EFP Interview Guide
This guide is designed to give you tools and tips to help you do your best at interview and maximise your chance of getting the job offer you want. It is based on feedback from both interviewers and interviewees. It is not designed to give you the answers, but will give you an approach, a mindset, tools and some useful tips to help you do the best you can.
Why do interviews go wrong?
There are surprisingly very few reasons that people are unsuccessful at interview, most fall into one of our top 5 reasons:
Poor preparation: Failure to research the organisation, company values, interviewer or role in enough detail.
Lack of enthusiasm for the role and the organisation.
Vague or generic answers to competency, experience and motivational questions.
Poor basic technical knowledge
Lack of soft skills particularly around communication, stakeholder engagement and relationship building. Nervousness often plays a part here and suffocates a person’s personality.
The basics
These are the fundamentals, most of which are obvious, but are often overlooked. You will notice that many of them fall into one of the “why do interviews go wrong?” categories so it is worth getting these basics right.
Location
Know where you are going, how you are going to get there, what time you need to arrive and who you are meeting. Always allow additional time for traffic/transport delays or the unexpected.
Video calls
If your interview is a phone or video call, ensure you are somewhere with good signal/wi-fi that is quiet, and where you will not be disturbed. It can often be harder to convey enthusiasm, passion etc. through a screen so you can afford to show a little more that you would in person and don’t forget to still make eye contact, project your voice and sit up straight. Check with your recruiter the most appropriate outfit, sometimes a suit isn’t the right choice for a VC for example. And remember, technical issues do happen, try not let them stress you – they can be a great ice breaker if you approach them with the right mindset. However, it’s always worth:
Trying the video link before the interview to check it works
Entering the interview 10 minutes before the planned start time (to re-check the link is working!)
General dress and presentation
This can depend on the culture of the organisation, so do check with your recruiter, but if in doubt wear smart work attire ensuring clothes are clean, pressed and well fitted and shoes are polished. Think about your posture, eye contact and overall body language. Turn your phone off and leave it in your pocket/bag.
Preparation
Failing to prepare for an interview is one of, if not the, main reason we see for people failing interviews. Part of the interview preparation is having an idea of the types of questions you will be asked and ensuring you are well researched. Having thought through some key areas and responses in advance will really pay dividends at interview. Thinking laterally is also important to demonstrate you have thought beyond the generic interview answers.
However, don’t over prepare, you need a toolbox of answers and examples that you can draw on to answer any given question but having scripted answers usually leads to a failure to fully answer a question and a lacklustre, unnatural delivery.
Research
More on this later, but as a baseline you need to cover:
Website:
Understand their products/services, what they do, where they operate, who they work with
Understand corporate values. How can you align yourself to the values?
Annual Report
Review CEO overview/strategic direction
Understand key corporate level risks
Financial statements – understand key financials (revenue, profit levels etc). How has the business performed?
Review balance sheet.
Google/News
Ensure you are up to date with latest news
e.g. new product launches, acquisitions, results releases etc.
Practice
Your answers always sound better in your head than when you say them out loud. Practice your responses to some of the standard questions in front of a mirror or in the car and you will find yourself tweaking words and changing structure to give a much more polished, detailed answer. Doing this beforehand means when you deliver the answer in the interview it will be the best it can be.
Know the job
Obvious, but you will need to know the job description inside out and have examples from your experience that are aligned to the job requirements and clearly demonstrate your ability to do the role. Sometimes job descriptions can be a bit generic, but your recruiter will be able to give you greater insight into the role and the key experience and skills they are looking for.
Your recruiter will also be able to give you a detailed understanding of the people, culture, scope of work, travel, career paths etc. to help you really tailor your responses to the role you are interviewing for.
The interviewer
Know who you are speaking to. Research them on LinkedIn, social media and company publications. The more you know about their career, interview style and interests, the better relationship you can build. Your recruiter will be able to give you further insight into individual personalities.
First impressions
Give a firm handshake
Maintain good eye contact
Body language - sit up straight, be engaged, project confidence
Be in interview mode from the moment you leave the house – you never know who you might bump into on the way to the interview. Be polite and cheerful with everyone you meet – you don’t know how well the interviewer knows the receptionist or anyone else you engage with during the process.
Smile
This has its own section because it is so important. Smiling immediately warms people to you, it lets them know you are happy to be there, relaxed and approachable. Smiling can also reduce nervous tension and help you to perform better in stressful situations.
Don’t forget if the interview is on the telephone smiling is still important as it will naturally change the tone of your voice and allow you to relax building faster relationships and convey more personality which is sometimes lost on a phone call.
Answer the Question
Answer the question asked, not the question you want to answer, being concise and articulate. Always listen carefully to the question, and then hit the key points first and directly without unnecessary information or progressing on to related points. You can then add additional detail as required.
