Congratulations!
You presented yourself as an interesting candidate for the interview with your application documents and received an invitation to an interview!
But what comes next? How can you best prepare yourself? What happens in an interview? What questions can you expect?
On this page, you receive all important information relating to "interviews":
Preparation is everything
Arranging an appointment
This is your second "first impression". Make sure to respond promptly to your invitation to an interview. Pay attention to spelling, grammar and formality (Sehr geehrte/r..., (Dear...) Beste Grüße, ... (Best regards…) Mirror the tone of the invitation you have received).
You (really!) can't make it on the specified date? Express thanks for the invitation and indicate that you are still interested. Ask whether an alternative date would be possible.
Enter the date in your cell phone or calendar so that you do not forget it! If you have been invited to multiple interviews, it is best to make a note of the company, your contact partner and the interview location.
Know your application documents
You have been invited to an interview, which means your application documents have made a good impression!
- Therefore, be sure to have another look at your application to the specific job advertisement
- Write down the relevant points of your professional background
- What did you learn from the respective task? Which skills did you acquire?
- Think of examples to illustrate your skills
- Practice in front of the mirror or use the gP Career Workout for confident presenting, your power pitch and your skills profile
Tip: You can also take your documents with you to the interview.
Research the company
You do not need to know everything about your potential new employer, but it definitely makes sense to find out a few things.
- How do you imagine the role?
- Will you work independently or in a team?
- Where does the company have branches - nationally or internationally?
- What languages could you come into contact with?
- What are the company's values and do they match yours?
- What does the company stand for? Are there specific company projects that interest you?
- How is the company positioned compared to the competition? What is their USP?
If you have been unable to clarify relevant questions during your research, make a note of them for your interview!
Own questions
Do we match?
You also want to get to know your potential employer better and find out if the role is really a suitable fit for you. The job advertisement provides you with a rough idea, but you probably still have questions, e.g.:
- Typical course of a working day
- Direct team – size, roles, etc.
- Expected working hours
- Training procedure
- Further training possibilities
- Reason for the vacancy becoming available
- Vacation policy
- Salary
- Time period within which the company will decide on a candidate
No more questions? When you are asked if you have any questions, you can take a look at your notes and say that all questions were clarified during the interview.
Appropriate clothing
You should feel comfortable - keyword: Authenticity!
However, we can give you a few tips:
- Better a little too formal than too casual
- A tie is only necessary in certain sectors (e.g. banking)
- Men: Shirt, smart trousers, jacket or blazer if appropriate
- Women: Blouse (with or without collar), smart trousers or skirt (not too short!), blazer if appropriate; alternatively a dress; discreet jewelry, not too much skin/not too revealing
- Check the company's homepage and see how the employees are dressed
Plan your journey
Especially if you have a long journey to the interview location, you should check the travel time and plan in enough buffer time. It can always happen that the train is late or you hit traffic. Especially in winter, have a Plan B in case your preferred travel option is not possible!
Better to be relaxed and a little early for the appointment than to be rushing and arrive to the interview stressed.
Online interview
Check the technology in advance. Make sure that your face is sufficiently illuminated and that the background is as neutral as possible.
Interview: Structure and typical questions
Structure
Icebreaker/opening
- Welcome
- Introduction of interview partners
- Small talk, e.g. "Did you get here OK?"
- "Would you like a glass of water?" - you can accept with thanks
Information for the candidate
- Information about the company
- Description of the role
- Tip: If this part takes place before your presentation, listen carefully. Make reference to it in your presentation!
Self-presentation
- Relevant points in your academic and professional background
- Reasons for applying
- Professional suitability
- Personal properties
Interviewer questions
- Check of technical skills
- Questions to determine your personal strengths and weaknesses
Candidate questions
- Clarify open questions (see Own questions)
- If applicable, salary negotiation
End of interview
- Conclusion and farewell
Typical questions
- Can you tell us about your academic and professional background? A popular question to start with. Pick the main points relevant to the vacancy and feel free to talk about your professional strengths (incl. examples). You can score plus points with an appropriate power pitch.
- Why did you apply for this role? Show that you have researched the vacancy and the company and explain why you would fit with the company, both with respect to your personality and your professional competences.
- Why do you want to work for our company? Mention, for example, a positive impression from the company’s website, products or working methods as well as the company philosophy and make a connection to yourself, personal relationship to the company, experience abroad/contacts, etc.
- Why are you the right candidate for the advertised role? It is important that you know exactly what the job requirements are. It should be clear from your answers that: You can do what the role requires. The task appeals to you or meets your career goals. It's a match!
