Top tips to prepare for your interview

Candidates that demonstrate strong communication skills and a collaborative approach at work will be better placed to secure the best roles in sought-after companies.

To demonstrate your aptitude in these areas during your interview, you need to demonstrate that you’ve considered your own capabilities carefully, as well as your potential to develop in the role. 

The ability to establish yourself as a business partner, excellent communicator and strong project manager will make you stand out from the competition.

Top four areas of interview preparation

Your own experience and CV –  you need up-to-date, practical knowledge of technical skills that appear on your CV and be prepared to discuss these at length. You should:

• refresh yourself on anything that may be a little rusty
• research new developments that might be on the horizon

Likewise, you should be prepared to discuss why you chose your particular career path as well as reasons for accepting and leaving any prior jobs and gaps in employment as well as your future aspirations. When talking about skills, make sure that you highlight how you were able to apply those skills in a way that added value to the company or solved a problem. This would not just highlight your technical abilities but also showcase that you understand the business and are able to be an effective business partner.

Here are some FAQs when amending your CV.

The role – It’s unlikely that the role you move into will be an exact match of a role you were in before. To prepare, consider:

• what the role specifically involves and which areas best match your current experience
• areas of experience which might bring a level of value over and above what another candidate may be able to deliver
• personal traits which make you particularly suited to the position

If there are gaps in your experience, don’t be afraid to acknowledge this. Researching how you can learn these skills on-the-job will show your proactivity and capacity to learn. Highlighting certain character strengths like being a fast learner will also help.

The company – Not doing adequate research on the company will often be more noticeable than you’d expect and it can reflect very poorly on your commitment to the role. Always research the company you are interviewing it as thoroughly as possible. Outside of particulars on the company and its operations, you’ll want to consider;

• what primarily attracts you to the company
• what most motivates you to work there above somewhere else
• why the company is a good fit for you 
   

Questions – Most interviewers will expect you to have prepared a selection of questions for them as well.  Aside from the more common and practical questions, try to think of something more unusual to show you’ve really considered your suitability for the role. These should be future-oriented and could include things surrounding;

• the organisation’s greater strategy and how this might impact IT operations
• the organisational culture
• the organisational structure

Employers now want their IT professionals to truly understand how their role can impact the greater business as well as those who can liaise with both technical and non-technical stakeholders to find the best possible solution.

Speak to your specialist recruiter

For any final preparations or should you have any questions, your specialist recruiter will be a fantastic source of guidance to provide you with the key things you’ll need to know.  

They should also have insight into your interviewer’s personality, their interview style and the competition you’re up against.