Your legal interview is just around the corner, and you have practised your responses to a list of the most common legal competency-based questions; but have you missed something critical to the process?

Your body language.

There has been extensive research into what impact our verbal and nonverbal communication can make and it’s fascinating. Have a look at Professor Albert Mehrabian’s work on the communication model. Here are a few key points he identified that are important in an interview situation.

• 55% of the message we communicate relates to our body language and facial expression
• 38% of the message we communicate relates to our voice tone and the way words are said.
• 7% of message ONLY relates to the words we communicate

It probably now makes sense why our nervousness can easily lead to a host of body language mistakes, from unconscious fidgeting to awkward facial expressions.

Unfortunately, since half of the interviewers decide whether a person is right for the job before they ever have a chance to answer a question; the way you present yourself is more important than ever.

The good news is the common mistakes interviewees make can be rectified fast provided you know what they are.

So here, in no particular order, are the most common mistakes we see:

1. Forgetting to Smile

Anxious, stone-faced candidates don’t do well in interviews; no matter how good your law degree is. Even if you have the best legal CV in the UK, it’s important to sell yourself as someone that has a pleasant manner and will fit into the culture of a legal firm.

No-one wants to work with someone who’s constantly nervous or grumpy.

Not only can smiling make you appear warm and friendly, but it could calm your interview-based nerves. A genuine smile will help to decrease stress in your system and ensure that you feel more confident than you would with a frown.

2. Poor Eye Contact

In the world of body language errors, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to avoid eye contact with your interviewer. Hiring managers want to see the confidence in their prospective candidates, and keeping your vision cast down towards the floor makes you look nervous and lacking in confidence.

Though this can be a part of your personality, it’s something you need to consider and address.

Although you don’t want to ‘stare’ your interviewer out with too much intense eye contact, looking at them when answering their questions, or listening to their responses is of paramount importance in an interview.

It shows that you’re engaged in the conversation and providing your full attention. If you’re in a group interview, it’s best to make sure that you maintain eye contact mostly with the person asking the questions, while looking at the other people in the room from time to time.

3. Too Many Hand Gestures

When it comes to the hands, many candidates believe their handshake is the biggest threat to their chances of success; wrong.

Though it might surprise you there’s more you can do to damage your first impression than giving a handshake that’s too weak, or too strong.

From our own experience screening legal candidates over the last 20 years and talking to the legal hiring managers we work with, too many hand gestures while talking is distracting.

Although talking with your hands might be a common habit, it’s something you should cut down on when preparing for an interview. The more nervous you get, the more uncontrolled your movements can become, which never communicates what you have to offer in the best light.

4. Crossing your Arms

Though you might think this doesn’t happen any more in an interview situation, it still surprisingly does.

Remember in an interview situation people often see crossed arms as a sign that the person they’re talking to is disengaged, bored, or even worse – defensive.

While it’s highly unlikely you are feeling any of these emotions, sadly for you, this could be what you are communicating.

Sometimes, crossing your arms can make you feel more comfortable or protected in an interview situation, but it also blocks you off from your employer. Instead, think about how you can portray interest and engagement with your body language, by keeping yourself open, perhaps with your hands by your sides, and your body angled towards the interviewer.

5. Poor Posture

Finally, sitting slumped in your seat won’t portray you as a confident, professional person who your hiring manager would be happy to put in front of a new legal client.

No matter how tailored your suit may be, a bad posture can cause you to appear uninterested, or again even lack in confidence, possibly even rude.

Keep your spine straight against the back of your chair, and square your shoulders. This will help you to look more confident and show that you respect your interviewer and the potential job ahead of you. A strong posture stands out, making you look more like a leader. If you can’t sit straight, then focus on leaning slightly towards your interviewer, to show engagement.

So often candidates focus their interview preparation on preparing to answer questions that they
will be asked.

Remember, what you say accounts for just 7 % of how you communicate in your interview. How you communicate those words will be the difference that makes the difference.

