Hi, everybody! It’s Richard McMunn from the interview training company, PassMyInterview.com,
with this brilliant video which is entitled: Job Interview Checklist! So, if you have an
interview coming up at any level whatsoever, please do watch this video from beginning
to end, because I have got eleven really, really important tips that I call my ‘CHECKLIST’
for making sure you pass your interview! Now, before we get into that checklist, a very
warm welcome to this job interview checklist training tutorial. My name is Richard McMunn.
That's me there in the center. The bald chap! I've been helping people for about 20 years
now to pass their interviews. I do that by giving you top tips and high-scoring answers,
which I will do that during this tutorial. Please, if you haven't done so already, make
sure you SUBSCRIBE and join the 200,000+ subscribers we already have on this channel. Lots of you
are having success getting jobs following these training videos, so make sure you do
subscribe. And as always, I would very much appreciate your support if you gave the video
a LIKE. Thank you. And also, if you want me to create a video for you, tell me the NAME
OF YOUR JOB INTERVIEW in the comments section below this video. I will help you by creating
a video with interview questions and answers to help you. OK, let's get into the JOB INTERVIEW
CHECKLIST number one. So, we've got 11 to work through. The interview checklist number
one. Have your answer already prepared for the very first interview question, which is
going to be: Tell me about yourself? You sit down in the interview chair, and you can pretty
much guarantee the hiring manager or interviewer is going to say to you: “OK, start off and
tell me about yourself?” Now, you can prepare for that interview question. So, my advice
is to say something like this. “Well, I am a hardworking, conscientious and professional
team worker who always puts the needs of my employer before my own. I believe I have the
necessary strengths, qualities and attributes to perform the role to a very high standard,
and having researched your company in detail, you are the only organization I want to work
for. If you hire me, I feel you will be impressed with my strong work ethics, values, integrity
and honesty.” That's a great answer. You can pause the video and take note of that
if you want to. That's the first thing. And it's important to prepare for that interview
question: Tell me about yourself? Because if you get off on the right footing, then
your confidence will be sky high for the rest of the interview! Job Interview Checklist
Number 2. Now, it's okay to be nervous, but have the self-belief to be successful. And
I want to tell you a little secret in a second about interviews that most people don't understand.
So, are you nervous? Most people are. You should have a little bit of nerves before
you go along to your interview. But do remember this: your personality is just as important
as how you answer the interview questions. Now, I know for a fact that a large number
of interviewers would rather hire somebody based on their positive personality than their
ability to do the job, or their expertise, because they can, you know, mold you into
the team worker that they want you to be! It's very, very important that you are positive
during your interview. If they like you, you are more likely to pass the interview and
get offered the job. So, be positive. Smile. It is OK to say: “Yes, you know, I'm a bit
nervous. I really, really want this job. But these are the things that I am very good at
doing. If you hire me, I am the right person for the job.” It's okay to be nervous; but
believe in yourself. You have nothing to lose by being confident in your abilities. Lots
of people ask me questions in the comments section below these videos, and they say to
me: “I'm really nervous.” I always say, don't worry about it. You have nothing to
lose by being confident, but everything to gain! Smile, be positive and you know, really
go for it, because being positive is attractive and it's contagious, as well. And also, don't
forget to smile and use positive words during your interview. I will give you five positive
words and statements to say at some stage during this video that will resonate in a
strong manner with the interviewer. Number 3 of the Job Interview Checklist. Make sure
you read the job advert and the person specification before you go along to your interview. So,
and then have examples of when you have previously matched the essential criteria for the job.
Now, of course, that all sounds very confusing, but it's very simple. If you read the job
advert and the person specification, it might say that you have to be good at customer service.
It might say you have to work as part of a team. It might say you have to work under
pressure. You might have to solve problems or work to strict timescales. My advice is
to read the documents and then where it says you have to work as part of a team, think
of examples, previous examples that you have been in where you have already done all of
those. Where you have worked as part of a team. Where you have already worked under
pressure, because the interview question will probably be: “Can you tell us about a situation
when you provided really good customer service?” and you can go: “Yes, actually, in a previous
situation at work, I was required to deal with a customer one day and this is what I
did…” And it is the same for all of the ‘essential criteria’. So, number 3 on
my job interview checklist, is to make sure you read the job advert and the person specification
and then have examples ready of when you've previously matched all of these! Don't forget,
if you haven't subscribed yet, please do SUBSCRIBE. I don't want you to miss out. Number 4 of
our job interview checklist. Have three questions ready to ask at the end of your interview.
