Job Interview

JOB INTERVIEW

Last Updated: 30-04-2025

PRE-FIRST IMPRESSION

It is most likely that before entering the interview room, an applicant already made an impression on the interviewers. There's a step between applying and being invited and this is what is called the pre-first impression. The CV, Cover letter, LinkedIn, Google results, and the way an applicant calls or e-mails the hiring manager, all together, create the pre-first impression. This is valuable to keep in mind, especially with the CV, which presents a person’s professional self before entering the room.

Furthermore, consider the 90-90 rule. It states that in the first 90 seconds people form a 90% impression. Social media nowadays can also create an image of a person, seen by others. Therefore, think for yourself: what do you want to be openly visible? What do you want professionals/private friends to see about you?

FIRST IMPRESSION

Now after the 90-90 rule, and the hiring manager has read through the official documents of an applicant (CV, cover letter…), they have created a firm impression of the candidate, and they decide to invite the applicant for an interview. The first and one of the most important things in the interview is the physically present first impression.

The interview starts even before the first question, it starts the moment a candidate enters the room; when opening the door, sitting down, introducing themselves, and during the opening small talk.

What can an applicant do to make sure they will make a good first impression at the start of the interview, without even mentioning something about skills/experiences yet? What can you prepare?

Before entering the room:

Be on time, but don’t try entering the room until the previous candidate has left. If there is no one inside and it is the time for your interview but no one invited you in, gently knock and walk inside.
Be present and collected
Have open and professional body language when entering the room (how one holds themselves when entering the room, closing the door, sitting down…)

Furthermore, according to Dutch contact rules, at the start, the candidate should:

Introduce themselves and extend their hand in greeting
Start with some Small talk (your day before arriving, the commute, the weekend before...), of course strictly professional
Be open and have an open body language

In general, in the Netherlands, the first interview is a balance between formal and informal, perhaps slightly more informal. This also helps the candidate relax and present themselves as they are as a person, rather than just a list of technical skills. They are hiring the person, not the skills. Therefore, the candidate can behave more laid back and not be dressed too fancy, professional and clean, but not too dressed up.

Making a good first impression can help a lot during an interview! A lot of times, if a candidate already scores “bonus” points by getting off on the right foot, it is way less important to nail each and every question.

PREPARATION AND APPEARANCE DURING THE INTERVIEW

Research

Research of the company and the position prior to the interview is highly recommended. A candidate should prepare this for the interview, and understand what the company is doing and what they are looking for in a candidate, it helps to prepare for the “motivation” and “fit” questions during the interview. They might even ask the candidate directly if they researched the company as it shows if they took the opportunity seriously and professionally. Ask yourself how do you fit into the company and the job?

Information can be found on the company website and in the vacancy description. Of course, preparation can be a slippery slope as well, some might go for reading and remembering everything they find on the company website. This shows dedication; however, it might not always be useful. It is more important that the remembered points support arguments and relate to specific skills, experiences and motivations a candidate has.

CV preparation

Another preparation point is the CV. A candidate should know exactly what is on their CV and use it as preparation. The things mentioned there might come up as topics or they might ask questions regarding the information, especially if left unclear, or if it is an interesting point for the application.

Appearance

As for the appearance during the interview, same as for the first impression, it is important to smile, to have an active and enthusiastic attitude, appropriate but not too formal clothing, as well as calm and focused appearance. It is more beneficial to keep the conversation positive rather than going on negatively about faults or such. If they ask about faults or points of improvement, or the candidate finds it important to mention them, then they should be presented in a neutral, constructive manner.

GENERAL INTERVIEW STRUCTURE

Opening phase

In the opening phase it is the interviewer’s job to make the candidate comfortable and to create a relaxed open atmosphere. Usually, they will do this by starting with some small talk or even comedic relief. The small talk is usually about how a candidate found his way to the office and around the office, or if the interview is online the conversation would perhaps be about where are both sides physically present in that moment (home, office…).

Then they usually say something about the procedure and how the interview will flow, sort of like a meeting agenda, but instead the interview agenda. Following that they will introduce themselves, the company and perhaps the team/department that has an open position. In the final part of the opening phase, they will ask the candidate to shortly introduce/present themselves.

They will (should) make the candidate feel comfortable! In the beginning but also throughout the whole interview. How the candidates are treated can also show a lot about the company culture and team atmosphere. Therefore, this can also be a point of reflection for the candidate to see if they can see themselves in this environment.