Practice how you want to deliver your answers as well as what you plan to say.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help.
Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you would like to know more about recruiting trends in the legal sector this year download our latest guide here.

Irrespective of whether you are moving into a new private client solicitor role or you are a superb legal secretary looking for their next opportunity, this is still a key career move; at least for now.

You actively applied for this role because you believe it will deliver you closer to your career and broader life goals.

By giving the interview process the respect it deserves, you will increase your chances of being successful and securing the role.

To truly succeed at a legal interview and confirm to your hiring manager you have the appropriate skills, traits and you are a good culture fit, you will need to be ready.

Poor planning delivers poor results.

Therefore, we aren’t talking about a quick look through their website the night before. Instead, we are referring to being fully prepared and ready by making the most of the 72-hour preparation window you need before your interview begins.

Three days is the perfect length of time to deliver you to the interview primed and ready in a calm and confident fashion.

Here is where we suggest starting.

1. Research and a Conversation With Your Legal Recruitment Consultant

In the current legal recruitment market, it’s likely that you will have found your role through a specialist legal recruitment company like Clayton Legal.

That being the case we, your recruiting partner, should be your first port of call when it comes to knowing as much as possible about the specific legal role in question and the company you could potentially join.

It is imperative to do this sooner rather than later, as this will enable you to carry out additional research as necessary, to stand out. Alternatively, this will let you know about gaps you might have that must be addressed in how you communicate your value to your future employer.

Google is naturally your friend here.

Look at any news about the sector of law you will be involved with. For instance, earlier this month I was looking at information about collaborative law and came across a post from a press release by a Bath law firm who were offering free mediation information sessions to people considering divorce, as part of Family Mediation Week.

A talking point maybe? Though your skills and experience are critical, your wider knowledge of the law is important too.

Research the company online. Learn as much as you can from the website, including all their specialisms and any bigger cases they are working on and what their plans might be.

Review all their social media profiles and anything they have published on LinkedIn’s article platform.

If the website has staff profiles and an ‘Our Story’ page, so much the better. If you can, find out how many employees they have and who is part of the leadership team.

During this research stage, you will be able to prepare good questions to ask that will demonstrate you are a serious candidate who’s done their homework. You would be surprised how many candidates don’t make an effort in this regard, and you’re likely to stand out by doing this.

If you are working with a professional legal recruitment consultant, they will be able to help you with most of this too. So, it’s critical to discuss the job description in detail and how you can demonstrate your value, which leads me onto the next point.

2. Know And Demonstrate Your Value

In today’s legal field hiring managers are looking for skills and abilities, yes; though they are also looking for the value you can add.

Imagine some of the questions you might be asked and prepare your answers that communicate how you have added value in the past. For instance, it might be a new system you initiated on creating court documents that improved the process, or the updated advice process you developed that has generated positive testimonials and referrals.

Ask your recruitment consultant to tell you what is behind the job specification and what are the crucial skills to demonstrate and communicate.

Finally, if you have a ‘brag’ file or letters of commendation or an end of year review that is positive and recent, take them with you and USE them.

It has been known for hiring managers to comment that James or Tania brought in a briefcase and never opened it!

Which left them wondering if they had missed something? No, but James and Tania missed the opportunity to demonstrate yet another validation of why they should get the role.

Remember to use everything at your disposal to position yourself as the logical choice.

3. Practical Logistics

With the best will in the world, we can all misjudge time. Double check the time and location of the interview, as well as the name of the hiring manager.

If you haven’t already been to check out the venue, prepare your route by car or train leaving plenty of time to get there in case you end up experiencing one of those annoying traffic jams that come from nowhere.

Let’s be frank, interviews are stressful enough, so there is no point adding to that unnecessarily by getting lost and certainly not by turning up late. Hint: hiring managers dislike latecomers.

Most people reading this post understand dress code and how what you are wearing does have an impact; you do, don’t you?

