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THE ALTERNATIVE
INTERVIEW PREPARATION
GUIDE
CAREER ADVICE

2. www.dsjglobal.com | enquiries@dsjglobal.com Career Advice | Enabling Exceptional Careers
We’re not the first company to write about how
to prepare for a job interview – and we certainly
won’t be the last. Anyone who has read such an
article will know that the usual advice offered is
generally pretty standard – research the company,
know your CV, prepare some questions to ask
etc… However, when attending a job interview,
the last thing you want to be is run-of-the-mill.
As if a job interview wasn’t stressful enough, we
learn that employers make decisions about job
applicants in less than seven minutes (six minutes
and 25 seconds, to be precise). Here are seven
ways to ensure you make those 385 seconds
count – for all the right reasons.
1. BODY LANGUAGE
It’s well known that body language is vital in
an interview scenario. However have you
ever considered how the body language you
adopt before your interview can affect your
performance?
Research by social psychologist, Amy Cuddy,
reveals how the posture you adopt before an
interview can affect the interview outcome
by altering how powerful you feel within the
interview scenario. Holding a high-power pose
before your interview boosts hormonal changes
that configure your brain to be more assertive,
confident and optimistic, whereas low power
poses (such as folding arms and hunching over)
does the opposite.
Before you go into your next interview, prep
your mind by adopting a high-power pose for
two minutes, such as standing with hands on your
hips.This two-minute stance will trigger responses
withinyourbraintohelpyoutofeelmorepowerful,
shake off those pre-interview nerves and shine as
soon as you enter the interview room. The key
however, explains Cuddy, is to strike your pose in
private prior to the interview, never during.
2. DRESS TO IMPRESS
‘Dressing to impress’ for an interview doesn’t
just mean looking smart, it means basing your
outfit on the culture of the company you are
interviewing with.To make a truly informed outfit
choice,research the company’s social media pages
to see what employees wear on an average day
in the office, and then adopt a smarter version
of this attire. The closer that your outfit fits the
organisation, the quicker you will develop a
rapport with your interviewer.
When planning your outfit don’t forget the detail
- ensure you have clean shoes, a fresh smell and
appropriate hair. Finally don’t overlook comfort
- wear clothes that you have worn at least once
before and that you will be comfortable in and
consult the weather in advance to guide your
outfit choice.
7 ALTERNATIVE WAYS
TO PREPARE FOR A JOB INTERVIEW

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3. RECORD YOURSELF
Professional athletes film themselves prior to key
events to optimize their performance – so why
not also apply this practice to preparing for an
interview? The majority of your interview is, in
fact, not assessed on what you say but on the way
you say it, so it’s important to ensure your body
language portrays you as knowledgeable, engaged
and confident.
Make a recording of yourself responding to a few
tricky interview questions, and critically assess
your posture, gestures, facial expressions and
tone to reveal areas for improvement. You may
hate hearing the sound of your own voice, but
this will give you a clear picture of how you come
across and what your body language says about
you.Practice any improvements you wish to make
prior to your interview, to prevent overthinking
things when it comes to the main event.
4. SHINE LIKE A STAR
If you find yourself in a competency-based
interview, you will be expected to give structured
answers that demonstrate key skills such as
problem-solving, conflict management, team-
building etc.When asked a question starting with:
‘Tell me about a time when…’, use the STAR
acronym to structure your response and provide
the right level of detail. Here’s how it works:
Situation: Set the scene and give some context
Task: Explain what you were required to do
Activity: Clarify what you actually did
Result:Describe how well the situation played out
Prepare a bank of answers that fit to this format in
advance of your interview to ensure your answers
are well articulated and confidently executed.
5. FIRST-NAMETERMS
Know the names of your interviewers before you
walk through the door. This may seem obvious
but it’s something that often gets forgotten
among the million and one other things you have
running through your mind prior to an interview.
Memorise panel members’ names and address
them directly during the interview – this is proven
to help build a stronger rapport and make your
interviewers like you more!
6. FUEL UP
It’s really important to prepare your body from
the inside pre-interview.Avoid foods that will that
will give you peaks and troughs of energy directly
before your interview such as caffeine, greasy/
sugary foods, heavy carbs or sugary drinks.
Instead you should opt for peak performance
foods: blueberries, salmon, oatmeal and avocado
are all considered great brain foods; nuts and
yogurt are believed to reduce anxiety; while olive
oil,goji berries and raw foods can all help enhance
your problem-solving skills.
7.SHAKE,RATTLEANDROLL…
Finally, the way you greet your interviewer can say
a lot about you. But there’s nothing complicated
about a handshake… or is there? With the
handshake being your first opportunity to impress,
you only have one chance to get it right and
handshakes that are too clammy, too tight, too
limp, too long or too short are definite no-nos.
For the perfect handshake you need dry palms, a
firm (but not too firm) grip, a sideways (not from
above) approach, and a three-shake rule. It should
also be accompanied by good eye contact and a
winning smile.
Now you have the preparation tips to succeed,
all that remains to do is wish you the very best
of luck! If you are not successful this time round,
why not contact Phaidon International (linkedin@
phaidoninternational.com) to help support you
with making that all important step up the career
ladder!

4. www.dsjglobal.com | enquiries@dsjglobal.com Career Advice | Enabling Exceptional Careers
This guide has been brought to you
by DSJ Global, part of the Phaidon
International group.
DSJ Global is a specialist provider of
Corporate Leadership recruitment
solutions across Europe, the US, Asia
and the Middle East.
We believe every professional should
benefit from the advice of a trusted
partner throughout their career.
For more information about career
opportunities in this sector, contact DSJ
Global.
Contact us today:
www.dsjglobal.com
enquiries@dsjglobal.com
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the world; we connect exceptional talent, with exceptional
opportunities.
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