Anyone recommend any books on interview techniques?
Discussion
Nothing beats being genuinely enthusiastic about a role. You have to ensure you are the best candidate. When I got my current role, I spent a whole week interviewing customers of the company I was applying for at every level of the business. I then typed transcripts of each interview and summarised what the company could do better to meet their customer's needs. When it came to interview the director asked me what I knew about their customers. I dropped a printed copy in front of him and told him I had spent the last week with them.
Guess how many other candidates did that?
If you were the employer, what would you need to see/hear to make you think WOW! We have got to hire this person NOW. Go do that. Not sure you will find the answer in Waterstones.
Good luck.
Guess how many other candidates did that?
If you were the employer, what would you need to see/hear to make you think WOW! We have got to hire this person NOW. Go do that. Not sure you will find the answer in Waterstones.
Good luck.
Cheers, the interview was today. The book I bought did help, and although I'd only been offered the interview on Friday, I had enough time to do a fair bit of research.
Unfortunately, not enough, and I somewhat bombed.
First interview in something like 8 years though, so was a massive learning curve!
I don't think I got across my passion for the role, and I feel a bit gutted.
Still - onwards & upwards
Unfortunately, not enough, and I somewhat bombed.
First interview in something like 8 years though, so was a massive learning curve!
I don't think I got across my passion for the role, and I feel a bit gutted.
Still - onwards & upwards
Never mind. Probably a better role around the corner! Rather than trying to articulate your passion for a role, what can you do to PROVE IT to the interviewers? For your next interview you are 100% in control of ensuring you are the best candidate. Sounds silly, but it is true if you think about it. So if you really want to be offered the role, make sure you do things in your preparation and research that blow the competitor candidates into the weeds!!! How can you prove your desire and really impress the interviewers??
Best of luck with the nxt interview!
Best of luck with the nxt interview!
I had my first job interview in a while last week. I did as much research on the company as possible, and felt confident I would be able to answer anything they threw at me.
The interview contained a role play exercise, which I was told I did well at. But when it came to the actual interview part they pulled me to pieces, it felt like a full on character assasination. I like to think I'm quite laid back, but I came out of the interview room shaking, sweating and feeling like I'd bombed.
I have since received very positive feed back, and tomorrow I'll be spending a day 'test driving' the role I applied for. Subject to them being happy with me, and me with them, I should be offered the job.
Keep your chin up and best of luck with it, if you don't hear anything don't be afraid to contact your interviewer and ask for feedback. If nothing comes of the role you applied for, take the critism they offer onboard and bare it in mind for the next time.
The interview contained a role play exercise, which I was told I did well at. But when it came to the actual interview part they pulled me to pieces, it felt like a full on character assasination. I like to think I'm quite laid back, but I came out of the interview room shaking, sweating and feeling like I'd bombed.
I have since received very positive feed back, and tomorrow I'll be spending a day 'test driving' the role I applied for. Subject to them being happy with me, and me with them, I should be offered the job.
Keep your chin up and best of luck with it, if you don't hear anything don't be afraid to contact your interviewer and ask for feedback. If nothing comes of the role you applied for, take the critism they offer onboard and bare it in mind for the next time.
Thanks for that!
Seems like it wasn't all for nothing...
One of my interviewers came down to my floor today & asked for 5 mins. She said she was surprised to see me since the intranet said I normally finish at 4 (since I lost so much time yesterday with the interview, I wanted to get back on top of my work).
She said that I had not been successful - they had found someone who had the experience required (I don't) and have the proven sales background (which I don't) which meant that they met their criteria.
I wasn't suprised - this was a bit of a wildcard shot anyway since it's a totally different department and it's true - at the moment I don't have the technical knowledge (yet).
On the upside though, she said that she & the other interviewer would like a meeting next week!
I'm not counting my chickens at all - but you really have to beg for feedback from my company, and even then you're not guaranteed to get it, so the fact that both of them want to give up more time to meet with me is fantastic, and you never know, we might be able to think around the issue a bit more to see whether there's any other route in to their team.
Seems like it wasn't all for nothing...
One of my interviewers came down to my floor today & asked for 5 mins. She said she was surprised to see me since the intranet said I normally finish at 4 (since I lost so much time yesterday with the interview, I wanted to get back on top of my work).
