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.

Avoiding Disasters Don’t end up feeling like this! Working in pairs, find solutions to the scenarios on your work sheets. How would you prevent ‘tearing your hair out’?

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.

Styles of Interview Panel Interview. Usually used in the final stage of selection and in larger companies when several people need to have input in who they appoint. Assessment Centre. Usually used when a company is doing ‘mass recruitment’ as a way of sifting large numbers of candidates. Usually a whole day / two days of group exercises and interviews.

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: An interviewer will normally ask you a blend of all these types of questions, although pure ‘competency’ interviews do happen. 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?’)

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…’) Don’t say too much, if you waffle, you are in danger of talking yourself out of the job, say your piece and then go quiet!

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: Situation: What was the situation? Task: What was the task you were doing? Action: What skills, knowledge, tools or equipment did you use to help you? Result: What was the outcome of the task?

STAR Example “Managed a project for a voluntary organisation. The project was to count and track the hedgerow population of birds in a specific locality. Designed data capture process, analysed findings and produced graphs and statistics, which helped to identify changes to population and inform local strategy.”

Practice Questions Identify two questions from the handout ‘Interview Questions’ In pairs, take it in turns to ask and answer, using the techniques we have discussed.

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 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!