Credit Management magazine October 2017

OPINION
Five best ways to
prepare for an interview
Refining your CV in order to secure an interview is the
first crucial stage of finding a new job. Karen Young gives
five of the best ways to prepare for interview success.
AUTHOR – Karen Young – Director at Hays
Karen Young
Researching a
company isn’t
about standing out
anymore, you need
to demonstrate that
you’ve also thought
about how they do
business, and how
you may be able
to impact their
organisation.
PREPARATION is key in making
a good first impression and
researching the company
or organisation you are
interviewing for should be
your initial preparation step.
Researching a company isn’t about standing
out anymore, you need to demonstrate
that you’ve also thought about how they do
business, and how you may be able to impact
their organisation.
Start by looking at the company’s website
where you’ll find further details, news and
insight into its culture, recent project and
accolades. You can also look at their social
media feeds such as a LinkedIn company page
– it is also wise to look at the LinkedIn profile
of your interviewer so you can find out about
their career history too.
You should also make time to understand
the organisation’s products or services and
its objectives, and find out who the main
competitors are in the market. Finally, their
website will also have information about the
organisation’s values or mission statement,
which in turn will help you decide if it is a
company culture you would like to work for.
UPDATE SOCIAL PROFILES
Although your interviewer will know about
your career history, skills and achievements
from reading your CV, it’s likely they will also
look you up on social media to see how you
compare. Make sure your LinkedIn profile
matches your CV, and if they connect with
you on LinkedIn it’s always wise to be sharing
professional relevant news or market insights
that are relevant to your role.
For other social networks, such as Facebook,
make sure you do a quick check of the privacy
settings. The best advice is if there is anything
you don’t want a new employer to see, hide
your profile or make it private to avoid them
getting the wrong impression of you.
KNOW YOUR MARKET
For any professional working in credit you
should have a good grasp of the market and the
profession at present. Make sure you keep upto-date
with relevant industry news by reading
trade publications, as well as keeping on top of
finance and economics news.
Equally, you may be interviewing for a company
within an industry you were previously
not familiar with. While the interviewer won’t
expect you to know everything about their industry,
you’ll really impress if you are aware of
the specific challenges they may face, or who
their competitors are.
PREPARE YOUR QUESTIONS
You’ll naturally have questions about the role,
and if you have conducted thorough research
of the company, this may create questions
too. Make sure you have a think about what
questions you would like to be answered, also
bear in mind how they might come across.
For example, if you’re only question at the
end of the interview is ‘when will I get paid’,
this won’t impress your interviewer. Instead,
you need to demonstrate genuine interest and
show you are inquisitive. An example would be
‘I saw on your website that you have recently
changed the structure of your finance team.
Would you be able to explain some more about
this, and how the credit management function
works with the business?’
PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE
You will have recently updated your CV, but
make sure you are truly familiar with it to avoid
the interviewer asking about something you
haven’t thought about. Also, if you have had
any career gaps or weren’t in a previous role
for long, be ready to address these questions.
Once you’re confident you can talk about
your skills and experience, practise your
responses with a friend or record yourself to
hear how you come across. You want to make
sure you are bringing your CV to life and that
you can really convey your experience to the
hirer.
Taking these steps will ensure that you are
fully prepared for your interview, and have a
better chance of success in securing the job
you want.
The Recognised Standard / www.cicm.com / November 2017 / PAGE 51