I will explore this briefly in a minute.

Firstly let’s talk about confidence and what you wear. I am not suggesting you head out and buy a new outfit or shoes. Instead, think about the outfit that always makes you feel good.

I have a few outfits I love, and I always wear them if I want a boost of confidence. Perhaps you have had this experience too?

No matter how many presentations you have given, or appearances in court; never underestimate interview nerves and their unexpected impact.

Finally, remember the goal of the interview is to leave the interviewers talking about your skills, attitude, and law experience and potentially how well you would fit into the team.

A fascinating fact I discovered last year is that over half of the population has a visual preference and a keen sense of smell and though we all like to think we don’t judge, we sometimes do.

The last thing you want to have your interviewers chatting about at lunch is how strong your perfume was or questioning if you smoked, or crikey how did you manage to walk in those heels?!

If you follow the steps in this post you have a template to impress the hiring manager with the depth of your knowledge in the company, and how confidently prepared you are.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and during that time has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability. We have made over 5,000 placements from partners to legal executives, solicitors to paralegals and legal IT personnel to practice managers.

If you are looking for your next career move, we can help.
Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you would more help on preparing for your interview download our interview checklist here.

Over the past few months, we’ve given a considerable amount of advice on how to write a CV that will make a hiring manager sit up and take note and how to nail a job interview amongst various other things. However, we’re regularly asked what a job interviewer is actually looking for and what they’re thinking when they meet a candidate.

It’s perfectly natural to feel nervous and slightly uneasy in an interview, after all, it’s an important process and one that could shape your career prospects for years to come. Getting a job, as we all know, can change lives – particularly if it’s one you’re desperately keen to get – so it’s hardly surprising that for many people, interviewing can be highly stressful.

However, it helps to get inside the head of an interviewer and put yourself in their shoes. If you were hiring for your own company, what traits and skills would you be looking for?

Are they who they say they are?

This may sound obvious, but you’d be blown away by the number of people who openly lie on their CV. It’s easy to make yourself sound employable on your application if you just lie and any experienced hirer will likely want to run through your CV to clarify that you are who you say you are and that you’ve done what you’ve said you’ve done. They’ll probably want to throw a few open ended questions at you to allow you to talk through your CV in your own time and – as long as you are telling the truth – this should come naturally. It’s important to remember to consider how your past experiences can help you carry out the role. So rather than simply stating what you did, try and use examples and make a link with what you’ve done in your past and how it could help you in the position you’re applying for.

Cultural fit

One of the hardest things for an interviewer to gauge is whether the person sitting opposite them will fit into their current line-up. There are two distinct schools of thought. Some people like building teams with ‘disruptive’ characters who can challenge the status quo and create results and innovation by being different. Others recognise the value of employing people who can get on with their current employees and won’t upset the apple cart. Unfortunately, there’s no golden solution to this and if the employer doesn’t think you’ll work at their company for whatever reason, they’re unlikely to take you on. Your best bet is to be yourself. Your true personality will reveal itself further down the line and putting on a persona only raises the risk of you not actually being well suited to the organisation.

Are you up to the job?

Finally – and perhaps most obviously – the interviewer will want to know whether you’ve actually got the skills to do the job. This is where pinning examples to things you’ve done in your past really becomes valuable. If you can actually highlight times when you’ve made a difference to your former employer it saves them the task of linking your skills with the job specification and working out whether you’re cut out for the role. Others will do it in their interview and if a hiring manager has an obvious fit for a role, they’re hardly likely to think about other candidates quite so much. It also doesn’t come down to what you just say. If the role involves a lot of interaction with senior partners or associates then you’ll want to consider your speech patterns and ways of communicating. In addition, you should consider any obvious reasons why the company wouldn’t hire you and don’t let the interviewer jump to their own conclusions (which they will). If your CV shows signs of job hopping, for example, then provide reasons for why you’ve done so ahead of being asked.

