Tips to help you with a job interview

Two things always come up in your job interview: do you understand what your role in the company would be, and how well can you answer the questions? These tips from Careers in Eyecare will really help!

Cover the basics before your interview

• Research the role that you are applying for and understand the key duties and responsibilities.
• Read and understand the job description.
• Think about what makes you the ideal candidate.
• Research the company that you are applying to and understand their background and their values.
• Research the company’s competitors.
• If the role requires you become registered with a regulatory body, research them too to establish what their role is in the sector.
• If the role is customer-facing, think about what good customer service may look like.
• Think about your future growth. Do you want to progress to another role with the business you are applying to?
• Be prepared to give examples of things that you have achieved or done previously (see possible questions below for examples).
• Make sure you know where the interview is to be held and that you know how to get there in plenty of time (if possible, visit them before the day of the interview)

Can you answer these interview questions

These job interview questions from the Careers in Eyecare team are absolute classics. You’re bound to be asked them for any eyecare role (like optical assistant or contact lens optician, to name a few). But they’re so classic that knowing your answers will help you in ANY job interview, from retail to engineering or sales!

• What are your reasons for applying for the role?
• What attracted you to our company over our competitors?
• We assume you have read the job description. What skills and attributes are needed to perform the role?
• Describe a situation where you had to follow rules or procedures.
• When have you demonstrated attention to detail?
• Give an example of a time you went out of your way to help someone.
• Tell me about a time when you demonstrated flexibility in a work situation.
• Describe a time when you delivered excellent customer service.
• Have you ever had poor customer service? How did it make you feel?
• Describe a time you have had to work as part of a team to overcome an issue.
• Describe a stressful situation at work and how you overcame it.
• What skills do you possess that would be an asset to the role and our team?
• What do you consider to be your strengths?
• What do you consider to be your weaknesses?

“Do you have any questions for us?”

This last question probably needs some extra thought and deserves its own section. What do you really want to know? Don’t ask questions that have already been covered in the interview.

• You may wish to ask about development and training opportunities.
• What about start dates?
• Is there only one role that they are filling?
• When will they be making a decision and informing applicants?

This list is by no means exhaustive and different questions may come up. Think carefully about your answers and how your skills can be applied.

And don’t forget – to be selected for a job interview is a great achievement. They think you’ve got what it takes – now you just have to seal the deal!