Be honest
Don’t make excuses – Almost everyone makes a mistake at some point, either a failed exam, a bad job move or a personal situation that leads to an illogical career move. This will almost always be addressed at interview; if you try to cover it up or make excuses then you will come across as defensive or even dishonest. Admitting to a mistake or a bad decision and demonstrating you have learnt from it is a strength.
Also, don’t “talk around” difficult questions, a much better approach is honesty. If you are asked a question and simply don’t believe you have well developed skills in that area, don’t be afraid to let the interviewer know, rather than answering with unrelated and tangential examples. Be sure to offer some other related skill/experience that is relevant and of interest.
Show your personality
People, not CV’s, get job offers. Of course, you must demonstrate the required technical ability and experience, but demonstrating strong communication and interpersonal skills coupled with commitment and passion will beat a technical genius with underdeveloped soft skills to almost any role.
Don’t be afraid to sell yourself
The interview room is not the place for modesty! You need to be careful with tone, so as not to appear arrogant or self-unaware, but justifiably saying you are really good at something and supporting it with examples is what you should be doing.
Think
Try not to rush into answering a question. Take a moment to think about your answer and how you are going to deliver it. You are unlikely to be the only applicant for a job, so in all your preparation think about how you are going to differentiate yourself and your answers from the other candidates. How will you stand out?
Questions for the interviewer
Asking relevant and considered questions at the end not only shows the interviewer that you have a genuine interest in the role, but also that you’re using your time and theirs wisely.
Research, research, research! The more you know about the company, their values, the interviewer, the job you’re applying for, the more likely you are to succeed.
Ensure you arrive in good time for your interview. Take some time to mentally prepare yourself before the interview begins.
Take some deep breaths and relax as much as possible. You’re much more likely to succeed
Dealing with some common questions
There are a number of questions that recur time and again and at all levels, so by preparing for these common questions, you can be armed with some strong responses before you even get to the interview. However, as these are common questions, they are often met with common answers, so thinking laterally is important to ensure you stand out from others answering the same questions.
Talk me through your career/ experience to date
Easy. Or so you think. This is often an opening question and is a chance for you to showcase not only your experience but also your communication skills. It is easy to ignore this one in your preparation but being able to articulately describe your experience and demonstrate you have the required skills for this role is important. Keep it relevant to the role you are interviewing for and avoid the trap of just talking through your life since school.
Also ensure you know the detail of your CV and anticipate any questions that fall out of it. People are sometimes caught out by something they have written in their CV but cannot fully explain.
Why do you want to work for us? And why are you interested in this role?
These are the motivation questions. The key to answering these well is to identify some very detailed, personal reasons and deliver them convincingly with enthusiasm. It is a chance to demonstrate some of the research you have done and how you align to some of their core values. Avoiding the obvious and generic answers is important, the interviewer must feel your passion and commitment to the role and be left with a strong sense that you really want to work there for some sound reasons.
How do you see your career progressing?
Most interviewers are not only considering you for the role you are applying for, but also future positions in the business. It is almost always a good idea to demonstrate ambition. However, the two mistakes often made are firstly, being so ambitious that you come across as having no interest in the role you are applying for; and secondly your ambitions not being a logical follow on from the role you are interviewing for. Finding a balance between ambition and commitment to the immediate role is key as well as having a realistic idea of where your career might take you within the organisation.
Why should we hire you (as opposed to another candidate)?
A very open-ended question so try to be specific and detailed. This is an opportunity to talk about your strengths that are relevant and of benefit to the role and back them up with strong evidence. Although this is a time to be confident about what you can offer ensure your answer doesn’t appear arrogant. Avoid reasons that benefit you like “I live near the office” and “I’ve always wanted to work for this brand”.
What are your salary expectations?
This question will not always come up, but you should ensure you have discussed this with your recruiter and your answer is consistent with the salary expectations that were submitted with your initial application.
Why do you want to leave your current role?
Try to frame this with positive progressive reasons rather than moan about the negatives of your current employer.
What do you know about our business/industry/competitors?
Here is your opportunity to demonstrate you have done your research and have a solid understanding of the business and the wider industry.
Company website
You should ensure you are fully familiar with the company website (including the careers section which often gives insight into culture and values). If they have defined their key values, you must know these and reflect them in your answers.
Annual report
You should have read the key sections of the latest Annual Report. You will learn a lot about prior year performance and key financial drivers, as well as the strategy, corporate level risks and key personalities.
Financial statements
A detailed understanding of the financials is fundamental. A quick P&L analysis will give you year on year variations and help you understand the performance of the business over time. Being able to talk in detail about some of the key movements and drivers will set you apart from others. Reviewing the Balance Sheet to gain an understanding of the financial position is also important.
