How do you prepare for an interview?
Discussion
Hi folks,
Some of you may remember my thread the other week, where I outlined my struggle to get a job in IT.
Since then I have had a telephone interview from a large vehicle rental company (not sure if I am allowed to name drop here?), which I passed and have a face to face interview on Wednesday. Where in an email and I quote; "The interview will last approximately an hour and will look at your past work experience, time spent in education and other skills that you have developed externally. It will be a competency based, so will be looking at real life examples or situations that I have found myself in".
I have spent today going over my CV and researching this company. However, should there be anything I ought know about their market share, etc? Also, I don't suppose anyone would know what type of questions I will be asked in the interview, from what I have quoted?
I really haven't had many interviews over my time (23 years on this great planet) and I would really like to nail this. The job is a great opportunity and I am very (for want of a better word) excited.
Thank you in advance,
P.B
Some of you may remember my thread the other week, where I outlined my struggle to get a job in IT.
Since then I have had a telephone interview from a large vehicle rental company (not sure if I am allowed to name drop here?), which I passed and have a face to face interview on Wednesday. Where in an email and I quote; "The interview will last approximately an hour and will look at your past work experience, time spent in education and other skills that you have developed externally. It will be a competency based, so will be looking at real life examples or situations that I have found myself in".
I have spent today going over my CV and researching this company. However, should there be anything I ought know about their market share, etc? Also, I don't suppose anyone would know what type of questions I will be asked in the interview, from what I have quoted?
I really haven't had many interviews over my time (23 years on this great planet) and I would really like to nail this. The job is a great opportunity and I am very (for want of a better word) excited.
Thank you in advance,
P.B
Edited by Pig benis on Monday 10th October 13:22
therres lots of interview tips out there.
http://ashton-consulting.co.uk/uploads/AGuidetoSuc...
The key thing is to do some prep. turn up early and looking sharp and conservative. Know a bit about the persona nd the company youi are being inetrviewed about and ask some questions.
Also, be prepared to give examples of spefic and relevant experience you have which is linked to the job you are applying for. Its good to be able to give specific examples of problem solving for example or times when you worked on time bound projects and what your contribution was. Do the ground work in advance, have a copy of your CV with you as well to enable you to refer to it.
Dont bulls
t, youll be found out ( eventually)
http://ashton-consulting.co.uk/uploads/AGuidetoSuc...
The key thing is to do some prep. turn up early and looking sharp and conservative. Know a bit about the persona nd the company youi are being inetrviewed about and ask some questions.
Also, be prepared to give examples of spefic and relevant experience you have which is linked to the job you are applying for. Its good to be able to give specific examples of problem solving for example or times when you worked on time bound projects and what your contribution was. Do the ground work in advance, have a copy of your CV with you as well to enable you to refer to it.
Dont bulls
t, youll be found out ( eventually)Hi,
For a competency based interview for an IT support role (and having attended an number of interview myself over the past few weeks), expect the following -
How do you go about investigating a problem/incident?
How do you deal with an angry/awkward user on the phone?
How do you prioritise an incident when you have several "high priority" ones at once?
Can you give an example of when you were out of your comfort zone?
Can you give an example of when you went the extra mile, outside of your usual remit?
How do you multi-task when dealing with several problems/phone calls at once?
And the classic, have you ever made a situation worse...
Of course, you may not be asked these, but just to give you a few typical examples. Usually the best way to deal with such a question is to give an example in the following order, describe the example situation, describe the task/actions taken to remedy the situation, and then explain the result (known as the S.T.A.R method, which is how I was taught to respond).
Best of luck!
For a competency based interview for an IT support role (and having attended an number of interview myself over the past few weeks), expect the following -
How do you go about investigating a problem/incident?
How do you deal with an angry/awkward user on the phone?
How do you prioritise an incident when you have several "high priority" ones at once?
Can you give an example of when you were out of your comfort zone?
Can you give an example of when you went the extra mile, outside of your usual remit?
How do you multi-task when dealing with several problems/phone calls at once?
And the classic, have you ever made a situation worse...
Of course, you may not be asked these, but just to give you a few typical examples. Usually the best way to deal with such a question is to give an example in the following order, describe the example situation, describe the task/actions taken to remedy the situation, and then explain the result (known as the S.T.A.R method, which is how I was taught to respond).
Best of luck!
Ask for the person specification and/or competency framework ahead of the interview if possible.
You'll usually get around 6-7 competency based questions. In the public sector one of these is virtually guaranteed to be a diversity awareness type of question. The rest might be things like teamworking, working under pressure, time management/organisation skills, customer focus/communication skills and so on.
Frame your answers using the STAR format
Situation/Task - briefly describe the issue/problem and what needed to be done.
Action - describe in a decent amount of detail what YOU did (either on your own or within the team) to address the issue or meet the goal. Use non-technical language where possible or explain jargon if necessary, as HR staff may not otherwise understand (this will often get you extra points for communication skills/style)
Result - what was the result? Did it all work out? Was the client happy, the problem fixed or the deadline met? If not what did you learn from it and how have you done (or how would you do) things differently since?
