Interview Techniques LM10597 Designed by Learning Materials

Interview Techniques Aim: To equip students with a background knowledge of interview preparation, format and structure and to develop skills in answering questions and delivering information within this process. Objectives: By the end of the session, students will be able to: Know how they should prepare for an interview. Know what to expect in terms of interview format and structure. Understand interview questioning techniques used by recruiters. Feel more confident answering interview questions.

Preparing for the Interview General preparation: Call/ the company and accept the interview, ask if you need to bring anything with you and what the format of interview will be. Check out the route, location, where the bus stops are and where the car parks are. Do a ‘dummy run’ – then you know how long the journey is likely to take you. Do you have relevant interview clothes and are they washed and clean? Research the company – what facts and information can you find on their website to help you answer questions like ‘what do you know about us?’ Find any certificates or documents you need and put them into a plastic pocket or document wallet to take with you.

Preparing for the Interview Preparing your answers: Re-read the advert, job description and person specification (you should have saved these somewhere when you applied!) Re-read your application Think about how you measure up to the job/person criteria, what fresh examples can you give you to show how good you are at what you do? Make notes, using the job / person criteria as a heading Don’t plan your examples word for word, just jot down some reminders for yourself of the situations and outcomes you want to discuss Think about why you applied for the job in the first place, what drew you to it? Think about why they should give the job to you specifically, what have you got that other applicants haven’t?

Styles of Interview Telephone Interview – Used to screen applicants that look suitable on paper before they are invited to a face to face interview. Treat as a normal interview, prepare in the same way. One-to-One Interview – Usually just you and a representative of the company (HR or Line Manager). Sometimes there is another person present who takes notes. Panel Interview – Several people from the organisation who will all take turns to ask you questions. Usually used at final stage of selection when the company needs more than one viewpoint on how you will perform in the role. Assessment Centre – A one or two day event where you take part in exercises, assessments (psychometric, written and manual) with the other candidates present. It will usually contain either a panel or one to one interview. Often used when companies are doing ‘mass’ recruitment as it is a quicker process.

The Interview Strategy Just like you, your interviewer will be preparing for the pending interview. He/she will be looking at the job and person spec and deciding what they want to ask. A good interviewer should: Never ask you anything that hasn’t been identified in the job or person specification. Never take up your references before the interview process. Never ask you about your personal situation such as ‘do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?’ (If you offer this information that’s up to you!) Always ask each candidate the same standard questions. Give every candidate the same opportunities (e.g. the same length of interview). Ensure you are interviewed somewhere comfortable and safe for both of you. Ensure the room is laid out suitably and the temperature comfortable.

The Interview Strategy There are three types of interview questions, designed to gain different pieces of information from you: Competency – when you are asked to give an example of you performing a specific task, testing if you have the relevant skills and experience required to do the job (e.g. ‘Tell me about a time when…’) Hypothetical – these are designed to look at how well you think on your feet by giving you a situation you may not have dealt with before and asking you how you might respond (e.g. ‘What would you do if…’) Fact or Opinion – designed to test your knowledge of a subject or to look at how you fit with the person specification (e.g. ‘What do you understand ‘safeguarding’ to mean?’) (‘How would you describe yourself?’) An interviewer will normally ask you a blend of all these types of questions, although pure ‘competency’ interviews do happen.

The Interview Strategy Good practice in responding to questions: Reflect the question back in your answer (e.g. ‘I last delivered excellent customer service when…) If the question has more than one part, deal with one part at a time, it is okay to ask to be prompted if you forget the latter parts of the question. If you cannot think of a recent example, try responding hypothetically (e.g. ‘If I was in that situation I would…’) Pause and think… take a sip of your water if needed to gather your thoughts before responding. Ask for clarification if you are not sure what was said or meant. Say your piece and then stop, sometimes, you can talk yourself out of something by giving too much information.

S.T.A.R. When answering a competency based question (‘Give me an example of… tell me about a time when…?), use this strategy to ensure your answers are detailed and succinct: S ituation – what was the situation, where were you working and the rough background to your example. T ask – what was the task you were doing? A ction – what skills, knowledge, tools or equipment did you use to help you? R esult – what was the outcome of the task? (e.g. you managed to harvest the field before the predicted storm arrived and ruined the crops!)

Do Not… Many of these things sound obvious but interviewers can be skilled at getting you to relax and let your guard down so here are some things to watch: Your language and tone. Avoid slang phrases, swearing or derogatory comments. Be negative or offer negative thoughts about former bosses/college staff etc. Ask about pay and conditions unless you are invited to discuss it by your recruiter. Disclose information about other jobs and opportunities you are pursuing. Be too transparent about your future plans, be non-committal if you are pushed. Argue with the recruiter, if you do not agree with something that is said, keep your thoughts to yourself!

Controlling Nerves and Keeping Calm Nerves can play a part in how you perform on the day; some nervousness is good as it means it matters to you that you get the job, but keeping them in check is the hard part. Here are some tips: Breathe slowly, take your time with your answers. Do not over prepare, spend some time relaxing (2 – 3 hours before your interview) do whatever makes you switch off for a time so you can regain composure. Close your eyes and picture yourself being offered the job, see yourself succeeding. Play relaxing music on your journey to the interview, focus your mind. Shut out any distractions, if you need some space before your interview go and find somewhere quiet, e.g. coffee shop or park where you can focus. Remind yourself that you wouldn’t be having an interview if they didn’t think you could do the job, all you need to do now is convince them.