She said that I had not been successful - they had found someone who had the experience required (I don't) and have the proven sales background (which I don't) which meant that they met their criteria.
I wasn't suprised - this was a bit of a wildcard shot anyway since it's a totally different department and it's true - at the moment I don't have the technical knowledge (yet).
On the upside though, she said that she & the other interviewer would like a meeting next week!
I'm not counting my chickens at all - but you really have to beg for feedback from my company, and even then you're not guaranteed to get it, so the fact that both of them want to give up more time to meet with me is fantastic, and you never know, we might be able to think around the issue a bit more to see whether there's any other route in to their team.
Yep cheers - Hope your day test driving the job went okay
The book I bought covered 'The Stress Interview' and although a healthy amount of stress can be productive, if an interviewer started that sort of character assasination I would find it very hard not to say "f
k this, I'm off" (unless I knew that it was a particularly pressured role) so well done for sticking with it!
The book I bought covered 'The Stress Interview' and although a healthy amount of stress can be productive, if an interviewer started that sort of character assasination I would find it very hard not to say "f
k this, I'm off" (unless I knew that it was a particularly pressured role) so well done for sticking with it!Agrilla said:
Yep cheers - Hope your day test driving the job went okay
The book I bought covered 'The Stress Interview' and although a healthy amount of stress can be productive, if an interviewer started that sort of character assasination I would find it very hard not to say "fk this, I'm off" (unless I knew that it was a particularly pressured role) so well done for sticking with it!
Yeah, I did actually come close to walking out. It also seems they had asked round to see if anyone knows me, and brought up why I left my first job. (Nasty crash involving a rare car, I wasnt even driving!!)The book I bought covered 'The Stress Interview' and although a healthy amount of stress can be productive, if an interviewer started that sort of character assasination I would find it very hard not to say "f
k this, I'm off" (unless I knew that it was a particularly pressured role) so well done for sticking with it!The role is working for VW Group, and apparently is quite a high pressure role, but I'm sure its a good choice, after being stuck in a s
t job for the last two years, I'm more than ready to make the changes I need to sucseed. (I know its spelt wrong!)Out of interest, what is the book called, or do you have a link to it? What industry are you in and what role are you trying to get into?
Ha! Great Answers to Tough Interview Questions That's exactly the one I bought (albeit only by pot luck as I didn't want to have to park in the city centre so went to WH Smiths in the suburbs instead and it was the only book of that type on the shelf!)
The first 150 pages cover applying for jobs, CV writing etc, and I skipped over all of that - I only had a couple of days to read it along with the other research I was doing as well. I read from there on though about the interview process, possible questions and what the interviewer is trying to get out of you, how to deal with the really tricky questions right down to how to negotiate salary.
I thought it was pretty good - it certainly got me used to thinking about the things that I do in my job specifically which I wouldn't have thought worth mentioning, and be able to describe my skills articulately highlighting the relevant professional behaviours and aligning them towards the goal job spec.
If you've been out of the recruitment process a while, and have been in your job for donkeys years (like me) it's easy to miss some of your key traits and be able to sell yourself effectively.
I know a book can't win you the job, and I did do as much preparation as I could generally (downloading that department's training manuals & learning their processes as an example) but the book definitely helped me and I'd certainly recommend it too.
The first 150 pages cover applying for jobs, CV writing etc, and I skipped over all of that - I only had a couple of days to read it along with the other research I was doing as well. I read from there on though about the interview process, possible questions and what the interviewer is trying to get out of you, how to deal with the really tricky questions right down to how to negotiate salary.
I thought it was pretty good - it certainly got me used to thinking about the things that I do in my job specifically which I wouldn't have thought worth mentioning, and be able to describe my skills articulately highlighting the relevant professional behaviours and aligning them towards the goal job spec.
If you've been out of the recruitment process a while, and have been in your job for donkeys years (like me) it's easy to miss some of your key traits and be able to sell yourself effectively.
I know a book can't win you the job, and I did do as much preparation as I could generally (downloading that department's training manuals & learning their processes as an example) but the book definitely helped me and I'd certainly recommend it too.
Edited by Agrilla on Saturday 19th June 00:35
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