Any buzzwords or phrases in the person specification that jump out at you (e.g. delegate, teamworking, prioritise) should be squeezed into your examples as it will make it easier for the interviewers to understand how your example answers their question.
You'll usually get around 6-7 competency based questions. In the public sector one of these is virtually guaranteed to be a diversity awareness type of question. The rest might be things like teamworking, working under pressure, time management/organisation skills, customer focus/communication skills and so on.
Frame your answers using the STAR format
Situation/Task - briefly describe the issue/problem and what needed to be done.
Action - describe in a decent amount of detail what YOU did (either on your own or within the team) to address the issue or meet the goal. Use non-technical language where possible or explain jargon if necessary, as HR staff may not otherwise understand (this will often get you extra points for communication skills/style)
Result - what was the result? Did it all work out? Was the client happy, the problem fixed or the deadline met? If not what did you learn from it and how have you done (or how would you do) things differently since?
Any buzzwords or phrases in the person specification that jump out at you (e.g. delegate, teamworking, prioritise) should be squeezed into your examples as it will make it easier for the interviewers to understand how your example answers their question.
Also have a look at this site
http://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm
type in the company name and you will with any luck find others that have been for interviews, will give you a better idea of what to expect. Will also give you an idea of what its like to work there, although as with any reviews, take with a slight pinch (or in some cases a whole goddamned container) of salt.
http://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm
type in the company name and you will with any luck find others that have been for interviews, will give you a better idea of what to expect. Will also give you an idea of what its like to work there, although as with any reviews, take with a slight pinch (or in some cases a whole goddamned container) of salt.
Pig benis said:
looking at real life examples or situations that I have found myself in".
Spend time on this and think about what you've done in a past life that you can use. It doesn't have to be how you've got the answer to the Euro debt crisis, just what you've done and that you're an asset to an organisation.I'm going for third stage next Weds on an opportunity where I know the interviewer is going to drill into some real life examples of some hard situations I've had to address, and how I've dealt with them for a successful outcome for the company and the customer.
In prep I'm creating 3-4 documents that show examples of the landscape, the problems and how they were dealt with that left customers satisfied and the company made more money than it would have done had those awkward questions not been asked. I've varied the scale of the problems so that I can mix n'match on the day, and I'm planning on rehearsing each of them so I can pass the doc to the interviewer and walk them through it without notes. I'm also going to have it on PPT on my laptop just incase there's the opportunity to hook up to a projector.
Turn up well in advance, and check that you have the right place. Walk somewhere nearby ( and notice how long the walk is), then have a single vodka and orange. Enough to calm you down, not enough to make you careless, no smell of alcohol. Leave five minutes before you need to, to be at the front desk in plenty of time.
Go to the toilet before. Take an umbrella if it might rain.
Remember, it's not an exam, it's them seeing if they'd like to work with you.
Good luck.
Go to the toilet before. Take an umbrella if it might rain.
Remember, it's not an exam, it's them seeing if they'd like to work with you.
Good luck.
Thank you very much for all the advice people. Before this thread, I had never heard of the STAR method. It worked a treat.
So the outcome is, I have been put forward for both of the next interview processes. Next Tuesday I have a placement morning, where I will be assesed in how I relate with the other employees, how I deal with the customers, I also have to fill out a questionaire and then a interview with the branch manager.
Then, on the Thursday I have a assesment day at the head office. I haven't done one of these before, I don't suppose anyone else has? I was told about some kind of (hateful) role play, team work and a problem solving task on our own. What would the problem solving involve?
Thanks again,
PB
So the outcome is, I have been put forward for both of the next interview processes. Next Tuesday I have a placement morning, where I will be assesed in how I relate with the other employees, how I deal with the customers, I also have to fill out a questionaire and then a interview with the branch manager.
Then, on the Thursday I have a assesment day at the head office. I haven't done one of these before, I don't suppose anyone else has? I was told about some kind of (hateful) role play, team work and a problem solving task on our own. What would the problem solving involve?
Thanks again,
PB
dirtbiker said:
Really? Have you actually ever done this?
Best of luck with the next stage O.P.
I remember inviting for a job, and this middle aged women turned up. She was red faced and had that look about her.Best of luck with the next stage O.P.
Half way thruogh the interview she had to go to the loo, and left her bag behind. Well we had a quick look in it, and there was a bottle of vodka and about 10 apples, and some cup a soups.
The Spruce goose said:
I disagree, the correct term blagging can work well in certain job types, sales etc. So bullst can work.
Being a blagger is not a good thing even in sales, you'll get found out either by your customers or employers. t can work.I'm a sales director and I hate bulls
ting blaggers and so do my clients.To the OP, be punctual (not early but on time), prepare, answer the questions concisely and inject a bit of your personality into the proceedings. (remember you are selling yourself)
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