Great interviewing techniques don’t come easily or naturally to most of us.

Trying to land a job can be a very stressful experience.  It is a very competitive world out there and preparing for – and then going through – the interview process, is far from enjoyable.

Unfortunately, the fact is that many very talented people do not get hired simply because they are not able to present themselves in the most effective way at an interview.

I have worked in the finance industry in London for over 20 years. My career started at the Bank of England in 1992. After eight years I moved into investment banking, holding various sales and management roles at several firms, and was ultimately responsible for managing a successful sales business and a team of over 40 sales people across Europe. You can see my LinkedIn profile here.

During this time I hired many people into front office roles, ranging from interns and graduates out of university, up to experienced sales directors. Additionally, I supported many colleagues in their own hiring processes, starting from my time at Barclays when I interviewed graduates as part of their Graduate Recruitment programme.

Of course I have also been on the other side of the table.  On many occasions I have interviewed for new jobs myself, and learned first hand what does – and doesn’t! – work during an interview. I can definitely recall being too uptight and serious on several occasions, when I let nerves get the better of me when I was chasing a really important new opportunity. Luckily I learned with experience and honed my technique over the years.

In 2014, while still working in the City, I undertook volunteering work for the East London Business Alliance, a registered  charity which helps businesses create opportunities for the East London community. Through ELBA I provided guidance on CV writing to young people, and then followed up by helping ELBA prepare unemployed people for interviews.  As you can imagine, giving people a helping hand to get on, or back on, the job ladder, was a complete contrast to my “day job”, and was a very refreshing and rewarding experience.

This realisation that I could bring value by offering advice on interviewing, and a need for a fresh challenge, led me to leave the banking in 2015 and start up interviewBuddy.com.  My goal is to build up interviewBuddy.com to a level where it will be considered an authentic and credible “go to” resource for those looking for interview advice.

Of course there is a huge amount of online advice already available today.  However, with my long experience of hiring talented people in a very competitive and challenging industry, combined with very honest and trustworthy advice, I will strive to prepare you even more effectively for your interviews.

Thanks for taking the time to visit interviewBuddy.com, I’d love to hear your comments on my website and any requests for additional content will be welcome.

Ian