At the end of your interview, they will say to you: “Do you have any questions you would
like to ask us?” Most people will say: “No, it's OK, you've answered everything for me
during the interview.” Well, that's not what you should do. This is your opportunity
to really show that you are enthusiastic about the role, and that you care about their organization.
When they say: “Do you have any questions?” You might say: “Yes, I do. So what are the
future plans for the company? Or, you could say: “What are the plans over the next 5
to 10 years for the business?” Because that shows that you are considering staying with
them for a long period of time, which is attractive to any employer. The next question might be:
“If I'm successful, what would you need me to concentrate on in the first few weeks
of starting in the role?” So that shows already you are preparing for being in the
job. And then the third one could be: “Could you tell me what has disappointed you about
the performance of people who have worked in this role previously?” So there you are
already thinking about how you can improve on people who've been in the role before you,
to give the employer what they really want from the position. Job interview checklist
number 5. Be ready for the: What's your biggest weakness? Interview question. Again, this
is guaranteed to come up! You can think about this. What's your biggest weakness? The most
important thing is not to give them a weakness that is a match for the job description. So,
if you are reading the job description and it says you have to be great at customer service,
and you tell them that you're not particularly good at dealing with customers, you won't
get the job! We have to make sure that when they say to you: What's your biggest weakness?
You give them a weakness that is safe; that isn't going to harm your chances of getting
the job. Here are some good ones that you might decide to use. You might say: “I am
someone who is impatient. I like to get my work finished quickly and I don't like to
be waiting on other people to get my job completed.” The next one is, you could be someone who
works long hours and finds it difficult to strike a healthy work life balance. Now, I've
been in that situation before, where when I used to work in the fire service… I would
work long, long hours and other people, or some people, didn't seem to do so. And I found
that a little bit frustrating. And then I would put in extra work, and that's a good
attribute to have. But that can contribute to stress. So, that would be a safe weakness
to give, is that “I always find it difficult to strike a healthy work life balance. But
I am looking to improve and get all of my work done during normal office hours.” You
find it hard to ask for advice when it's needed, because that's difficult. You don't want to
ask for advice. I would see that as a positive thing. But of course, you should be able to
ask people when you do need help. Those three weaknesses, I would suggest, are safe in the
fact that they shouldn't harm your chances of getting the job. Job interview checklist
item number six: know the interview location and wear the correct outfit. Now, it would
be remiss of me not to mention these, but people get stuck in traffic, or their train
is late, or their bus is not on time. You can't ring up the interview location and say:
“I am really sorry, but my train was delayed!” It's no excuse, you have to get there on time.
So check Google Maps to ascertain how far away the interview location is and check it
the day before at the same time that you would plan to set off, so that you have a good idea
on the weight of traffic traveling to the interview. If you are going by car, make sure
you know where the location is. Make sure there is parking. How far away is the car
park before you walk to the location, or is there public transport? You know, make sure
you get there well in advance of the interview time. If it was me personally, I would get
there at least 30 minutes before the interview time, so I could compose myself. And if ever
I've gone to interviews before, I will head there. I will probably get there an hour before,
and I would look for a coffee shop, which is in the local area. And I will go in there.
I will sit down and have a cup of tea and I will read the job description and the person
specification and compose myself. I might even watch this video on YouTube, on my phone,
just to make sure that I am fully prepared. But then I am not rushing into the interview.
Also, wear a smart, clean and formal outfit. This shows that you care; you are professional,
and you are organized above everything else. Wearing a smart and clean formal outfit doesn't
mean you have to go out and spend a fortune on an expensive Armani or Gucci suit or outfit!
You don't have to. It could be cheap. It could be cost effective, but you can still look
smart. You'll see me in some of my videos… I wear a black smart suit jacket that costs
me about £25 from Marks and Spencer! But it looks smart. It works well. Job interview
check list number 7. They're going to say to you: Why should we hire you? And this is
another way of them asking, what makes you the standout candidate? So, here are some
good things to say. You have the qualities and the attributes to match the job description.
So, that then would tell me that you've read the job description and you are taking this
role seriously, and you are able to carry out the things that I want you to carry out.
