If you remember nothing else, make sure you remember these two tips to ensure your success at an interview;

• Have confidence in your ability to do the job by giving relevant examples to demonstrate your skills and abilities

• Show enthusiasm and excellent preparation, by doing research on the company, positive body language; ask questions about their business showing genuine interest

Preparation

This is a vital part of having a successful interview. Do as much preparation as possible.

• Know the time, address, name of the interviewer and make sure you take a contact phone number in case you run late
• Do some Company research; a good way to do this is to have a look at the company's website
• Dress professionally and appropriately for the business; do not wear too much make up or perfume
• Review your CV and the job description before the interview
• Prepare questions to ask the interviewer,

The Interview

Your strengths and areas of development will be assessed in the interview as well as specific personal characteristic such as attitude and motivation;

• Make the right first impression, arrive on time and follow the interviewers lead
• Body language is very important and what most people do not realise, give a firm hand shake, make continuous eye contact, sit up straight in your chair and do not slouch, be enthusiastic and show you are interested, this is a chance to show your interpersonal skills
• Market yourself, describe your responsibilities and accomplishments that are most relevant to the role to which you are applying, be concise and do not waffle
• Avoid inquiring about holidays, salary and bonuses at the initial interview

Competency Based Questions

This form of interviewing is becoming increasingly popular, you should be aware if this style will be used before the interview and if so you can adequately prepare for this. The best way to do this is to follow the STAR model:

S = Situation (What was the situation, give specifics)

'Currently I work in a restaurant and have been there for over 2 years, since leaving University. Last month, a new waitress was recruited.'

T = Task (What was your responsibility in that situation)

'My main responsibility as a waiter/waitress is to take new staff 'under my wing' and keep an eye on them for the first two weeks.'

A = Action (What action and steps you took to gain a positive result)

'As with all new staff that start work at the restaurant, I ensured that the first day she started at the restaurant, she shadowed and assisted me in serving my customers. By doing this, she was able to not only see what was required but also be able to put into practice what I was doing.

This time I also made a suggestion to the Restaurant Manager that all new recruits spend a few hours during these first two weeks in other areas of the restaurant, so that they could see how everything operates.'

R = Result (What where your results due to the course of action you took)

'By doing this, the training undertaken by the new recruit was more effective that it has been in the past, as she has a good understanding of what goes on outside her own role and can help out in those areas if and when necessary. The Restaurant Manager was extremely satisfied with the changes I had implemented in the training programme and this is now something that will be done in future'

Closing the Interview

Thank the interviewer for the time spent with you and if you feel the interview went well you can ask when the next stage interview might be.

After the Interview

Review, review and review again! How did you do? What was good? What do you need to improve on next time? Be realistic and prepared to self analyse to enable you to make improvements at your next interview.