Interviews
- Introduction
- Preparation and research
- Practise, practise, practise!
- What to expect
- In the interview
- Afterwards
- Sources of information
Introduction
Often a source of terror and blind panic and where job hunting or applications for a place on your chosen course turn into a one-off performance. How well prepared are you?
For individual help with interviews contact us and make a careers appointment. We can discuss particular concerns and identify what the employer or admissions tutors will be looking for. If you are really brave we can do a mock interview to discuss strengths and weaknesses.
The key message with interviews is preparation and practice. Interviews are single performances - and no one would dream of going on stage without suitable preparation and practice (give or take a karaoke or two).
Many aspects of Personal Development Planning (PDP) lend themselves to effective applications and interview preparation.
Preparation and research
Practical aspects
It's important to start with the basics. If you have been invited for interview via a letter or email, do you need to confirm you will be attending? Are the details on time, location and what you are expected to bring all clear?
Make sure you know where you are going, how you are going to get there, the timings and make allowances for travelling during a peak period.
Plan what you are going to wear. It's expected in any interview that you make an effort with your presentation. If you are in any doubt about what you should wear: go smart. If you turn up for the interview and find everyone in casual dress it simply shows that you've taken the event seriously. The reverse scenario is too awful to contemplate.
Research the employer
(Or course and university if your interview is for further study). You will have already done this in your application, but now you need to take it further. Find out about the culture of the organisation, their services or products, what direction they are going in, particular policies, approaches and recent initiatives.
You can use the web in the same way as with job hunting to access business / school / organisation websites to get much of the above information. Also try running searches on the business to gain additional perspectives - you may find press references or commentaries / reports from other organisations.
What does the employer want?
This is the fundamental question. You need to go back to the advert / person specification / job description.
If you have none of these then you need to invent them. A simple way to do this is to research information on the role you want through one of the many sources of occupational information. Look at sections dealing with skills, qualities and experience required. Also look at descriptions of the work/profession - these often read like a job description.
When you are clear what the employer is looking for - in terms of skills, personal qualities, experience and achievements - find ways to match these.
You do this by drawing out examples from your experience which tie-in with the requirements. It may be that you demonstrate your communication skills, motivation or team work through experience in a different field. The point is that you make the connections and present evidence.
Typical person specification / skill set
Most roles require a variation of a fairly universal skill set. If you you use the one below as a template you won't go too far wrong. The interesting bits are to do with the specific emphasis and relative importance of the different areas. Most graduate roles involve and require all of the elements listed below. If you think that sales and promotion skills are exclusive to the David Brent end of business...think again.
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...plus specific knowledge, skills, experience and qualifications as required |
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Sources of examples
Be creative in the way you utilise examples. Many people stick with a fairly narrow range of employment and study examples. By drawing from a wider range it is often easier to present a profile that matches the requirements of the employer. Consider some of the following when preparing examples:
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Questions that you ask
In most cases there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions. There should be because the interview process is a two-way arrangement where you decide if you want the particular job. The main points are to avoid any contentious questions about money or leave (you can ask all those when you are offered the job) and to prepare some questions in advance.
A good approach is to ask questions that reflect your interest in the job. Here are some potential areas:
- about the scope of the job
- the potential for progression within the organisation
- about specific interest areas / opportunities to undertake certain roles
- training opportunities available
- direction the organisation is going in
- what support is available (be careful not to sound like you need someone to hold your hand)
Dealing with nerves
The crucial thing with nerves is to do with practice. You need a certain amount of nerves to keep you on your toes and to perform at a peak level. If you rehearse and prepare effectively this will increase your confidence and dissolve the kind of nerves that turn into panic.
There are additional ways of managing nerves before and during an interview or assessment. It's one of those areas that you need to try out techniques and go with anything that works for you. It could be anything from prayer, meditation, visualisation, music or exercise.
Many methods of dealing with nerves involve slowing down breathing. When we are nervous our breathing becomes more rapid, shallow and uses the muscles around the ribs. This is often visible to the interviewer and it is usually audible too: the shallow breathing makes the pitch of your voice higher and a little wobbly. Slower and deeper breathing uses the stomach muscles and lowers the pitch of the voice (to sound more comfortable and confident).
Try the stress management page of the Mind Tools site: www.mindtools.com/smpage.html. The section for 'Stress Defense' and, in particular, the link for 'Relaxation Techniques' has a range of practical exercises to manage nerves.
A good breathing exercise to try is from Oxford Brookes.
Practise, practise, practise!
This is secret of interviews. Many people prepare for their interview, carefully matching their experience and skills to the requirements of the employer or admissions tutor. Once in the interview though, they hear a strange and unnerving echo as they speak and experience a strong desire to be somewhere else.
By practising you are recognising the performance element to an interview. The way you present what you are saying is easily as important as what you are saying. If you've not practised answering obvious questions (what kind of person are you / why have you applied for this job?) you won't be sure about your vocal style. If you haven't practised your physical posture, how you sit, how you walk in the room etc you risk trying to fathom it all out in the interview (the wrong place to do this).
