We asked our job-savvy Facebook community “What’s the best interview tip you’ve heard?”– and their responses were invaluable!

They gave us a range of tried and tested advice from how to prepare, to tips for video interviews, and great ways to calm yourself. Here’s a selection of the best tips from our Facebook friends:

1. Make sure you have some water. If you find yourself stuck or getting a bit panicked take a moment to have a sip and take a deep breath to calm yourself. A scratchy throat can buy you a few seconds to regroup. – Catherine Morris

2. Remember that they need you as much as you need them. – Alison Benwood

3. When they ask you to give an example of where you excelled, follow the STAR method as you would in your application: Situation, Tactic, Action and Result, focusing on benefits of/to the company. – Renny Oparah

4. Ask the interviewer what their intention for your job role is. It’ll give away whether the org is likely to be true to their job advert or not… or if it’s one big red flag. – Es Po

5. Be early, never late, be polite, listen and give it your best shot. Humble is an option. – Michael Reynolds

6. If you’re doing a zoom interview (super common these days), look into the camera, not at the screen. They’ll feel like you’re giving them eye contact! – Adriana Kay

7. Avoid coffee before the interview. Coffee makes some peoples heart rate increase and appear more jittery which looks like nerves. – Cate Incognitos

8. Prepare a list of questions for yourself that YOU would ask if you were the interviewer… and prep some dot point answers. And also prepare for the question ‘why do you want this job?’ It’ll likely come up in some form. – Helen Oakey

9. Act like you’ve got the job. Don’t be cocky but just very confident. – Joe Horvath

10. Ask the interviewer what they would like you to bring to the job. – Paul Kelly

11. Always be yourself. – Ann O’Rourke

12. Approach an interview like it is a meeting about yourself. You are an expert on yourself, so you already know a lot of the answers. I found this mentality can really help calm nerves and help me relax – and even enjoy – an interview. It definitely helps to build rapport. Also, chances are if you get an interview you can probably do the job. The only thing between you and the position is the other people being interviewed – and you can’t control that, so there is no point getting anxious about it. – Yvette Clarke

13. Practice a concise, relevant answer to “tell me a little about yourself”, it’s often the first question an interviewer asks, and if you’re not prepared it can lead to rambling or empty answers. Keep it to 30 seconds or so. – Patrick Garson

14. Always shake hands with a firm hand! – Camilla Mutton

15. Remember that they want someone to be successful – just ensure its you! Changes your mind set to positive. – Anne Elizabeth Rainbow

16. Take your application with you and refer to it to save you time and don’t be afraid to take notes. It’s not an exam! – Beck Sta

17. Always, always ask the interviewer at the end of the interview, what they love most about their work and workplace and what drives them. – Ange Cook

18. Talk with the receptionist while you are waiting to go in, it is surprising how much say the receptionist can have on who is chosen. – Karen Allen

19. Always ask for first or last interview, all in between are usually lost in their memory. – John Gilbert

20. Don’t trash talk your previous employers and always, always, always turn off your phone! – Tay Winchester

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A huge thanks to our community of ethical job-seekers for sharing their wisdom!

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