If you do a quick search online for tips for interviews around 480,000,000 results will appear in 0.39 secs. These results will contain pages and pages of tag lines and headed paragraphs discussing the importance of firm hand shakes, preparation, clean shoes, informed questions and building a rapport with the interviewer. This is all excellent advice.

However, remember that the working world is very different to what it was five years ago, 10 years ago and almost unrecognisable from 20 years ago. Even so, interviews seem to have stayed very similar in format. Namely they consist of an adversarial approach with two parties sitting opposite one another participating in word-to-word combat. And let's be honest, neither party fully knows what the other party has to offer and are just hoping for a positive outcome.

My advice for interview success is to make sure you have a long-term future goal. This should be based on your hopes and ambitions. So, think big. Now, how do you achieve your goals? List the things you need to do, how to do them and set time scales.

With this in mind, the job interview should sit somewhere on the path to this bigger goal. As the interview is now part of something larger, it's going to allow you to focus on it with greater clarity and objectivity. You'll know about the company, the role and the activities undertaken by the business, even the application will have been a breeze, all because it fits with your goals.

The interview will be less adversarial and more an opportunity to showcase your knowledge. Your enthusiasm will be evident. Should you be asked the question, ‘What will you bring to the role?’, it'll be a simple answer as you'll be confident in explaining your skills, how they sit with the company and also what you want to learn from the role.

So, for career success, don't focus on the smaller components that go into the interview process, think big and ensure this role fits with your long-term goals. Then, you won't be forced to search for interview technique, you'll be focused on what really matters, your next job!