If you are seriously considering making a career move you need to put aside time for your interview preparation. Even a simple telephone interview needs forethought. You need to have done background research on the company, prepared some interview questions and become familiar with the job spec. Interviewers will have read your CV and be familiar with your background, and they expect the same from you.

Telephone and Skype interviews are used widely these days, and interviewers see these as a way of deciding whether or not to call you for a full face to face interview – it’s no longer all about them trying to impress you. So you need to take them seriously and be able to demonstrate the effort you’ve made in getting to know them. If a company or job is of interest you need to show this – because there are candidates out there who certainly will.

It’s all too easy these days to assume you are the person for the job and wait for a company to woo you. Sadly those days are long gone – companies may well want to woo you but you have to show them you’re worth wooing first. Having a great CV is a good first step – but never underestimate how important it is to demonstrate your interest in a company by putting some basic effort in prior to an interview.