News/google
Always check for latest news articles (especially on the day of the interview). If they have just announced a big acquisition, latest results or a product launch you need to know about it.
Industry and competition
Demonstrating an appreciation of the wider industry is important. Are there any industry bodies you should be aware of? What are the current big issues in the industry? Who are their main competitors? How to they compare?
Do you have any questions for me?
It is likely this will get asked at the end of the interview. Having no questions immediately signals disinterest, so it is worth having some meaningful questions prepared. You may be able to pick up on earlier conversations and ask further questions, but you should also have some questions prepared to fall back on.
Another one you could consider asking is “I am very keen on the organisation and the role and would very much like to join your team. Is there any reason why you may not think I am right for the role?”
Asking this question gives the interviewer the opportunity to discuss any concerns and you the chance to cover any objections they may have.
Testing
It is also worth noting at this point that some companies use tests (online or written) as part of their recruitment process. This is nothing to worry about, but they should be given full attention as you will often have to achieve a minimum score to progress to the next stage. The main types of testing are:
Psychometric – numerical and verbal reasoning tests. The key to these is to practice the style of tests and to allocate appropriate time per question as they are often quite time pressured.
Case Study – These are usually based on a relevant business scenario
Personality Profiling – These are not usually pass/fail tests but the results can be used to frame HR interview questions at later stages.
The act of smiling has been scientifically studied, and it relays happiness, authenticity, and trust across cultures and generations.
Smiling relaxes us and tells the interviewer we are friendly, confident and positive and will make them feel happy too.
Don’t overdo it though – smiling too much can look weird
Dealing with competency-based questions
Situational, behavioural or competency-based questions will almost always be a key part of the interview. Knowing which key competencies, they are looking for beforehand will allow you to focus your preparation, but here are some examples of competency questions that arise repeatedly and how to approach this style of questioning.
Approach to answering competency- based questions:
STEP 1. Identify the core competencies that the interviewer will be looking for (use the job description, the website and your recruiter)
STEP 2. Prepare a list of examples from your work (and sometimes life) experience of how you have demonstrated these competencies
STEP 3. Apply the STAR approach to structure your answer:
S – Situation. Provide a brief summary of the situation to set the scene for the interviewer.
T – Task. Describe in detail the task ensuring you select one that is credible and achievable without being too low level. Try to pick something that the interviewer can identify with quickly.
A – Action. This is the key part that will demonstrate the competency so it should be detailed and clear. This is the time to talk about what you actually did, what your thought process and approach was and why, and the specific actions you took and how you took them in detail. You can also discuss the obstacles and challenges you faced and how you overcame them.
R – Result. Be specific about the result for the company or group your task involved, and also the result for you –
e.g. what you learned. If the results were positive, underline your contribution and highlight your achievements. If the results were negative, remember that a setback can actually reflect positively on you, showing that you assess the consequences of your actions, that you are able to learn from your mistakes and that you are resilient in the face of adversity.
Top tips
“I” rather than “we” – Most people work in teams, so it is only natural that they refer to examples that involved working with others. It is important to demonstrate that you are comfortable working with others, but if you refer to “we” all the time the interviewer will have no way of understanding what your contribution was and what your abilities are.
Real life examples – No interviewer wants to hear a hypothetical answer. They want to hear what you have done, in a real situation that has led to a positive result. Avoid words like “would” and “could”, they want to hear what you have done not what you would or could do.
General competencies
Here a few examples of general competency- based questions that you might want to prepare for:
Can you provide some examples of managing conflict?
Demonstrating a willingness to listen to and understand your colleagues’ and employers’ perspectives in order to work out a solution that is mutually agreeable is important. The key here is collaboration leading to resolution.
What are your strengths?
Remember to give examples of strengths that will benefit the employer and are relevant to the position. Your recruiter will be able to brief you on the most important things they are looking for, so including some of these in your strengths is a good idea. You should be able to back up your answer with clear examples and evidence.
What are your weaknesses?
A tricky one. The purpose of this question is to see how you view and evaluate yourself and assess your self-awareness.
Avoid presenting a positive skill disguised as a weakness, like “I work too hard” or “I am a perfectionist” but rather respond realistically by mentioning a small, work-related weakness and what you are doing or have done to overcome it.
How would you deal with a difficult stakeholder who was not cooperating with you, or a task you could not complete?
The key here is to demonstrate that you have used initiative and tried some sensible courses of action to reach a resolution/solve the problem on your own before escalating to management. Managers will want to know that you have done everything you can before involving them. They will also expect you to have an action plan/possible solution to discuss with them rather than just giving up.
Other common questions to consider:
Can you provide some examples of cultural adaptability?
Can you give an example of a suggestion you made that was implemented?
Give an example of when you have influenced senior stakeholders?
Can you give an example of when you have managed/led a team?
What is your approach to teamwork?
What is your management style?
