4. INSTANT RAPPORT
Be courteous to everyone from the moment you walk through the front door, treat everyone you meet as if they have the power to hire you.

As you walk from reception to the interviewer's office, begin with some light chat to help yourself relax. Talk about their offices, pass a favourable comment on the facilities, décor or a local place of interest. Whatever you discuss be upbeat and confident from the outset.

When you sit be comfortable, but assume a forward learning posture. This conveys that you are keen - do not, however, appear to be pushing the interviewer into a corner. Ask if you can take brief notes, and jot down any items you may want to refer to later. Even if your interviewer smokes, it is generally best not to smoke. Many companies now have no smoking policies, so be prepared to have any smoking habits curtailed or restricted during working hours. Be aware of any fidgeting tendencies you have and find something else to do with your hands - folded in your lap is fairly safe.

5. BE ORGANISED
Remember that this is your opportunity to find out if this is the sort of environment in which you would be happy to work. If the interviewer has not indicated, ask how long the meeting will last and have your own agenda of what you want to cover. Your questions should be relevant, and reflect you have done some research. You might ask to what extent the devaluation in the pound has improved export sales: or what impact their latest advertisement has had on sales.

You may want to know what some of the primary objectives of the job are, what responsibilities are crucial, what will your performance be judged on, how will it be measured.

Having questions like these ready avoids a deathly silence when asked if you have any further questions.

6. SELL YOURSELF
Practice talking about yourself and your accomplishments to friends, family and anyone who will listen. Rehearse a two to three minute introduction for when asked 'Tell me about yourself'. I'm an electrical engineer with fifteen years experience in heavy machinery. My background includes a position as plant maintenance supervisor, responsible for service and repairs at three sites. I have managed a team of twenty technicians and mechanics, and, under my supervision, turn around time on repairs has reduced by 10%. Over the past three years I have been involved in a team which makes recommendations to the purchasing department for replacement of equipment within our division.

Do not be modest about your accomplishments, but be factual, be proud of and proclaim your achievements.

7. SHOW YOUR RESEARCH
Use every opportunity to show that you have done your homework. However, do not speak for more than two minutes, and do not be a "know all". Rather than ask what gross sales were last year - refer to a figure from a report showing an increase / decrease, then ask if that reflects local or international sales.