The Reality of the Labour market & Top Tips for Interview Preparation in 2026

If you are working with a Headhunter, it can feel that an interview came about very easily.

The reality is that came from years of them developing their network, and whilst you might be a great Candidate, and you feel that the odds are in your favour. The truth is you don’t know who you are competing with. 

Over the last few years there has been a real lack of opportunities, and there are some great Candidates either actively or passively looking. 

Competition is tough so it’s unlikely you will be offered the 1st job you interview for, so don’t take any opportunity to interview for granted.

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Our Top Tips:

▪️ You must prepare, especially if it’s your dream role. You need to be crystal clear on why you would like to join a company, and what experiences and value you can bring. 

▪️ If you are currently looking at the market, passively or actively, put aside a weekend to properly prepare. Don’t leave preparation to the night before.

▪️ When you have an interview booked, research those you will be meeting with, check for mutual connections, don’t just have a quick flick of the website.

▪️ Prepare your responses & have real examples and numbers you can pull on when questioned. It is harder to think under pressure but if you know your achievements back to front it will be easier to provide focused, factual and specific examples, whilst smiling and remaining calm. You can’t be too prepared. 

▪️ Take your preparation notes to the interview so you can read them through on the journey there. When you come out jot down any questions you struggled with you so you can improve for next time. 

▪️ A great resource we recommend is using Interview Gold. It allows you to practice your responses, video record them back and provides you with the framework to build confidence interviewing. Thorough practice reduces the likelihood you will go off on a tangent or provide flimsy responses. To save 20% use discount code gd200709 at the checkout page.

▪️ Don’t forget to treat everyone you encounter at an interview with a smile. How you treat at those at front desk gets noticed. If you are kept waiting, remain professional, you are being watched.

▪️ Call your Headhunter ahead of the interview to ask for insights and advice. Ask if they know what format you can expect or what questions will be asked.

▪️ If you have connections at a company, drop them a note to ask for the inside scoop on the company and any further tips regarding the person you are meeting. You should mention to the interviewer that you did that, it shows you took initiative and time. 

▪️ When you finish the interview, provide feedback at the earliest, to keep the process running quickly and effectively. If you are in other processes be transparent too so they can be managed. Companies will be expecting, and hoping that you are seeing other companies too, it’s a sign you are good Candidate! 

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For further advice on preparing for Competency interviews check out our earlier Quick Read.

For ideas of questions to ask at the end of interview see our earlier Quick Read.

For tips on Video Interviews see our earlier Quick Read.

If you are feeling Out of Practice Interviewing see our earlier Quick Read.

For Practice Questions see our Guide.