Interviews Careers Service

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Today’s Agenda At the end of today you should have a clear understanding of:

 The stages involved in an interview and how to deliver your career commercial to maximum benefit;  Interview types, particularly the competency based interview and how to answer questions using the STAR formula;

In addition you will have an opportunity to:

 Participate in a number of practice exercises to develop your interview technique

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One-size-fits-all solutions don’t work.

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Purpose of the interview

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Purpose of an Interview A two-way communication process: Employer:

Looking for a person to fit the job

You:

Looking for a position that fits your skills

An Art not a science

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The Interviewer’s Objective The interviewer simply wants to know the “3Cs”: Can you do the job ? (Capability) Will you do the job ? (Commitment) Will you ‘fit in’ ? (Compatibility)

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Getting the “fit” right Interviewer

Interviewee

Can you do the job?

I am capable

•Qualifications •Experience •Skills & aptitude

•Qualifications •Experience •Confidence and examples

Will you do the job?

This is what I want

•Attitude, motivation, enthusiasm •Willingness to learn

•Enthusiasm and evidence of ability to perform and learn

Will you fit in?

I will fit in

•Personality •Easy to get on with

•Friendly, interested, enthusiastic •Positive attitude

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The interview

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Phases of the Interview “Settling In”

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Hello!- relaxing small talk

“Business”

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Interviewer looks for a match

“Over to you”

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Candidates chance to ask Q’s

“Closure”

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Interviewer thanks candidate and explains the next move

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First Impressions: brand Be yourself

Shy reserved

Arrogant, attitude

Halo V’s Horns Effect

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Body Language

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7% Words/ contend 38% Tone of Voice 55% Visual Impact

93% of communication Non verbal

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Preparation

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There is no simple formula for managing your career in challenging times. Hard work counts!

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail

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Interview Preparation  Know yourself: Review your strengths, skills and experience that make you the ideal candidate for the job.  Know your CV/Application form  Know the Company  Know the industry  Know the Job: What are the key responsibilities and challenges?  Match your ‘evidence’ to fit the criteria for the job vacancy

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Prepare: Know Yourself

Ask yourself:      

Why do I want this job? Why should this organisation select me? What are my ambitions? What are my strengths and weaknesses? What have I gained from my degree? What skills have I gained from my work-related and extracurricular activities?

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Prepare - Know the Organisation Read company brochures, website, annual report, press release etc. Talk to current and past employees. Then ask yourself: What do I know about this organisation? What attracts me to this organisation?

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Prepare - Know the Industry/Sector  What is going on in this industry/sector at the moment? (Read relevant journals, newspapers).  Any recent changes or developments?  How might these impact on the organisation? (Perfect material for forming your questions!)

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Prepare - Know the Job Do you know…  What the job involves?  What qualifications, skills and experience you will need to perform the job well?  What the job is really like? Have you spoken to people already doing this kind of work?  Also, what evidence do you have to demonstrate that you have the skills sought by the employer?

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Could You Be More Prepared? Of course! Don’t forget the obvious but essential… Format and duration of interview? Date, time, location? Distance and mode of transport? Who are you meeting? What will you need to bring? What are you wearing?

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Types of Questions Open e.g. How you feel about …? Closed e.g. Do you enjoy ….? Probing e.g. What did you learn from…? Problem e.g. What was difficult about…? Challenging e.g. ‘I see you’re not very analytical’ Scenario e.g. What would you do if...?

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The Elevator Speech (career commercial)

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Elevator speech An elevator speech is an important networking tool that can be used to: • market yourself in an interview • network effectively Duration:

60 to 90 seconds

Concise:

succinct, as few words as possible

Clear:

audience understands what’s in it for them

Informative:

talk about demonstrable accomplishments and goals

Engaging:

a conversational starter, you want to spark the interest of your audience.

Quick Fact:

It’s called an elevator speech because you could use it to pitch an idea to a potential employer you happen to meet on the elevator in the time it takes to travel between floors.

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Why don’t you start by telling me about yourself? What is required here is a short commercial about yourself, which you should prepare in advance and which should include: Your qualifications Your key strengths Your most recent experience A recent (relevant) achievement and A summary of what you will contribute in the position Align your answer to the core competencies! Your answer should take no longer than 90 seconds. EXERCISE!!

