Interview etiquette

Often, it's the little things that will make or break you in interviews - like turning up on time. Here, banks offer some advice on what you should, and shouldn't do if you want to impress at interview.

Do:

Arrive on time -

"If you arrive late, you will be on the back foot for the whole interview," says Julia Barbour of recruitment firm the Cornell Partnership, which conducts graduate interviews for several investment banks. She adds: "Being late implies that, at best, you are unable to organise yourself, and that, at worst that you have no interest in the interview or the job!" If you're travelling into London, bear in mind that the transport is often unreliable - it's good to aim to arrive at least 45 minutes early, says Barbour.

Research the company and the role before your interview -

Niamh Brady, graduate recruitment manager at Merrill Lynch, says it's not uncommon for people who apply for roles in investment management (fund/asset management) to talk about why they want to work in investment banking. The situation is complicated by the fact that banks often have different names for the same role: "You need to get to grips with the jargon," says Brady. See eFinancialCareers Jargon Buster to brush up on your banking terminology.

Come with at least one question to ask the interviewer -

Brian Hood, head of graduate recruitment at Citigroup, says: "This could cover anything from a bank's strategy in a particular business area, to the interviewer's own reason for working for the bank." At the end of the interview he also advises thanking the interviewer and enquiring about the next stage in the application process.

Take time to think before you answer a question -

"Candidates are often over-prepped and generally anxious. As a result of this over-eagerness they'll begin to answer the question before we've finished asking the question," says Anand David, Global Head of Recruiting at UBS Investment Bank . "There's nothing wrong with waiting 10 or 15 seconds before responding," he says.

Remember what you've written on your CV -

"If there's something on your résumé that you say you're interested in, you will be tested on it," says David at UBS. "We get numerous examples of people who say they're interested in derivatives, but they don't know what a derivative is and are not familiar with the underlying concept of Black Scholes theory."

Don't:

Turn up in casual clothes -

Even if the bank has a dress down policy, remember that an interview is a formal situation and you need to dress appropriately. Brian Hood at Citigroup says candidates have previously arrived dressed in chinos and open collared-shirts, only to be faced with a suited panel of interviewers. Rebecca Hill, head of graduate recruitment at HSBC, says male and female interviewees should wear clean suits and polished shoes.

Waffle -

"Candidates often feel a need to respond to a question despite not knowing the answer," says David at UBS. If you don't know how to respond, he says it's best to say so from the outset: "This will either allow the interviewer to move on to another question, or explain the original question in a different way to ascertain your aptitude or competence." If you're responding to a more general question, Barbour at the Cornell Partnership says you should start with specific examples before moving onto generic points. For example, if an interviewer asks why you want to go into finance, it will help to hook your response onto membership of a finance club.

Fidget or forget to make eye contact -

"It's very disconcerting when someone keeps fidgeting about and playing with their hair, hands or bangles," says Brady at Merrill Lynch. "It's equally disconcerting when people don't make eye contact and look out of the window," she says.

Exaggerate (too wildly) -

"You will always be caught out if you try and appear to be someone you're not," says Rebecca Hill, head of graduate recruitment at HSBC. "Be yourself," she advises: if you're not, you may end up with a job that isn't suited to you anyway.

Forget to turn off your mobile phone -

Calum Forrest, head of resourcing at Goldman Sachs says he once came into an interview with a candidate who was engaged in a telephone conversation. "Instead of finishing what didn't appear to be an urgent call, he continued talking for another couple of minutes," says Forrest. "That struck me as somewhat arrogant and made me question whether he would behave the same way with a client. There is a thin line between self-confidence and arrogance."

So phones off, shoes polished, CV memorised. Next stop the interview. Good luck!