For more insights from the team visit our blogs page or get in touch with the team for more career tips and tricks. 

When an interviewer asks, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” many interviewees find themselves flummoxed. They haven’t thought that far ahead. All they know is that, right now, they want this particular job. Where it will have taken them in 1825 days is anybody’s guess. And, after all, how can they possibly say what they’ll be doing then when they don’t even know what they’ll be doing this weekend?

So, why do interviewers like asking this question? The aim of the interviewer is, of course, not to test your psychic ability, but to dig deeper and find out more about you as a potential employee. In particular, they want to find out what your mid-term career goals are to see if they align with both the role and what they are able to offer you as employers. Will you be satisfied with the position and prospects, work hard and stay in their employment for a long time? They want to hire someone who is genuinely excited about the job and who sees it as a great career move.

Let’s start with what not to say.

• Don’t joke about wanting to do your interviewer’s job. Nobody wants their own job prised from them by a competitive new hire.
• Don’t go into a very detailed plan about how you will get promoted. It can look over-confident and inflexible.
• Don’t mention unrelated dreams such as writing a novel or owning a business. An employer is interested in what you will do for them. Don’t joke about winning the lottery and retiring, either.
• Don’t ponder for ages, suggest a few
  different things or – worst of all – say that you haven’t thought that
  far. It will make you look directionless.
• Don’t make any references to their rivals. Some interviewees think that mentioning an aspiration to gain the skills to work for another notoriously selective or popular employer makes them look ambitious, but why would any firm invest in you just so
  that you can go to a rival?

When you give your response, the ideal answer will portray you as ambitious but not entitled; forward-thinking but adaptable; realistic but aspirational. The main thing to do is show that you are excited about this position and what you will learn over the next five years: you have a desire to succeed and be the best you can at it. The interviewer will be looking for evidence that this job will meet your goals for several years and that you will stay in it long enough to repay any investment – of both time and money – in you. Then, rather than focusing too much on where you want to go next, present a vaguer and more flexible desire to progress and develop, should opportunities arise. If you can do a bit of research into your employer’s long-term goals and show that your personal career goals align with them, even better. They’re looking for nurses to mentor new staff as part of a recently introduced induction programme? Great – that suits your ambition to guide and eventually train others.

Finally, be prepared for one or two follow-up questions which might be used to see if your answer is a rehearsed one or if it genuinely reflects who you are.

Read our blog about requesting interview feedback here. For more interview advice from the team, check out our posts here.

You may have seen our previous blog on creating a great CV, but how do you nail the next stage to secure your dream job. You might think that now you’ve passed through the gatekeeper that the hard part is over, but the interview really gives you the chance to strut your stuff in front of the key decision makers. So what should you keep in mind?

Be punctual, but not too punctual

Arriving early for the interview is important, after all it doesn’t exactly set a glowing precedent for what your time working there will be like if you’re late. However, don’t make the mistake of being too early as you’re more likely to look desperate more than anything else. A good rule of thumb is to be 15 minutes early, stick to that and it gives you plenty of time to compose your thoughts as well as demonstrating your good timekeeping skills.

Practice, practice, practice

Ensure you conduct some thorough research on the organisation that you can drop throughout your interview to highlight your knowledge and proactivity. Go over some standard interview questions as well as some role specific ones with a friend or family member and you’re likely to feel much more prepared and less stressed when the day comes around.
However, it’s a thin line to tread between being ready and sounding like you’re reading off a script, so try to keep things as natural as possible.

Give examples

Rather than just reeling off a list of your top attributes, look to form an evidence based argument about why you should get the role you want. You need to show proof that you are what you say you are and highlighting your achievements build a more compelling case for why the organisation should choose you. If you can show examples of when you’ve
saved your previous employers time or money or simplified any overly complex processes, you’re likely to stand in good stead.