Get used to the idea of talking about yourself in confident, strong and positive terms. We don't generally do this in real life - but in interviews there are no marks for modesty and you cannot expect interviewers to read between the lines. You have to tell them what they need to know.
Practise by arranging a mock interview with us or with someone at home (who's not going to giggle too much). You can practice alone - in front of a mirror or with a voice / tape recorder. Grab a list of questions and just get started. You can also practise in your head - but you'll need to be sure of your voice and delivery. Look at all aspects of your interview, not just your answers. Look for nervous ticks, clenched hands, awkward posture and vocal repetitions (errs and umms). What ever you do, make sure you practise.
What to expect
Variations in an interview
It's difficult to guess what an interview will be like. There are many variables apart from the just the types of questions you are asked. It's a good idea to have a flexible approach and be ready for just about anything.
Many interviews involve a formal approach, but you may need to adapt if you find yourself in a very informal interview. If you visit an employer before an interview or as part of your research, treat this as an interview.
You can find yourself with one other person or with a panel of interviewers. Either way you need to focus on the person asking you the questions at any given time. With smaller employers and with agencies you will often find yourself in a one-to-one situation.
Some interviews are scripted in advance others will be improvised or ad hoc. With either approach you will often find your CV or application form also forms a key part of the questioning process.
Try also to mentally prepare yourself for different surroundings. There will always be variations in the setting - from a busy agency (with other people all around you) to a large, and mildly intimidating, boardroom.
Telephone interviews are increasingly being used to speed things up. It goes without saying that this puts a premium on your vocal delivery. The 'types of interviews' section of www.prospects.ac.uk/links/appsinterviews provides some useful notes on both telephone and video interviews.
Example interview questions
We have an idea of the sort of questions we may be asked - but you can never be sure. It has been argued that all the different types of questions in an interview can be boiled down to a few basic questions:
- Why this job and this organisation? (Interest)
- Can you do the job? (Ability)
- Would you do the job if you were offered it? (Motivation)
- What kind of person are you? (Personality)
- What makes you stand out from similarly qualified candidates? (X-factor)
For a list of typical questions used in interviews have a look at these pages on the Bradley CVs site. They are broken up into six pages - look for the link near the bottom of the page to take you into the next page. Alternatively download a shortened list.
In the interview
We all know the cliches about first impressions etc, but we need to take them seriously for interviews. As well giving good answers to the questions you are trying to convey enthusiasm and confidence. If at all possible, look like you are pleased to be there. If you can perfect a smile that is neither an expression of intense pain or of madness then all the better.
Your posture and body language are very important. How you walk into the room, how you sit down, how you shake hands (if a hand is offered to you), your facial expression are all things to factor into your practice.
A lot of body language is fairly obvious. When doing a mock interview get your partner to look closely at, and comment on your body language. One element that is often described is the importance of eye contact. Although this is really important, you do need also break contact. If you stare at your interviewer they may well become more nervous than you. There are many commentaries on body language, especially in print. Here are a couple of sites discussing body language in interviews www.careerbuilder.com and www.cvcl.co.uk
When answering questions in an interview the critical aspect is listening to the question. If you are not sure you have understood then ask. Your answers obviously need to be more than just "yes" or "no". Judging the length of your response requires practice. Avoid telling your life story and if you see people nodding off then it's time to wind up.
Afterwards...
The relief that it's all over can overwhelm rational thought. Make sure you stand back and think about how it went. What went well? Make sure you consolidate these. What things could you improve on next time? Were there things that you wanted to say but didn't? Any questions that caught you by surprise? How do you think you came across? There will always be another interview so use your review to help you plan for the next one.
If you are unsuccessful make sure you ask for feedback. Not every employer is happy to do this and not every response will illuminate your performance so use your own judgement as well.
If you are successful then now is the time to get serious about pay, conditions and any other unspeakable things you tactfully left out of the interview.
Sources of information
For a good overview and more detail on preparation, planning and succeeding at interviews try the Prospects applications page: www.prospects.ac.uk/links/appsinterviews.
Some useful information on interviews in the 'Effective Applications' section of Career Management Skills online.
Key Skills Online software via the PDP pages has a useful series of structured preparation exercises for interviews.
The interview section of an American site www.quintcareers.com is very useful but watch out for the annoying pop-ups.
There is some excellent interview preparation materials for teachers available online via the NQT page. Go to the link to Getting a Teaching Job, Annual AGCAS Publication. You'll find extensive examples of typical interview questions and tips for interview preparation.
Books from the Careers library in New Hall, Bishop Otter Campus include:
The Ultimate Interview Book - Lynn Williams
Great Answers to Tough Interview Questions - Martin Yate
What Color is Your Parachute - Richard Bolles
How to Get a Job You'll Love - John Lees