Interview Techniques

If you are offered interviews after you have sent off letters and application forms this means you are applying for the right type of job which reflects your current experience and skills and that your CV and application forms are working for you.   If you do not get interviews then either the competition is strong, you are not applying for the right level of job (either too high or too low) or that your CV and letter writing needs to be reviewed.  

The CV and application forms have created the initial step forwards in getting a job - they have advertised you in the right way and in an effective way.   The interview is designed for the prospective employer to meet you to determine your attitude towards your work, colleagues and life and whether or not your personality will fit in with those who already work at the company.   You would not be invited for an interview if they did not consider you suitable for the vacancy.  

Clothes

Wear something that builds your confidence and does not dent it.  It is still a safer bet for women to wear a dress or skirt or suit.  Obviously look as smart as you can - it shows that you bothered and were conscious of making the right impression and that you have taken the time and effort to take this interview seriously, ie that this interview matters to you.  They will give you more of their time and effort if you have shown your interest.  

When you arrive

You can learn a lot about a company, its staff and their attitudes whilst you wait in reception.  Look about and see and feel the atmosphere of the building.  Would you like to work there every day?

What was the attitude of the receptionist? Was it positive, courteous and professional or does it create an impression of indifference, casualness and lack of respect? If the company employs people with that attitude - do you want to be part of that type of team?

How does the interviewer deal with you - treat you with respect, bother to make you feel at ease, explain things to you, give you enough time for the interview? Or does the interviewer continue to run his/her business throughout the interview, take little notice of what you are saying and is more interested in telling you what he/she wants.  Do they bother to ask questions which enable you to sell yourself or is the whole interview controlled by them to such an extent you leave feeling that you were not able to get over key points you wished to make?

What type of interview will it be?

An interview is a meeting between someone who has a vacancy because they need extra support in running the business and someone who has the relevant skills and experience to offer to help run the business.  You are both meeting each other to see if you would suit each other.  It is a meeting of mutual needs.  

Some interviews can be very casual - tell me about yourself - and that''s all you are asked.  

Some interviews can be very unprepared and lack organisation where the person doing the interview has no idea how to conduct the interview and usually spends most of the interview telling you about the company and asking few questions.  

Some interviews are run very well where you are asked suitable questions which enable you to sell yourself more and get over key points you want them to understand about you.  

The last type of interview is obviously the best to have - either of the other 2 types of interviews will require you to "take control" of the situation by raising questions and making points you wish them to know about so that you do not miss this opportunity to sell yourself.  

Key points to remember

During an interview the interviewer may ask you dozens of searching questions which are designed so that they can make decisions in four critical areas:

• Can you do the job?
• Do you fit the company image?
• Will you complement or disrupt the department/company?
• Is the money right – can they afford you and can you afford what they have to offer?

Ensure you do not fall into any of the following traps:

• Fail to listen to the question
• Annoy the interviewer by answering a question that was not asked
• Provide superfluous information (keep answers brief, thorough and to the point)
• Go for an interview without preparing
• Show anxiety or boredom or disinterest in what the interviewer is saying
• Look at your watch

 Remember to:

• Give a firm handshake
• Make eye contact and smile
• Take spare copies of your CV for you to refer to
• Take something for you to write with
• Take a list of questions you would like to ask (this shows you are prepared)

How to answer key questions

The following list of questions is often asked at interviews.  

After reading the following guidelines, prepare your own answers so that you have a "script" ready for your first interview.  Remember to keep a copy and constantly update your script as your skills in interviewing progress and you get good and bad feedback from the things you say.  

1 Tell me about yourself

The way you answer this question will reveal how you see yourself and how you have analysed yourself to a certain degree.  Being able to talk about yourself is not easy, but if you can, this will reveal a more mature attitude.  Do not lose this opportunity to show some positive aspects to your nature.  For example you could mention you passed your driving test after 10 attempts - something you felt was a great achievement because of a bad car accident you had when you were younger.  This shows your ability not to give up and that you will try again and not "throw in the towel".  You are showing your attitude towards your work at the same time.  

Another example - you like to go sailing but you usually end up being the one who gets the sail at the end of day when the wind drops (you share the boat) so you normally end up paddling in or waiting for the tide to drift you back into harbour.  Again this shows your ability to get on with things and not allow your enjoyment to be spoilt by something minor.  

Try to create a good overview and bring out positive attitudes about yourself when answering this question.  Do not go on too long and make sure anything you say does not lead the interviewer to be prompted to ask questions you would rather they did not!