Interview your interviewer

This isn’t just an opportunity for the organisation and its staff to learn about you, it’s also your chance to learn about them so try and turn the situation into a conversation, rather than an interview. Don’t go over the top, you do still need to answer the questions you’re being posed, but look to send some back in the other direction.

Prepare questions in advance

Along similar lines it’s also crucial to prepare a series of questions to ask at the end of the interview and not having any rarely tends to leave a favourable impression. Good examples include asking about time frames, when you’re likely to hear back from them and if the firm has interviewed many people for the role. A good question to get real insight into the organisation is asking them what they like about working there. There are no definitive rules, but it’s certainly much better to have something ready to ask.

Close the interview and follow up

Finally, look to close the interview yourself by asking whether there’s any other information that they would like to know about you or if there are any areas of your CV or application that they have questions over. It’s also well worth following up your interview with a quick email or phone call to say thanks as this is likely to make you stand out from the crowd when they review applications.

What factors do you think are important to nail an interview? Share your thoughts with us below.

Read this blog to read what you interview is actually looking for. Also, check out our other blog posts here.

If you are still on the hunt for that dream job, call the office on 01772 259121 to see how we can help. Or check out our current jobs here.

It’s perfectly natural to feel nervous and slightly uneasy in an interview, after all, it’s an important process and one that could shape your career prospects for years to come. Getting a job,
as we all know, can change lives – particularly if it’s one you’re desperately keen to get – so it’s hardly surprising that for many people, interviewing can be highly stressful.

However, it helps to get inside the head of an interviewer and put yourself in their shoes. If you were hiring for your own company, what traits and skills would you look for?

Are they who they say they are?

This may sound obvious, but you’d be blown away by the number of people who openly lie on their CV. It’s easy to make yourself sound employable on your application if you just lie and any experienced hirer will likely want to run through your CV to clarify that you are who you say you are and that you’ve done what you’ve said you’ve done. They’ll probably want to throw a few open ended questions at you to allow you to talk through your CV in your own time and – as long as you are telling the truth – this should come naturally.
It’s important to remember to consider how your past experiences can help you carry out the role. So rather than simply stating what you did, try and use examples and make a link with what you’ve done in your past and how it could help you in the position you’re applying for.

Cultural fit

One of the hardest things for an interviewer to gauge is whether the person sitting opposite them will fit into their current line-up. There are two distinct schools of thought. Some people like building teams with ‘disruptive’ characters who can challenge the status quo and create results and innovation by being different. Others recognise the value of employing people who can get on with their current employees and won’t upset the apple cart. Unfortunately, there’s no golden solution to this and if the employer doesn’t think you’ll work at their company for
whatever reason, they’re unlikely to take you on. Your best bet is to be yourself. Your true personality will reveal itself further down the line and putting on a persona only raises the risk of you not actually being well suited to the organisation.

Are you up to the job?

Finally – and perhaps most obviously – the interviewer will want to know whether you’ve actually got the skills to do the job. This is where pinning examples to things you’ve done in
your past really becomes valuable. If you can actually highlight times when you’ve made a difference to your former employer it saves them the task of linking your skills with the job specification and working out whether you’re cut out for the role. Others will do it in their interview and if a hiring manager has an obvious fit for a role, they’re hardly likely to think about other candidates quite so much. It also doesn’t come down to what you just say. If the role involves a lot of interaction with senior partners or associates then you’ll want to consider your speech patterns and ways of communicating. In addition, you should consider any obvious reasons why the company wouldn’t hire you and don’t let the interviewer jump to their own conclusions (which they will). If your CV shows signs of job hopping, for example, then provide reasons for why you’ve done so ahead of being asked.

For other tips, check out our career advice pages

You’ve applied for a series of new jobs, and finally secured the all-important interview for your dream role. While it may seem like you are just steps away from hearing the words ‘you’re hired’, the hard work starts now. You need to be fully prepared for the interview to ensure you have every chance of success. Often candidates will have worked really hard on job applications but let themselves down at the interview stage by either not preparing adequately or presenting a bad image. So what are the top five interview mistakes you need to avoid?

