that 1 in 7 jobseekers arrive late to interviews.

3. 15% of employers dislike candidates too focused on money and salary.

4. 11% of employers surveyed disliked jobseekers that were cynical towards colleagues past or future.

5. 9% of employers rated a limp handshake as a major NO.

6. 7% surveyed were not impresses by jobseekers that lacked direction and career ambition.

7. 5% indicated that poor eye contact was a key hate.

8. 4% said lack of research into the company put them off jobseekers.

9. 3% said poor verbal communications and mumbling was a reason to reject jobseekers.

10. 1% of employers surveyed disliked the know-all

An interesting point about the above findings is how much is non-verbal – improper dress, lateness, handshake, eye contact, research into the company. Interviewees are warned it is often not what you say that dictates interview performance.