There are plenty of highly qualified people who are not moving up the employment ladder because they lack the interview skills that could impress their potential employers - even if they know, in themselves, that they are the right people for the job.

Most of us know the feeling - we have gone through an extensive and prolonged interview process, and we feel that we have done pretty well. In fact, apart from that one question that we would have answered differently, we feel that we have done very well. There is nobody else better qualified, or more experienced, but more that this, we feel that we really connected with the interviewer. So why, when the post came later in the week, did the position go to somebody else? We might feel that our interview was really a moot conversation, and that the job would have been filled regardless of our performance, but the reality is probably that we could have done better.

Indeed, according to Carr Communications, one of the main reasons why a person doesn't get a particular job is because they didn't prove to the interviewer they could do the job. Because the candidate may have answered all the interviewer's questions, but did he or she really explain how their experience, skills and knowledge were relevant to the position they applied for?

There are, of course, some simple procedures that a person should go through in advance of the interview to make themselves more relevant for the job in question.

They should research the company, scrutinise the job description, review their CVs and match their experience and skills beside each of the job criteria. All of these actions will stand to a person in themselves, but they will also help with the interview process, not only in terms of preparing the candidate for the likely answers that are required, but also by relaxing them, secure in the knowledge that they have the relevant information at their fingertips.

Of course, no amount of preparation can be a surefire cure for nerves, and there is nothing that can guarantee that you won't clam up when the pressure is on. But, again, preparation is the best preparation that you can have - and the more work put in before the interview, the more likely it is that you will perform on the day.

But a confident and assured performance can only go so far - it is the quality of your answers which will eventually lead to your securing of the job in question.

A good interview should have four different levels, explained Aoife Coonagh, head of Career Development Services with Carr Communications. It starts with general statements confirming your qualifications and experience - for example, level one consists of 'yes, I have experience of managing change'. But, at level two, you go into more depth, pointing out details of that experience by using an example - 'for instance, I led a restructure in such and such a department.

This required me to assess the current structure, develop a new structure in line with strategy, and achieve buy-in and commitment from the team-leaders?' By highlighting what you have learned and the insights you developed as a result of that experience, you are moving to level three - 'I learned that achieving buy-in took a lot of persuasion - but now I know better how to deal with the level of resistance I encountered'.

Finally, at level four you should be making connections between this experience and how you will apply it to the new job - 'I believe my approach to managing change?how I negotiated to gain commitment . . . will be invaluable in this role because?.' And while you may not get to level four in all your answers, once you have prepared and rehearsed at all levels, then you should be more comfortable while responding to questions and emphasising the relevant details from your experience.

Information courtesy of carr communications