interview – such as the names of those who are interviewing you. Writing things down (without doing so excessively; this is an interview not a lecture) also fixes them in your mind – and from their point of view looks as if you are taking things seriously.
• Remember that anything you put on your CV or in your accompanying letter will be seen as fair game for questions, so take some time to think through all you have listed and what you might get asked. Why did you spend two weeks on one placement and two months on another? Take a particularly close look at your specified interests; if you have listed reading remember the last few books you have read. Similarly, given the kind of job you are applying for, be ready to say which collections you have visited recently and what you thought of them, in insightful rather than judgemental terms.
Practice interviews
If possible, do a practice interview with friends or colleagues – get them to ask you all the questions that are tricky to answer. There are books available on how to answer tough interview questions – the problem is that your interviewers may have read them too. A better way of preparing for an interview is to think through your own real responses to difficult questions, ones which put your competencies in the best possible light but also reveal your individuality. Consider the following:
• What do you have to offer?
• Why should we employ you?
• What use did you make of your time at university?
If you are doing an MA in some aspect of curating or museum studies, you will find your tutors are probably willing to help you practise for an interview (it’s in their interests that their graduates find jobs and so recommend the course to others).
Dealing with tricky questions
Some interviewers use a controversial statement to see how interviewees respond under pressure – and how good they are at thinking on their feet. To spot potential areas that might arise, think about the opinions you hold about this world and then invert them, so for example:
‘Isn’t your MA in museumship just a finishing school?’
‘Why on earth should museums be funded from the public purse when such a small sector the population visit them regularly?’
Make a positive link between what you can offer and what they are looking for. Don’t tell them things they don’t need to know or that will make your application less attractive to them. Stress the positive – university as an opportunity to study what you were really interested in rather than three years of late nights and no responsibility; your first work placement as a valuable chance to see a museum from the inside rather than feel exploited because everyone gave you dogs-body jobs. Don’t complain about previous employers, whether the individual line manager or the organisation as a whole. It’s never a good idea; this world is small and there’s a good chance your interviewers may know those you are complaining about. Instead, say what you learned in the process – and why you really want to work for those interviewing you now.
How to behave during an interview
• Be mindful that the interview may start before you are aware of it – lots of firms include other staff in the process, and someone who is disdainful towards the receptionist, or who at a pre-interview briefing with all the candidates shows no interest in talking to anyone other than the senior management doing the actual interviewing, may get no further. Someone will probably take you from the waiting area to the place where you are to be interviewed and may chat to you on the way, to try to put you at your ease.
Follow their lead, answering the questions you get asked.
• The interviewers will probably start by introducing themselves and shaking hands. They will probably expect you to be a little nervous, so may start by asking you something banal, about your journey there or whether you have been to the location before. Answering gives you the chance to hear your own voice in this very strange situation – trebly so if you have never been interviewed before. Get used to it! It’s an artificial situation but one in which you have to play a role, and make it clear to the interviewers that they should choose you. You are probably best placed to do this if you appear confident (without being arrogant), competent (without being over-bossy) and articulate (without