How do you prepare for an interview? Apart from having a good awareness of your own abilities and character, you should find out about the company and its needs, facts and figures, what it does, its values, the latest information about its products, innovations, and future prospects.

The better you prepare, the better you will be in the interview.

How to make good impression?

Dress code. Simple and understated for women, and for men something in line with the company’s dress code.

One last point: arrive well ahead of time.

What is a recruiter looking for?

Someone with passion! Someone with the desire to succeed, who knows what he or she wants, and who knows what the company want.

Having “character” will make all the difference. Having qualities such as motivation, implication, commitment and honesty.

With regards to the job applied for, your strengths, areas that could be improved, and gaps in knowledge or experience.

What are standard questions for an interviewer?

Candidates are usually asked about a difficult situation that they lived through or had to manage, or about how his best friend would describe him or her.

What is it that makes him think he will be successful in this position?

In other words, being able to outline his knowledge, skills, and experience and show how all of these respond to the company’s needs.

One of the standard questions that is naturally to ask a candidate to describe his previous jobs. Although it’s an obvious question, it helps see whether a candidate can find and highlight specific skills he possesses that can would be useful for the position he is applying for.

How should you behave toward a recruiter?

• Maintain eye contact with the recruiter, don’t look around. Show your enthusiasm, show that you are keen!
• Stay focused and professional throughout the interview.
• Beware of seemingly harmless and predictable questions; these can be extremely revealing to a recruiter.
• Be honest and be yourself; it’s the best way to get hired.
• Think about taking a pen and papers with you. It shows that you are organized and, of course, the recruiter may have information that you may want to write down.

What to do after an interview?

Always write an e-mail to the recruiter. This e-mail will not only allow you to thank the recruiter for his time and trouble, but also underlines your desire for the position and your desire to work for the company.

Finally, it’s very important to keep your recruiter informed about how your job search is going. It’s a matter of politeness.

A good candidate?

• A candidate who is able to demonstrate all the professional skills he has, and who has a certain degree of maturity, and who has just the right touch of humor as well.
• A candidate who in 5 minutes is able to convey his knowledge of the company, his skills, and his extraordinary desire both for the job and to succeed.
• A young trainee who is really able to impress from start to finish in the interview.
• Someone who’s got it all, both style and substance.