Number two: you get on with everybody and will always put the team and the needs of
the organization above everything else. That is very attractive, you know, as an employee.
If you can get on with everybody so you can contribute to the team quickly and you will
put the team and the needs of the organization above everything else! Number three: you are
a fast learner and someone who will learn the job quickly and contribute positively
in superfast time. Again, that would be attractive to me if you said: “Well, I always learn
things very quickly. I'll put in the extra hours, you know, to learn the role, and then
I will start contributing so you get a return on your investment in me.” Job interview
checklist number 8: Use positive power words and phrases during your interview. Now, I
briefly alluded to this previously, but I cannot overestimate how important this is.
Here are five things that you could say during your interview to really make a big difference.
“I have strong work ethics standards and values.” That's a good thing to say. “I
will work hard to achieve the financial and commercial objectives of the company.” That's
a brilliant thing to say. “I will learn the role quickly and be a positive and supportive
team member.” It's another really good thing to say. Don't forget, before I come on to
the final two, to tell me if you have a job interview coming up… tell me what it is
in the comments section below and I'll give you some interview questions, or a video to
prepare for. The next one. “I'm someone who always wants to continually improve and
develop in my work role.” “I am flexible and adaptable and can be available to help
out with extra shifts and hours if you need me to.” Brilliant! Five great things. Go
back over them. Write them down, and you could say those during your interview. Number 9.
Avoid saying any of these things during your interview. Don't say these to them. Now, some
people can't help but be negative. It's just in their nature. You are not going to be negative
during your interview. Remember, you are going to be entirely positive because positivity
attracts positivity. Don't say this. “Well, I didn't really get on with my manager or
some of my work colleagues.” So, if they say to you: “Why do you want to leave your
current job?” Don't say that! “I don't really get on with my manager.” Or… “He
(or she) doesn't understand me.” That's negative. It's not attractive. Another thing
not say: “I don't really have much experience, if I'm honest.” Don't say that! If you don't
really have much experience. It doesn't matter. They will have looked at your resume or your
CV and they'll already see what experience you have, but they've invited you to the interview.
So you don't need to say that. And certainly don't say, when they ask you a question…
Can you give an example of when you've worked as part of a team? Don't say. “Well, I've
not really been in that type of situation before.” Now, I understand that some people
have not been in some situations before. This might be your first job. You might not have
worked in a customer service environment before. You might not have worked under pressure.
So, if you do get those questions and you've not been in that situation, say to them: “Although
this is my first job interview, I have been observant when I've been going about my daily
activities. For example, I can remember being in a shop and someone delivered really, really
good customer service to me. This is what they did…” So, you can tell them an example
of what you think is great customer service, or when you've seen somebody work under pressure,
if you don't have the experience. Interview job check list number 10. Use the STAR technique
for behavioral type interview questions. When they say to you: Describe a time when you
worked under pressure to complete a difficult task? Describe a time when you solved a difficult
problem? Describe a time when you worked as part of a team? Make sure you use the STAR
technique. When you answer, start off and tell them the SITUATION that you were in.
Then tell them the TASK that needed to be done. Then tell them the ACTION that you took
to achieve that task, and then tell them the RESULTS following your action. Now, in the
top-right hand corner of this video, there is a link that just appeared that will take
you through to my STAR interview training technique video here on YouTube. It's had
a couple of hundred thousand views. It's very popular. If you want to learn about how to
answer interview questions using STAR technique, then I suggest you click that! Job interview
checklist number 11. So, prepare for the common 21 types of interview questions. OK. It's
not a huge amount of work for you to go through, but in my experience, over the last 20 years,
there are a number of interview questions that the interview panel will ask you. And
I have placed a link to those 21 interview questions right there in the top right hand
corner of this video. I'll put it in the top comment that is pinned below this video. If
you click that, it will go through to my full list of interview questions I recommend you
prepare for, for your interview. I hope you've enjoyed that. Please don't forget to SUBSCRIBE.
Thank you. And hit the LIKE button. I appreciate your support! That always motivates me to
create more for you, if I see that people like the content I'm creating. Don't forget,
if you’ve got to questions, put them in the comments section below and tell me the
name of your interview. Thank you very much for watching and I wish you all the best for
passing your interview. Have a brilliant day, guys. Thank you!