Have you seen Channel 4 programme The Job Interview, which follows a real-life recruitment process?
Talk about watching through your fingers. Not since The Apprentice has a TV show featured such toe-curlingly awkward moments.
There’s no denying trying to impress in an interview is a high-stress activity.
And with Barclays the most recent bank to predict oil prices will peak sooner than previously thought, we can expect an imminent rise in candidates applying for oil and gas jobs. Increasing demand means that being able to perform well will be more crucial than ever.
So, when checking out the current roles on s1jobs, use these top tips to help you strike gold.
The dry run
If the interview is in a place you’re unfamiliar with, work out how to get there with 15 minutes to spare. Then leave 30 minutes earlier than that. Better to be early twiddling your thumbs, than bursting in late and stressed.
Visualise success
Winning sportsmen and women often do visualisations of the successful outcome they want before the actual competition. Note down a few typical interview questions and then work out how you’d answer them to impress your interviewer. It’s essentially a dummy run for your brain.
The little things
Scuffed shoes, chipped nail varnish, missing buttons. They all take the shine off that all-important first impression. Make sure you’re looking sharper than, well, a freshly sharpened thing. Sort out your threads the night before to save any panic.
Do your homework
There are times in life when it’s possible to wing it. This is not one of those times. You need to have done your research on the company and the role you’re going for. Have a few questions up your sleeve to ask at the end to show you are already imagining yourself in the job.
And, finally, stay calm
The job interview is the strangest of things: everybody wants to be offered one, then we don’t want to go.
It’s up there with root canal treatment as life’s most dreaded appointments. But it shouldn’t be.
If you’re truly the best person for the job – and you are! – your interviewers should be skilled enough to spot this, regardless of any “brain fades” on the day.
Take a deep breath, go to your happy place and relax.