Preparing for a job interview can be stressful. What should you prepare? How can you communicate your experience in the best way? How can you make the best first impression possible, and stand out?
The simplest way to ensure you stand out at a job interview is to say yes when a recruiter asks, “would you like to call into the office for interview preparation?”
A pre-interview meeting a recruiter can be beneficial in so many ways, and I don’t mean for recruiters.
I am a recruitment consultant on the Cpl Insurance team and currently work with some of Ireland’s largest insurers and brokers.
I know these companies inside out and know what they’re looking for in a job interview, the same way any recruiter in Cpl would know their roles and clients.
By meeting with us before your interview you get the upper hand and can go to your interview fully prepared and hopefully stress-free.
Before you start interviewing
Our job as recruiters is to find you the most suitable role and the best fitting company for you – this involves a lot of listening and consulting before we can fully understand this. Basically, we need to get to know you.
Firstly, we will give you a call to screen you over the phone. Generally, you will do all the talking, while we’ll listen and take notes.
A lot of people think recruiters only ever call about a specific role, but there’s usually a number of potential jobs – or after chatting we might know of a different recruiter who could have something that suits your skills.
Either way, we will always advise you to keep your options open. For example, I work with several insurers who have multiple roles in their Claims departments, if your profile is sent over to each of these clients, you will be in with a better chance of landing that interview
Getting ahead at interview stage
At least 30% of people shy away from face to face interview prep, but it could be the thing that differentiates you when it comes to the interview.
When preparing for an interview it can be hard to know where to start. Recruiters know their clients’ needs so can save you that confusion and advise on what’s vital to prepare.
We have direct insight into the type of questions that tend to be asked, information you won’t get by searching the internet or preparing on alone.
We work with our candidates on how best to answer tough questions like “ What are your weaknesses”. Practising these types of questions in front of us will also build up your confidence.
We coach our candidates on numerous interview questions to ensure they are 100% interview ready well before they sit down for the real interview.
Face to face preparation can also alert you to any bad habits or mannerisms you might have but not know about. On the other side of things, we can highlight your strong points and build up your confidence ahead of an interview.
So, remember if a recruiter wants to meet with you face to face ahead of your interview, say yes. It could be what differentiates you and gets you the role you really want.
If you are looking for more tips on how to prepare for your next interview, download our free Interview Handbook which will assist in all thing interview related.
As a recruiter on the Cpl Insurance team, I specialise in Claims Handling roles for Personal Injury, Employers Liability, Public Liability, Motor Damage and Casualty.
I also cover operational roles within the Life and Pensions space such as Existing Business and New Business administrators. In addition to this, I recruit mid-senior and people management roles in all the above areas.