Mind your manners: how to impress at a lunch interview

Being asked to attend a lunch interview takes many candidates by surprise. But don't be daunted; you've been practising for it since you were a child.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, elbows off the table, and don't chew with your mouth open," are basic manners you must remember, if, for some reason, your mum's nagging voice isn't still ringing loud and clear in your head as you sit down opposite your inquisitors.

For an employer, assessing a candidate over lunch can be a valuable way of finding out how people respond to multi-tasking, whether you can handle yourself gracefully under pressure and to evaluate a candidate's social skills.

Considering this more informal setting, Julie Clare, a National Careers Service adviser, warns against "letting your guard down too much". "Don't tell the employer things you wouldn't disclose in a more formal interview," she advises.

Many interviews for graduate schemes are conducted in a lunch setting with a group of candidates.This offers a good test of how candidates who are applying for client-facing roles perform socially, where doing business over lunch is the norm.

Interacting with your fellow interviewees, although rivals, is vital, according to Claire Desbottes, who was invited to a lunch interview for a job with one of the "big four" accountancy firms. "They [the interview panel] had already decided that I had the skills, having gone through four rounds before the lunch, and I was being judged on my "fit" with the other candidates and workers," she said.

In this situation, Dr Tracy Johnson, founder of Brainbox Coaching, says it is important to "say enough to be assessed" but ensure you're being polite, allow others to have their say, and draw quieter members into the conversation.

The best way to improve "being yourself" around strangers is to network: strike up conversations with people you've not met before. This way you'll become familiar and natural at interacting with a range of people youdon't know.

Preparation

Like with normal job interviews, there are plenty of ways you can prepare for a lunch interview. If you're afraid your nerves will let you down, pay a visit to the restaurant beforehand, or at least look up the place online so you are familiar with the menu, the atmosphere and surroundings.

For Johnson, there are three areas you must focus on while preparing for any interview: your skills and experience, your knowledge of the job role and organisation, and your knowledge of the sector. Some employers will use a lunch interview as a more balanced, two-way conversation, so it is essential you have lots of information and topics to call upon if needed. Johnson advises paying extra attention to current affairs, particularly the week beforehand.

Lunch interviews can also be used to the interviewee's advantage. If you're unsure of how to answer a question, take a forkful of asparagus and use the chewing time as thinking time.

Ordering your food

Your choice of food and drink can play an important part in the lunch interview. Just like going on a first date, you don't want to order something that's difficult to eat, or smelly food. "Don't order food that will be messy and need your attention, such as noodle dishes or shellfish," Johnson advises. "You need to be able to concentrate on the interview and not worry about managing what is on your plate or making a mess."

Avoid dithering; you want to come across as decisive. But make sure you're not ordering the most expensive item on the menu – it might be a free meal, but don't treat it like you've won the lottery.

"Take your lead from the interviewer on what they order," says Clare. "Don't order the finest steak and a glass of expensive wine if the interviewer orders a sandwich and glass of water."

It's usually advisable to stay away from drinking alcohol at lunch and certainly don't order it before your interviewer has offered or ordered a glass of wine first.

Once the meal is over, remember to place your knife and fork in the four o'clock position and your napkin on the table next to your plate so the waiter knows you're done. It's fair to assume your interviewer will pay the bill if they invited you, so make sure you thank them for the lunch. Follow this up with a short email, which will also reiterate your interest in the job.

Above all though, the most basic manners are the most important, as Johnson found out to her horror one lunch time. "I interviewed someone who spat out a food item while answering a question. If that wasn't bad enough, they then fished around for it in their lap and put it back in their mouth." Obviously that candidate had forgotten their mother's advice.

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