2 What are your greatest weaknesses and strengths - what are you doing to overcome your weaknesses?  

We all have weaknesses and we all have strengths.  The very fact that you can answer this question without hesitation shows you have identified these aspects of your personality and built on the strengths and done what you can to counteract your weaknesses.  This is a positive attitude.  

For some people, trying to cope with too much at one time to the point that nothing is achieved is a weakness.  They are trying to keep everyone happy but in the end with no results for anyone.  Here this weakness can be related to the work place and is a common problem with people who work for more than one person or who work under pressure.  But in a sense you have now turned this question from a negative situation into a positive response.  

The art or skill of pacing is something that has to be developed and to counteract this weakness you could say that when you realise you are in such a situation you have learnt to stand back and re-evaluate the situation and determine what can be achieved today and what can be left for later on ie re-prioritise your workload.  

What you identify as your strength can also be revealing - be prepared to qualify it ie why do you see it as a strength.  

3 What do you want to be doing 3 years from now?

Potential employers and interviews are always interested in people who are efficiency minded, have an eye for economy, and follow procedures.  Loyalty and reliability are 2 key attributes to have and to ensure the interviewer knows you have.  Throughout your interview, continually sow positive seeds re-affirming your main points - I am loyal, reliable, efficient, honest, dedicated, able to listen well, prepared to accept change, prepared to learn new skills, able to follow procedures, know how to use my time efficiently and effectively, work well as part of a team and on my own, can work under pressure, acknowledge when I have made a mistake (we all do make mistakes) and learn from such mistakes.  These skills apply to all jobs at all levels.  

Phrases such as - "I hope to have become a loyal and forward looking member of a team which works well and gets results.  I want to have progressed steadily up the ladder and to have proved myself to be invaluable to the company" would work well if being interviewed by a medium sized firm.  

In answering this question you have a golden opportunity to re-affirm most of the above by showing your keenness to have developed your skills and yourself over the next 3 years so that your contribution is more effective.  You may also want to have more supervision and responsibility.  No matter what your age and what your goals are, to highlight the above at this point is a very positive step in the right direction.  Take every opportunity to re-affirm these attitudes and determination to develop these skills.  

You want to be regarded as a true professional and team player.  

4 What are some of the things that bother you?

This can reveal a great deal about your nature and whether or not you will fit in with the current team.  

Again use this opportunity to re-affirm the above list of keys skills and attitudes you wish your interviewer to know you possess.  

For example, if for you it is important to work in a harmonious environment and that you feel you are contributing towards the team''s efforts effectively, but one person continually "upsets the apple cart" this would show a degree of professionalism – because you wish to be an effective part of the team.  You would need to show how you would overcome this situation.  In this case working round the person and endeavouring to change that person''s attitude to a more positive one would be a better response, rather than allowing the situation reach a point where things got out of hand.  This would reveal a mature team spirit and a keenness to keep a good balance in the working environment.  

5 What are your salary expectations and how have you arrived at this figure?

This question enables employers to see what they can get away with as well as to establish that you would not be outside their budget, or cause friction with other members of staff.  

It is better to give a salary range and base it on your standard of living needs.  You could also add that when looking for a job you are not just looking at the financial rewards, but also further training and development and the quality of the position itself.  

6 Tell me about some of your accomplishments.  

If possible try to use an example from a previous job which again will illustrate the golden list above and sow the seed again.  It does not have to be a major accomplishment in the eyes of the business world, but for you at that time it was.  Be prepared to qualify your example, ie why do you feel that was an accomplishment.  

For example you could say getting a Degree was your main accomplishment so far.  On the face of it, hundreds of other people have gained a Degree - so what makes this such an accomplishment for you? Possibly because when you were younger you missed a great deal of schooling due to a childhood illness, which you no longer have and because of that you were always behind trying to catch up with your school work.  But you were determined to get to University, you did and you gained your degree.  

This type of answer reveals you are prepared to work hard to reach your goals, even when you are starting from a disadvantaged position.  Think of an accomplishment that would reveal one of the key attitudes listed above.  

7 In hindsight what have you done that was a little hare brained?

We have all done something we later regretted or would have done differently in hindsight.  Be careful not to give the wrong impression.  This is a question to draw out a negative aspect to your character/attitude.  

A good example is when you bought your first horse/car/house etc and you were committed to repayments.  It put you on a very tight budget and you had to work hard to meet this financial demand which you had not had before.  Would have been better to have planned ahead more to avoid putting so much strain on yourself.  

The above shows that you were able to make a decision to commit yourself to a long term arrangement, that you were prepared to meet that commitment even though it put a great deal of strain on you but you have learnt about being more prepared to avoid such pressure in the future.  

