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Others are much nearer to reality, like those individuals who find themselves totally lost on the way to interview and then hide from the world for weeks thereafter...

My particular favourite, though, centres on how one spurious statement on a Curriculum Vitae (CV) was uncovered when the Human Resources manager interjected at interview: "I don't remember you from my college. Who did you say your tutor was again?" The Human Resources manager had guessed that the candidate was misrepresenting himself, and asked the obvious question.

Let me make it clear I don't disagree that such candidates' applications should end in rejection for the security post at hand, but around half of all job interviews end in failure for no sensible reason other than a distinct lack of preparation.

Fine. We must accept the fact that we're all busy these days, but if you've gone this far why waste more of your time when a little preparation now will significantly increase your chances of bagging the job while also benefiting you in other ways, too?

Everyone knows how important preparation is, but still most candidates for interview don't do it – or at least don't do it as well as they should. Rather than considering why, or debating the issues surrounding the pressures of parenthood or the work-life balance, etc, I suggest you try a simple two-minute exercise a couple of days before your next interview.

Make a list of all the reasons why you would consider leaving your current employment. Now, quickly glance down that list and rank those reasons in order of priority before asking a friend to review your list and comment on how it might be interpreted by an interviewer.

Scoring for such an exercise is simplicity itself. If the first reason on your list is also the reason ranked as being the most important, then score one point. If your trustworthy friend agrees that this could not be construed in a negative or critical way, then you score another point. Repeat the scoring procedure for the second reason on your list and then stop.

Interpreting the results is equally simple. If you have four points, congratulations are in order. You should be able to complete your interview preparation in around 20 minutes or so. Anything less than four points, however, means that you will not have delivered the best answer. In the fiercely competitive security recruitment market, that can make all the difference between success and failure.

Another reason why preparation is important has more to do with the style of today's interviews, which tend to be much more competency based than in days of yore. Typical competency models ask you to describe (often in some detail) situations that you have experienced. From your responses, the interviewer is seeking very well-defined traits, and it's only these traits that will determine a pass or failure – not the task itself.

What work-related successes have you had in recent times? Why have you been successful? Do you enjoy a high profile image (or reputation) in either your own company or indeed the security marketplace as a whole? How might this be substantiated?

Let me illustrate by way of a common example. "Can you provide an example of having delivered training to your line managers and/or security officers?" Your answer is likely to include mention of the various training packages delivered, perhaps some kind of skills matrix or even e-learning, but the interviewer is likely to have been scripted to look for the evaluation tools you've used. If you don't readily offer the information, some interviewers will prompt you to do so, while others will not and you'll then lose valuable ground only for the want of better preparation.

If the very term 'preparation' is a barrier to you, then try calling it something glamorous like 'reassignment briefing' or 'retrospective actuation'! If that doesn't work, try visualisation techniques or alternatively appeal to the quizzical nature of your mind by taking a short career and skills psychometric profile.

No matter what you choose to call your preparation, or how you motivate yourself to do it, that preparation will undoubtedly enhance your chances of landing the job, and also increase your confidence at the interview stage.

To many people the only real barrier to preparation is where to start. I always advise security managers to begin with a simple list. Below are some of the most common topics that emerge at interview. When working with this list it's best to use a mind map, or to think of the list as three columns. Part A: 'What's a good example?' Part B: 'The outcome or result' and Part C: 'What other key factors and/or elements were considered?'

Your successes and situations faced
What work-related successes have you had in recent times? Why have you been successful? Do you enjoy a high profile image (or reputation) in either your own company or indeed the security marketplace as a whole? How might this be substantiated? One classic mistake is to refer to the procedures manual that you have skilfully crafted – yet the employer really wants to know why you've spent all of your time on this. How did your manual improve your own performance, and that of the Security Department as a whole?

How do you cope with difficult situations (usually meaning certain individuals)? How have you improved the co-operation levels and performance of your peers and underlings? Remember always that nothing will do you a greater injustice than a perceived grudge match. But then of course you know that only too well, don't you!

Where have you used your planning skills? The use of planning skills often catches out the unwary, in particular those returning to work after a long break. Remember, too, that not all of your answers have to be job related. Ask anyone who has recently married how much time was devoted to the cause, not to mention the complexity of the planning issues and detailed logistics management that inevitably frame such an occasion.

If you are one of those security managers whose desk looks more like a dustcart than a library then you are also the one most likely to have Post-It notes plastered over your PC. On a personal level I don't have a problem with this 'system' of yours, but just how will you explain such a style of management to the uninitiated?

How current are your management skills? Just how long ago was your last training course, or have you recently read a professional article that prompted you to take a certain course of action? If so, what was the outcome?

Just how decisive are you, and how would you rate your influencing skills? Being a decisive manager is not about exercising control. It’s all about your ability to follow matters through, and securing total commitment from your team and/or peers. Be

Most security managers will delegate tasks, of course, but many singularly neglect to mention how they followed up that delegation, dealt with any failures that resulted or indeed communicated the parameters (such as financial or reporting matters).

How well connected are you?
Managers who 'do coffee' may well be popular with their peers (and will undoubtedly hear more gossip than others), but very few prospective employers are encouraged to hire managers who take long networking lunches unless those lunches provide fruitful returns for the business.

You may well be attending every Trade Association meeting, but how will that improve your performance, or that of others within your team? What opportunities has networking created for either you or your employer?

Just how decisive are you, and how would you rate your influencing skills? Being a decisive manager is not about exercising control. Rather, it's all about your ability to follow matters through, and securing total commitment from your team and/or peers. Being decisive can also lead to mistakes. Bear in mind that an interview is not the time for sharing your mistakes, no matter how many times you might be asked about them!

For its part, training need not be confined to the classroom. Having first obtained the necessary copyright permissions, the reproduction and subsequent distribution of articles and the results of general discussions would count as training. If you're unable to define fair dismissal, or have never had to attend an employment tribunal defending a pay claim, then remember just how much input your company's Human Resources manager had in this area (that's especially true if a Human Resources manager is present at your interview). Share the glory with all of those involved. Not only does this provide you with a platform for your talent, it also helps mitigate blame if your interviewer has different views!

Negotiating those budgetary issues
Budgetary issues are complex and unavoidable. Not because of the rules that govern them, but because every manager has their own way of dealing with them. When talking about all things monetary, ensure that you're speaking the same language (eg what is profit?) Identify how you might compare like with like to the prospective employer, or better still familiarise yourself with your performance over an extended time frame.

How well do you know the job role? Is this really the job that you thought it was? I still smile when looking back on a client meeting with a major international bank. Halfway through said meeting it became abundantly clear that we weren't talking about security but securities. I know you wouldn't make this mistake, but the consultant who arranged the appointment and the Human Resources contact certainly did! Check through the job description thoroughly, and seek out clues to indicate status, communication issues and accountabilities.

Where does your CV match the job description? The sad fact is that some managers still interview from a CV (ie they have no prepared questions in front of them). Given that CVs are often thrown together and fail to reflect the true you, any omission on it may mean that the interviewer isn't prompted to ask you those all-important questions. As a consequence, your true shining lights as a security manager will remain hidden under that bushel. Identify what's missing from your CV, and ensure that it's covered for next time.

And finally... Prepare a list of questions to ask the interviewer(s). It is expected, and leaving such a task to the last minute – or preparing to give an answer along the lines of: "I think you've covered everything already" – will not impress in the least.