Typical interview structure

Once the recruiter has decided they want to meet you in person, the interview can last from 30 minutes to 2 hours. All aspects of verbal and non-verbal communication are important. The recruiter will observe your positive and negative communication skills and analyse them in order to form their assessment.

Most employers use semi-structured inter­views. The structure may be as follows at the first meeting:

• small talk to put you at ease;

• presentation by the recruiter and the applicant;

• questions about your experience, skills and knowledge; verification of information in the CV;

• the recruiter informs you about the require­ments and main duties of the job and about the company in general: which sectors it operates in, its achievements, etc.;

• the recruiter checks that you have under­stood all the aspects discussed;

• your questions, for example: What is the work schedule? What salary are you offering? Is there a lunch break?

You are advised to prepare questions before the meeting, but be flexible and try to think of oth­ers that may crop up during the interview.

The atmosphere should be open, relaxed and communicative. Make sure you adopt a profes­sional attitude and that you explain your moti­vation for the job.