Not doing your homework

With the internet at your fingertips, there is absolutely no excuse for not doing your homework before an interview. Despite this, however, clients often tell us that a candidate didn’t get the job because they didn’t know even the basics about the company and role they applied for despite having all the skills required. Take the time to thoroughly research the business – look at the website for information about the history, values, and culture. Seek out information on social media to glean an insight into the type of work and activity the business does.
It’s also worth researching the person who will be interviewing you – you will be able to source information about their role and length of time at the business which will help you establish a rapport at the outset.

Too much talking, not enough listening

Another big mistake candidates make – often due to nerves – is talking too much and not listening to the questions being asked. Take the time to really take in each question and, if you are unsure of how to answer, ask the interviewer to repeat it. This will buy you some time and enable you to prepare an answer better. Candidates often go wrong by responding too quickly and going off on a tangent which means they haven’t given the interviewer the information they are seeking. Often this happens due to a combination of nerves and a failure to prepare. If you have researched properly you will not only be less nervous, but you will likely be able to answer the questions asked.

No questions

Another big no no is not asking any questions yourself. Almost every interviewer will factor in time at the end of the meeting for the candidate to ask anything about the role and company. Don’t make the mistake of not preparing questions in advance. Think about what queries will demonstrate that you are serious about the job and your progression within the company. Could you ask about the training and development opportunities or about the team you will be working with, for example? Don’t, however, make the mistake of asking about when your first pay rise will be or how many sick days you are entitled to!

Moaning about your current employer

Most interviewers will ask you about your previous role and employer. And regardless of why you left the company never make the mistake of criticising the people or business you worked for. No prospective employer wants to hear a potential staff member bad mouthing people they have worked with before – not only will it cause concern that you might do the same at their business, but it will also almost certainly move your application to the no pile!

Wrong attire

Even if you know that, if you secure the role, you won’t be expected to be suited and booted every day, don’t turn up to the interview in jeans and a t-shirt. Don’t however, go to the other extreme and turn up looking like you are about to go on a night out!

The interview is often the last stage of a lengthy application process. Don’t ruin your chances of securing the role you deserve by making the mistakes listed above. Preparation is key and remember, if you have been invited in for interview, it is because you have already demonstrated your suitability for the role. Good luck!

For more advice from the team, check out our other posts here. Or if you wish, call the office on 01772 259121 or email enquiries@clayton-legal.co.uk

After the interview: what went wrong?

If you are interviewed for a job that you really want and are unsuccessful, it can be very disheartening. It’s tempting to replay the interview in your head, trying to work out what went wrong. You weren’t late and had dressed smartly. You’d prepared by doing plenty of research into the role and employer. You thought the interviewer seemed happy with your answers. So, why did they to decide not to hire you and how can you avoid it happening again?

Why you should ask for interview feedback

Instead of guessing the answers to these questions, it’s important to ask for feedback so that you understand which area of your interview technique needs developing. Don’t just chalk it up to experience and simply keep applying elsewhere. Most of us have an unsuccessful interview at some point, and it isn’t a waste of time if you view the experience as one from which you can learn and develop. Try not to let it knock your confidence: feedback might highlight aspects that you wouldn’t have considered; being mindful of them could directly result in you securing the next job that you apply for.

How to ask for feedback

How you ask for feedback will depend on the way in which you find out that you have been unsuccessful. If your recruitment consultant gives you the news, spend some time discussing the interview with your consultant who will be able to pass on any feedback and offer you tips on how you can improve your technique.

If you are telephoned by the company, ask there and then; if they email you, reply within 24 hours so that the interview is still fresh in their mind. And how do you word the request? Always begin by thanking them for the opportunity to be interviewed. Whatever you do, don’t suggest that the employer made the wrong decision. This graciousness is important because you never know when you might have to deal with the interviewer or company again in the future.