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Interview types: Competency Based Interviews

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Types of Interviews

        

Telephone interviews Video Conferencing 1st and 2nd round interviews One-to-one interviews Panel interviews Assessment Centres Competency Based Case Study/Scenario Combination

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Improving the odds PAST PERFORMANCE

FUTURE PERFORMANCE

Predicts

Using competency-based interview questions in conjunction with standard questions can improve the accuracy of selecting the best candidates over standard interviews by as much as 500% Source: The Advisory Board Company

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Some Perspective on Competency Interviews Recruiter’s Perspective

Candidate’s Perspective

Past is an indicator of the future

Past is an opportunity to provide evidence of your potential

Person specification – identify essential and desirable competencies

Skills audit – identity opportunities where competencies were developed

Prepare questions to test competencies

Prepare verbal summaries of your evidence - stories

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Preparation for Competency Interviews Company

You

Job description Person specification

Blue print

Forensic review

Identify competencies Essential and desirable

Template

Provide evidence X 3 Prepare stories

Diagnostic tool

Use the STAR technique

Brainstorm questions

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Interview types Traditional Interviews

Structured, formal interview Sample Questions •Tell me about yourself •What are your strengths & weaknesses? •What experience have you got of ….? •How would you approach ……?

Behavioural/ Competency Interviews

Past behaviour predicts future behaviour Sample Questions Teamwork: Describe a team project you worked on. What problems arose? How did you deal with them? Communication Skills: Describe a situation when you had to persuade others to support your view. Give an example of any reports you’ve written which illustrate your writing skills

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Interview types Behavioural/ Competency Interviews

Past behaviour predicts future behaviour Sample Questions Interpersonal Skills: What kinds of people do you find it difficult to work with? How do you handle these situations. Organisation Skills: Describe a situation where you generated a plan leading to a specific goal. Problem-solving: Tell us about an error you made and what you learned.

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The funnelling technique Sign post competency Level 1: ask the question

Level 2: ask for evidence

Level 3; personalise

Level 4: generalise

Level 5: challenge

Level 6: ask for more

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Funnelling: example Teamwork Have you worked in teams before? Which team has worked most effectively?

What did you personally contribute to this team?

What characterises an effective team? Is that always the case?

Tell me about another team that you are part of?

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To Get Through This Funnel, You Need… EXAMPLES … You need to mine your past for compelling, appropriate examples. Use the 3 Dimensions of your life: Academic, Work, Leisure

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Answering questions

Behavioural / competency interviews

STAR Technique

S T A R

What was the SITUATION you faced What TASK were you assigned What ACTION did you take What was the RESULT

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Question: what is your approach to dealing with students? STAR answer Situation

I can illustrate my approach through an example. Last year, I was a tutor on a …….course “…….” with over 20 students in the tutorial class. Near the end of the term, I was approached by a student who was unhappy with her grade. She thought I had graded her final paper too harshly.

Task

I realized that the way I handled this situation would have very important implications, because if I was too lenient with this student I could acquire a reputation as a pushover. Yet I also needed to listen to this student carefully to assess whether she had a valid complaint.

Action

I asked the student to bring a copy of her paper to me during office hours where we would discuss the situation. When we met, I first discussed with the student the criteria I used for grading, why points were subtracted, and the basic requirements for an A paper. Then we looked at the paper and how I had graded it. I identified ways in which her paper failed to meet the criteria for an A paper and suggested ways to improve her organization and writing.

Result

While the student was still unhappy with her grade, she was satisfied that she had been graded fairly. She no longer contested the grade, and I felt that I had dealt with the student both fairly and respectfully

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Employers’ Wish List (Competencies)         

Teamwork Problem Solving Communication/interpersonal skills Delivering a quality service Task/Project Management Time Management Drive and initiative Manage change/Flexibility Motivation

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Exercise

Pick a competency Use the STAR format to structure your response Groups of 3 10 mins Remember.....its what you did, not what was done

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Some Final Points………

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Evidence Chart Skill

Example

Teamwork

1. 2. 3.

Work Placement Lab Group Society Work

Problem Solving

1. 2. 3.

Final Year Project Society budget issue Problem with manager

Leadership

1. 2. 3.

Led fieldtrip Managed group Project Captain of…..

Develop the story-line

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What is the question you fear most?

Prepare an answer

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Have you any questions for us? • • • •

Choose with care. Don’t ask too many or sound critical. Don’t ask questions that are answered in the literature. Use the opportunity to show your knowledge.

Typical questions: • •

… objectives and responsibilities? … training and promotional opportunities?

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Last Impressions Count! A good final summary will: • •

reinforce everything you have said already. be remembered when the decision is being made. Make one last effort to sell yourself.

People will remember you the way you tell them to remember you

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