Ask the right questions

In any job interview, there is a moment when your prospective employer will ask you if you have any questions. This is not the time to clam up. This is the time to show that you are an inquisitive person who wants to learn more about the position you are applying for and about the company as a whole. It's a big mistake to lead with questions about dental insurance plans and how many holiday days you are allocated in the year. Those kinds of questions bring the focus back to you, and you need to use this valuable time to express interest in the company rather than yourself. Instead, do a little research and ask questions about recent campaigns from the company. You might also want to ask questions about wider industry trends to showcase just how committed you are to learning within your business niche.

Don't be over-confident

This is particularly true of people who have connections within the company. Some people think because their uncle or their best friend works within a business, they will have an easier time in the interview process. This is, more often than not, a huge mistake. When an employer hires you, they are making an investment in your talents, skills, and experience – who you know is irrelevant. If you do have some connection with a company and manage to land a job interview there, do your research just like any other candidate, and don't be over confident in your approach. This is also true even if you don't have internal connections with a business. Be confident in your skills and abilities, but don't act as though you already have the job before you've even shaken hands with your interviewer.

Take notes

Many recruiters will expect you to take notes while you are in the interview room so always take a notepad and a pen along with you to a job interview. By taking notes, you can demonstrate to an employer that you are committed to learning about the organisation and that you are taking the whole process seriously. Some recruiters have even said that if a candidate doesn't take notes during the interview, that they wouldn't consider them for the next stage of the recruitment process.

Follow up at the right time

There is a lot of waiting to be done in the recruitment process. You wait for an employer to give you a response based on your resume, and you can also wait a long time after an interview before hearing back from a recruiter. So when is the right time to follow up? Generally, it is a good idea to let recruiters get back to you in their own time. They will often be juggling multiple tasks and just need a few more days to sort through all of the applications and interview notes before making a decision. If you are having real trouble being patient, leave it at least a week before you follow up with a recruiter, and follow up with an email rather than a phone call, because a call is more likely to put the recruiter under pressure and result in an uncomfortable exchange.