After the introductions, they will ask questions and more questions…

The central phase

In the first round of interviews, they mostly want to get to know the candidate as a person. Who are you, what are your experiences so far and what skills have you acquired so far? This will include some technical questions as well, but these will be more detailed in the second interview. The first rounds are mostly done by the HR recruiter/manager, and they will focus mostly on the non-technical part so a candidate can then expect more behavioural questions. The second round of interviews would most likely be conducted by a technical person, who will focus more on those technical questions.

For the technical questions, it is beneficial for the candidate to explain why they have or how they gained certain skills. For example, a moment or experience where they learnt that skill. Backing up skills with specific experiences gives credibility to the skills that the candidate is presenting.

Finding a way to present skills and back them with experiences might be a struggle for some. Usually, students, who have little or no professional experience, struggle with this. In that case, they can refer to family dynamics, sports, and project situations, every moment and experience is a valuable one, even if it is not a professional one.

While some struggle with finding words, others worry about talking too much about a certain topic. Not to worry, if there is a time limit the interviewer will stop you and ask another question. This is not an issue, rather it is quite normal in an interview, and it is better to talk than be silent.

Some might be overwhelmed by the fact that they will be asked a lot of questions during the conversation or that they might get lost in their explanations. In general, it is recommended and wise to reply to questions using the STAR method if possible (explained in the next section). This helps structure answers and keep them relevant and concise. It is also useful to think in advance about questions that might pop up in an interview.

Finally, towards the end, the interviewers might ask for a first salary indication, no need to be afraid of this, it is wise to prepare for this question if you need more information about this, we refer you to the CONTRACT AND SALARY NEGOTIATIONS article.

They will also check whether the candidate has any questions. It’s always good to prepare some! Having questions shows interest and engagement usually gives off a good impression.

STAR METHOD FOR BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWS

STAR is a method used for behavioral questions – they are asked a lot during interviews! Behavioral interview questions are questions about how a person has behaved in the past in certain situations. Specifically, they are about how they have handled certain work situations and usually tell the interviewer a lot (more) about you, both explicit and implicit.

STAR – Situation, Task, Action, Result

Situation – describe the situation you were in or the task you needed to accomplish

Task – describe the challenges and expectations What needed to be done? Why?

Action – Elaborate on your specific action. What exactly did you do and how did you do it?

Result - Explain the result including your accomplishments, recognition and the outcome

STAR Example

Tell me about how you worked effectively under pressure.

“I had been working on a key project that was scheduled for delivery to the client in 60 days. My supervisor came to me and said that we needed to speed it up and be ready in 45 days, while keeping our other projects on time. I made it into a challenge for my staff, and we effectively added just a few hours to each of our schedules and got the job done in 42 days by sharing the workload. Of course, I had a great group of people to work with, but I think that my effective allocation of tasks was a major component that contributed to the success of the project. The client was very happy and implemented the outcomes right away.”

Situation: “I had been working on a key project that was scheduled for delivery to the client in 60 days.”

Task: ”My supervisor came to me and said that we needed to speed it up and be ready in 45 days, while keeping our other projects on time.”

Action: “I made it into a challenge for my staff, and we effectively added just a few hours to each of our schedules” + Result: “and got the job done in 42 days” +Action: “by sharing the workload. Of course, I had a great group of people to work with, but I think that my effective allocation of tasks was a major component that contributed”

Result: “to the success of the project. The client was very happy and implemented the outcomes right away.”

Examples: behavioural questions for star answers

Tell me about a stressful situation at university and how you handled it.
Describe a time when you disagreed with your supervisor on how to accomplish something.
Tell me about a time your co-workers had a conflict. How did you handle it?
Tell me about a time when you had to convince someone about your idea. How did you do it?

With a simple Google search, tons of STAR questions can be found. In general, what can be prepared in a more specific way is reading the vacancy text very clearly. Usually, there are a lot of keywords and skills that they require and a candidate can think of some examples or experiences that match the things they ask for, but using the STAR method.

COMMON INTERVIEW TOPICS/QUESTIONS

The questions below are one of the most often questions that show up during an interview. Specifically, these are questions about the candidate’s qualifications, experiences and interest.

Strengths and weaknesses
Skills
Success
Wants, needs and goals
Company goals and information
Recent news/ developments

A Google search about common questions for job interviews will reveal tons of possible interview questions, in general, but also field-specific. Some of the most popular questions on these topics, such as the ones presented above, can be expected to pop up!

As mentioned before a candidate should familiarize themselves with the company as this is a common question or topic. This familiarization includes website research, and the latest developments, have they been in the news recently. Check their website, and social media, know their values, etc…