Then, rather than asking ‘why didn’t I get the job?’ or ‘what did I do wrong?’ – both of which put the interviewer on the spot and sound rather defensive – ask if they would mind letting you know what you could do to improve next time. Which area do they think that you could develop most?

If you disagree with any feedback, don’t allow your feelings to get the better of you or protest. Instead, focus on moving forward with a new insight.

What to do with interview feedback

Some feedback will be very easy to address. For example, if you are told that you responded to a particular question in a way which lacked detail, you can prepare a more thorough response should the question arise again. Other feedback may require more thought. Could you film yourself responding to key questions and review the way that you come across? Do you have a friend or recruiter that could conduct a mock interview with you? Would more research into a company help next time? If you are given a number of areas where you could improve and it seems daunting, aim to address one or two key ones.

So, see interview feedback as invaluable positive guidance which helps you to develop the way that you present yourself professionally and, consequently, enables you to have a successful career.

For more job interview advice from the team, check out our other posts here or call the office on 01772 259121 to speak to one of our experts.

During a job interview, you might find yourself being asked some tricky questions which put you on the spot. Anticipating them and preparing your responses in advance will help you to manage your nerves and stay composed on the day. So, here are some of the most common questions that trip up interviewees and our top tips on answering them.

‘Tell me about yourself.’

This seems like a very straight forward question but many candidates fall into the trap of thinking this is just a warm-up question to put them at ease and end up telling the interviewer all kinds of irrelevant things that don’t relate to the job. This is an opportunity for you to give a brief outline of your current role and state the personal and professional work experiences that relate to the position you have applied for. One way to prepare for this question is to plan and rehearse a brief statement – a paragraph or so – that quickly describes who you are and what you can bring to the company. Don’t focus too much on your childhood, school life, early career, personal likes and dislikes or hobbies, unless they are relevant to the post.

‘What is your biggest weakness?’

This is tricky because the point of an interview is to present yourself positively. The best way to approach this is to identify a gap in your knowledge or an area where you are seeking to improve yourself, which can be addressed through training or learning. For example, you may need to refresh your skills at using certain software. If you can’t think of anything, look at the person specification before the interview and identify a ‘desirable’ skill that you don’t yet have but are willing to work towards. Whatever you do, don’t tell them about a character weakness such as being continually late or forgetful.

‘What do you like least about your current job?’

The interviewer is looking to see how you speak about your existing employer and role. Be utterly professional and never criticise any individuals that you work with. The best bet here is to mention an aspect that’s far removed from the job you’re seeking. Finish by explaining that, despite the unappealing element, you have learned something useful from it or achieved something fulfilling. This shows that you have resilience and a positive attitude.

‘What has been your biggest failure?’

This is a tough question because it asks you to go over something that you’d probably rather forget, and at a time when you are already feeling under pressure. It is designed to find out more about your previous job performance and anticipate how you might behave in the future. Most importantly of all, the interviewer wants to know what lesson you learned from your failure. The number one rule here is to keep focused on your career: don’t talk about a divorce or anything similar. Equally, don’t mention something minor from years ago, like not passing a school test. Some candidates avoid the question and claim never to have failed at anything, but that also suggests that they’ve never taken any risks.

A top tip is to use the STAR framework (Situation/Task, Approach, and Results) to explain what happened. For example, you had to pitch to an existing client to win £10,000 of additional business. You approached it casually because you felt certain that the work was a dead-cert. Unfortunately, the client felt that a rival went the extra mile and gave the work to them. You have learned to treat every pitch with equal attention, regardless of your existing client relationship.

‘Where do you expect to be in five years’ time?’

Remember that employers just want to get a better idea about your background, your communication skills and how you’ll perform if they offer you the job. If you rehearse answering tricky questions and frame your responses so that you present yourself in the best possible light, you will impress interviewers, even when talking about your mistakes or weaknesses.

For more job interview advice from the team, check out our other posts here.

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