South Africa-Political Science

Top Tips: Preparing for the Interview

1.       Know your stuff! If you applying for a job in the field of Political Science or International Relations the panel might expect you to explain your thoughts on a certain situation to understand how you think, so check out the newspapers to ensure that you are aware of the latest events and current affairs. Also, you have to you know the Organisation/Company’s

·         Objectives

·         Mission

·         Vision

·         Priorities

·         Goals

·         Brief Historic overview

2.       Dress to Impress! Rather be overdressed than underdressed and sloppy. This first impression may be your last.

3.       You snooze you lose! Make sure that you are at the venue at least 30 minutes before your interview. Plan your route a day before so that you know exactly where the venue is, and take traffic into account to give yourself enough time to get there.

4.       You can never be over prepared! Make a list of generic questions any company/organisation is likely to ask during an interview, or talk to friends and find out about the type of questions posed to them during their interviews.  Once you have gathered some questions, practice how you are likely to answer them, and start thinking about what the best way of answering them would be.   This is a good exercise to puts you in “interview” mode. Have a look at ‘common’ interview questions posted on: jobinterviewquestions and Jobs.co.za

5.       Strategic Self Marketing! When preparing for the interview, look at the job requirements again think of ways to highlight how your skills, knowledge and strengths would complement those requirements. When answering the question, rather than talking about how ‘great and smart’ you are, be strategic and explain how you characteristics and skills can contribute to the specific position and/or to the organisation as a whole.

6.     Documentation! Prepare a folder with all the documentation such as your qualifications, references, copy of your CV, ID/passport ect.

7.   Relax, and Show them what you got!  –Its natural to be nervous during an interview, but your nerves might also lead to a poor performance.   So although its hard, try to stay calm and confident to prove why you are the ideal candidate for the job.  

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