Before an interview

Hopefully we will be organising interviews for you once we start working together. The day before interviews we will give you a thorough briefing – we have been working with most of the clients for years so can tell you all about the company, the job, the people you will meet and the sort of questions the interviewers might ask you.

It’s worthwhile doing some additional research too, make sure you have looked at their website - thoroughly, it’s a good idea to look at the competition too.

Spend a bit of time planning the interview. Think about what the interviewer will want to know about you, look at the job spec you have been given and relate this to your own experience. Think about questions you might be asked and what you would like to say at the interview – why you particularly want to work for the company and what you can offer them.

We recommend putting together a presentation of some sort. The format of this can be just some rough notes for you to refer to, a printed portfolio or tablet…whatever you feel most comfortable working with.

And it's not just a designer that should have a portfolio, all marketing and PR professionals can really benefit from a portfolio to document and illustrate their experience and can keep you on track in an interview. For a designer however it's an absolute necessity, you can't get anywhere without it. (See Your portfolio).

A couple of days beforehand, if you have time, it is a good idea to drive to the interview location, ideally at the same time of day as the interview so you will know how long the journey will take and most importantly you don’t get lost! It seems a very obvious thing to say but, two days before, double check your appearance and check your interview outfit – is it clean, ironed etc.