- What are your goals? / Where do you see yourself in five years? This question provides indications of your loyalty, i.e. whether you will be available to the company for a long time. A balance between specific goals within the company and general flexibility to deviations from a plan is optimum.
- What are your strengths? / What are your weaknesses? Mention strengths that are relevant to the role and provide examples. Suitable weaknesses are those that you have got under control over time or are working to improve or weaknesses that are not important for this role. Relevant workshops in our gP Career Workout are designated with the keyword "Skills profile" (Kompetenzprofil).
- Why did you spend so long studying? This is a question to test how you react under stress. Remain calm and provide a factual, logical and truthful answer!
- Why are manhole covers round? In some cases, modified stress questions come up in interviews. In this case also: Stay calm! It's not about the right answer, but how you react to the unexpected and whether you can think "outside the box".
- Have you applied to other companies? Tell the truth, indicate your sincere interest in this vacancy and don't dwell on this question for too long.
- What are your salary expectations? Find tips under Salary negotiation and in workshops on this topic.
- Do you plan to remain in Germany long-term? A common concern in companies with respect to international graduates is that they are just "passing through" - be sure to reject this idea (even if you do actually want to return to your home country at some point)! Show how much effort you have already made to become integrated and do not get into a discussion of principles!
- Can you tell us about your academic and professional background and challenges along the way? In addition to the points already mentioned, it makes sense here to report how you came to be in Germany. What obstacles have you overcome and how?
Tip: In the gP Career Workout, there are often workshops on the topic of interviews. Knowledge is good, but practice makes perfect!
Salary negotiation
Negotiate in a relaxed manner
Determine your salary value
- Calculate as precisely as possible what you need to live (living costs such as rent, electricity, health insurance, groceries, car, pension, but also savings, recreational activities, etc.)
- Split into must-haves and nice-to-haves. This information will give you your personal salary range
- Learn what the usual industry salaries at entry level are in your sector (depending on company size and contract type)
- Be confident about what competences you bring to the company
- The salary is usually specified as annualgross salary
Portals for salary comparison and a gross/net calculator
- gehalt.de – Here you can obtain a quick overview of the average market value, broken down by different job titles.
- gehaltsvergleich.com– This portal also provides the possibility to enter your town or federal state and take this information into consideration.
- absolventa.de – Aimed primarily at graduates, you can determine your entry salary and market value after your degree program here.
- nettolohn.de – In addition to the average market value for a profession, you can also view a salary comparison for individual towns here.
- Brutto-Netto Rechner – With the gross/net calculator, you can easily calculate your net salary.
- Lohntastik.de - In addition to the net salary, comparative values are displayed and all deductions are explained in detail (various languages can be selected).
The interview
- Prepare yourself well to be able to refute counter-arguments in advance, if possible
- Start with a high but realistic value within your salary range
- Justify this value based on the information you have gathered (work experience, living costs in the area, travel distances, etc.)
- Listen carefully and ask questions
- Remain friendly, polite and calm
- Be confident but not arrogant
- No luck? Stay flexible! Be aware of other benefits (travel costs, vacation, training, work equipment, etc.)
- You can find many other tips and tricks in our gP Career Workout
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Feedback
Interested?
You had an interview with a company recently and are hoping for an offer?
Then you should be sure to send a positive response to the deciding party. In this way you remain fresh in their memory and can express your thanks for the pleasant and professional interview, as well as emphasizing your interest in the vacancy. Don't be afraid of being annoying! Quite the contrary: You will affirm your desire to be part of the company and stand out from the other applicants.
It is best to send your response within one or two days in the form of a thank you note by email.
Keep it brief and only write to the main interviewer.
Make sure that you have the email address of the main interviewer, e.g. on a business card, or ask in the HR department if necessary. Thank the interviewer for the time taken to conduct the interview, express your appreciation for the company and the job profile, and make your interest in the role clear.
Not interested?
If the role does not appeal to you at present, you have two options:
- Wait for the application process to concludeand possibly renegotiate, get to know the team, etc. – sometimes the role may turn out to be a good starting point after all!
- Thank the interviewer for their time and politely decline
Your feedback
You can certainly ask for feedback. In the event of a rejection, ask what you could do better in future interviews. For legal reasons, the statements given are often rather general, but you might receive a tip or two!
Interview training
You are invited to an interview and are not sure what to expect and how you can prepare yourself?
How to:
- Let us know when the interview is going to take place. Send your application documents and the respective job advertisement to us at [Bitte aktivieren Sie Javascript] and we will arrange an appointment (in person or virtually).
We will help you to be as well prepared as possible so that you impress in your interview!