Employers say what impresses them in interviews

There’s a lot of blog posts and articles online about how to impress in your interview. We decided to go further by speaking to several employers from a variety of sectors and businesses about what impresses them in interviews.

Emily Bain, co-founder of boutique recruiter Bain and Gray  – Someone who’s done their homework

I’m impressed when someone has done their homework!  They display confidence since they have researched the inside information on the job role, the interviewer, the company, the history of the business and previous incumbents in the role.   Knowledge is everything.

Someone who tailors answers to the job role, ensures what they say is relevant and are able to demonstrate that they have the ability and the skills that are required is impressive.  It stands out if a candidate has read the job spec thoroughly and can give examples to demonstrate their suitability for each area.

Your Consultant can help you to impress. They should be able to give you insight into dress code, the personality of your interviewer, the kind of questions they are likely to ask (and the answers they may want to hear), the length of interview, how long they have been looking for someone, the possible long term opportunities and what previous employees have gone on to do.

Renee Watson – be real.

Be real. But to see the real person requires a work culture that is built on human connection, where the interviewers are also real and the interview prep and environment encourages people to relax. That’s mainly down to the employer not the interviewee.

Kalina – show enthusiasm

I always value enthusiasm more than skills and experience. The saying goes hire for attitude, train for skills.

Walk Me – show interest in the company

Showing interest in the company and not just responding to questions 2. Coming prepared knowing details about the company 3. Show value via storytelling

Keep your fork – do your homework

I look for folk to have done their homework on me, company and to come energised and full of ideas with results driven examples of past work… Our client @chloewatmore @ThermotexEng asks for 5 min video pitches to their 5 value core questions!

Karen Kwong – RenOC28 – show personality and a good atttitude

At the interview stage, where it could be one-to-ones, several-to-ones or assessment centres, these businesses want to know more about your as a person, your personality, your attitude towards work in general and to that business, what your values are, what motivates you, how it might fit in, your potential, your leadership qualities, how you communicate and work under stress. This is your chance to stand out and show the business who you are and what you bring to the party. Your CV shows very little of this.

GD PR & Media – call up or speak in person

Call us after emailing us their typo-free resume. Or better yet, visit us in person. It shows the drive. 2. Should have researched our company well 3. Have a list of questions ready and the first one of them shouldn’t be “how much are you going to pay?”

Balance collective – researching the company

Make sure they have researched the company fully, understand the job brief and describe HOW they do what they do. Nothing worse than a list of duties as an interview answer!

GD PR & Media – good grammar

Get their CV right! We put 80 of CV’s in the bin because of spelling or crazy grammatical errors in their CV…as a media agency, it’s our job to get that stuff right so if people can’t manage to get it right at that crucial stage…it doesn’t look good! Hope that helps.

Andrew Marsh, Business Manager at Washington Frank – Someone who’s done their research

Finding the ideal candidate is vital to helping your business thrive. You’ll want to give everyone the best opportunity to land a role, but they’ll need to impress before progressing to the next stage of the interview.

Nothing ticks the boxes more than a candidate who’s done their research. If they equip themselves with everything they need to know about your business, including sector news, growth details and your company high-flyers, they should be able to answer everything you throw at them.

Interviewers also need to be convinced the candidate will be a strong asset to their team. Candidates who talk confidently about what they can offer and provide real-life examples are always more memorable. Joining the dots between their professional experience and the job specification can help you find a candidate who’s the right fit.