8 Give me an example when you experienced pressure in your job and how do you feel you coped?

The whole of the business world has speeded up over the last few years, and it is more and more important that you can show you can handle pressure and maintain the teamship and normal performance, ie you can rise to the occasion.

Most of us have worked under pressure - even in holiday jobs.  Identify why it caused pressure - ie too little time, too much to do, too little support from others, insufficient preparation, unexpected illness or increase in workload.  Let them know how you coped and why you took such action in order to get the situation back under control.  

9 What interests you least/most about this job?

How you answer this question will reveal your understanding of the company and the duties involved in the position.  It will show how much you have prepared and though about the vacancy and how you relate to it.  

There will always be aspects that appeal more and some to a lesser extent.  

For some the interest in the position is the versatility it requires and that it will be challenging.  The least interesting will possibly be the more routine (but necessary) aspects of the position eg filing, maintaining records.  Ensure you show you understand the need for such things and although it is the least interesting part of the job it does not over shadow your interest in the position - the pluses far outweigh the minuses.  

10 What would be the advantages to you joining us?

Again this reveals you have analysed the vacancy, read the job description and been able to identify where you fit it.  Use this opportunity to sow the seeds of the good attitudes to have as detailed above.  Be positive about what your skills are and what personal qualities you have that would be of benefit to the firm.  Get used to talking about yourself.  It shows that you believe in yourself - the first step.  

11 What would be the most challenging aspects of this job?

These aspects could have already been included in the above answers, and again be prepared to show that you have identified the challenges from the job description. You need to ensure however that you leave the interviewer satisfied that you would not be engulfed by these challenges.  

12 What kind of people do you find it difficult to work with?

This question is designed to identify if you would get on with the current team.  Have you got similar attitudes.  You would not want to work with a team whose attitudes were different from yours anyway - it would cause friction and in the end a loss of your self confidence.  So be reasonably honest but without being blunt.  Again get over your positive attitudes as detailed above.  

13 What area of your skills do you wish to improve?

To know where you can improve again shows your ability to stand back and analyse and also reveals that you understand you need constant development to ensure continuous enjoyment in your work and to get better satisfaction from your job.  You could include what you have done or plan to do to achieve such developments.  

Following the above approach, pick out questions from the list below that you feel you need to prepare a more detailed answer to so that you will feel more confident when you attend your first interview:-

14 Why do you want to work here?

15 What kind of experience do you have for this job?

16 In your last job what were some of the things you spent most of your time on and why?

17 Why have you changed jobs so frequently?

18 Why do you want to leave your current job?

19 Do you prefer working with others or alone?

20 How did you get your holiday jobs?

As the interview comes to an end you are usually asked if you have any questions.  By asking questions you show your level of preparation, and your enthusiasm.  

Do not be afraid to ask when you will know their decision - you need to plan ahead.  

Leave the room in a positive and polite manner - smiling, thanking them for their time and maintain eye contact.  

When you have left the company''s premises try to write down any key phrases or ways in which you answered questions whilst they are still fresh in your mind, which were well received.  This way you will constantly update and improve your interview skills and work on feedback.  

WAITING FOR RESULTS

Whilst waiting to hear the result of your interview, keep on applying for jobs and keep your options open.  In this way if you are not offered the job, you will not feel so disappointed if you have other interviews or applications in the pipe line - they may be better jobs in any case.  

The main thing to remember at all times is to ensure you look after your self confidence.  If you have confidence you can do anything.  But as soon as this becomes dented it will slow you down and the task of securing employment will seem even greater.  

However, unlike many other professions, whilst you apply for jobs and attend interviews you can temp to develop your skills and knowledge of what type of businesses and working environments you enjoy.  This also takes the pressure off your interviews.  

Be careful when deciding whether or not you wish to accept the offer.  Weigh up all the plus aspects and make sure you identify the minuses as well.  

Could you work in that environment every day - would it affect your confidence - either to improve it or dent it?

Could you work with the other employees happily and feel you would be part of their existing team quite quickly? Or would it take a long time to feel part of the company and you are concerned about some of the people you met.  

Could you cope with the work load.  Is it too routine for you or the right balance.  

Would you grow out of the position within a year? We all develop and for some people they can easily master a job very quickly and then become bored.  Others prefer to feel their feet for a while before moving on.  

Could you exist on the salary?  Are there other benefits to consider eg more training opportunities or more promotional prospects.  

The job has to feel right, the company has to feel right and the people and environment have to feel right so that you will be happy there.  

Good luck!