Effective Interviews Aston University Careers and Employability Centre 2010

Aims of this session Awareness of competencies employers want Matching employers’ requirements Communicating effectively in the interview Knowledge of further resources available

Planning - self awareness Its all about reflection

4 Employers are looking for… 1 Skills & Core Competencies 2 Experience 3 Qualifications 4 Attitude/motivation

Demonstrate how you meet their criteria To be successful...

Skills Focus on your skills...

Preparation Skills Areas for development Experiences Strengths/weaknesses Behaviour/attitude YOU Job/company research Skills and experience required Contacts THEM

Tips for interviews Know where you are going Late - what to do? Smile when you arrive Know your application/CV What would you ask? PREPARE!

Meeting & Greeting - the handshake exercise

During the interview... Offer evidence of previous behaviour Be aware of body language Notes? What to ask? Don’t talk money Do talk training

Tips for telephone interviews Arrange the venue – You may be able to book the resources thru Emily so ask Have paperwork handy Expect it to be ‘competency based’

What type of question? Open – “tell me about yourself? Closed – “how often do you meet?” Probing – “how and when would you go about doing that?” Hypothetical – “if you were able to change the world what would you do?” Inappropriate – “Do you plan to get married?” or “ “When do you plan to have children?”

Dealing with compentency questions “Describe a situation where you demonstrated...” Match evidence of the skill asked for

Interview questions “ Describe an occasion when you coped under pressure…” When? Where? How? Why? What?

How to answer competency questions C ontext R esult A ction Successful answer

Tell me about a time when…. Someone who has not been as co-operative. What was the situation? What did you do? What happened?

What are they looking for? Analysis Negotiation Communication and Influencing Interpersonal skills Your example

Tell me about a time when…. you had to challenge other people’s opinions to achieve a goal. Tell us the situation, the action you took and results achieved.

What are they looking for? Judgement Organisational Communication and Influencing interpersonal skills Your example

Tell me about a time when… you have been part of a team on a project, activity or task which has had a successful outcome. Tell us the situation, the action you took and the results achieved

What are they looking for? Team work Organisational Communication and Interpersonal skills Leadership? Group work? Guild activities?

Tell me about a time when… you juggled multiple projects with different deadlines. How did you ensure success?

What are they looking for? Problem solving Organisational Time planning skills Assignments and part time job?

Tell me about a time when… you experienced a set back. How did you respond and what was the outcome?

What are they looking for? Motivation Resilience Learning from mistakes Self awareness why things worked or didn’t what did you learn?

Tell me why… Why have you applied for this job? What made you want to work for this company? What you know about this company?

What are they looking for? Motivation/Drive Knowledge – self and sector Commitment Why them?

Describe when you worked in a team, explain your role and outcome Poor example - team work ‘On our course, we were made to do a project on the simulation of chemical processing at a glass factory. We were a team of four and we were given roles. I was involved in looking at the design of the process. We passed the assessment.’ Why is this a poor example? What would make it better?

29 Describe when you demonstrated leadership, explain your role and outcome Good example - leadership ‘In my 2 nd year I was elected as one of two student representative for my course. I gave my details to all the students on my course and spoken at the start of lectures to remind them of my role. If there were any problems I would relay their concerns to the school committee. A problem was identified with the timetabling of assessments. I raised this at the committee and set out a solution to the problem and got the timings changed’ Why is this better?

Tackling the questions Purpose Evidence and examples ‘Action’ words

31 Additional resources Websites including Interview Gold Leaflets ‘ Interviews’, ‘Competencies Explained’, ‘Telephone Interviews’

32 Additional resources 2 DVDs ‘Making an Impact’ AGCAS ‘At the assessment centre’ AGCAS Books ‘Job Interviews’ – John Lees ‘Brilliant answers to tough interview questions’ – Susan Hodgson ‘The Art of Building Windmills’ Dr Peter Hawkins ‘Competency-based interviews’ – Robin Kessler

Effective Applications & CVs Wednesday 24 th November 1pm, Sumpner Lecture Theatre Next session is on…

Stay if you want and ask questions on applications, if not see you next time And now Q & A….