COM 417 Mairead McFadden

Learning Outcomes At the end of this session you will be able to:  Preparation for Interviews  Assessment Centres

CV Sheets returned. Scheme based on your School’s placement form  Personal details  Home Address & Term Address – give dates Do not leave blanks, use one address when they are the same.  Career Objective - no more than 30 words Don’t be too general  Education - degree first, reverse order, alot of not stating your degree, just the modules, and no indication of where you were doing it. i.e. University of Ulster.  IT Skills - Operating systems, Development languages, Applications  Work Experience - give dates and use bullet points, reverse order. People did not include this section at all.  Interests and Achievements – Use dates and organise in bullet points  Additional Information – to strengthen your case, this needs to be a seperate section. People had information under skills that should have gone here.  Two Referees – One must be your studies adviser/Academic

You’ve Got 30 Seconds! Your CV should be like a good 30 second TV advertisement

Interview Session Preparing for Interviews

The purpose of an interview For the Interviewer  To see if candidate matches application  To assess candidates interpersonal skills  To assess if candidate meets core requirements  To check for team and organisational fit For the Interviewee  To find out more about the company and the job  To demonstrate the key skills required for the job

Types of Interviews  Face to face  “Pop in” for a chat  Panel Interviews  Second Interviews  Telephone  Group

Preparation  Confirm attendance, understand the selection process, plan your journey and what to wear.  Do your homework on the employer Their aims and mission statement Number of employees, locations? Products, services, turnover, plans, recent news? What the company offers placement students Sources of information: visit website, company literature (annual report), Kompass Directory, ABI Inform Clip: Peter Mann, Assistant Head of Transport, Oxfordshire County Council

Preparation cont.d Do your homework on the job. Ask yourself  What are the main duties & responsibilities? Is there a job description I can read?  What skills and qualities are required – essential and desirable?  Could I talk to someone with a similar job?  Can I identify questions that might be asked? Against the job:  What have I to offer  What examples do I have that show evidence

Factors Assessed During Interview AppearanceQualifications PoiseSkills (ie Team work) Conversational ability Knowledge of Org & FriendlinessKnowledge of Job PersonalityExperience Drive & Initiative Overall Impression!

Answering Interview Questions  Identify the key skills being asked for  Reflect on your own experiences to find a suitable scenario which highlights these skills/competencies  Good approach - is to use STAR -Situation - describe the situation -Task - what did you do -Action - what steps did you take to complete the task -Result - what was the outcome  Try to draw on a range of experiences EXAMPLE OF STAR TECHNIQUE

Remember  Listen carefully to the whole question  Answer the question asked - provide relevant evidence and outcomes  If you need to - ask for clarification  If you are stumped – ask for a few moments

Body Language Messages GRADNAV: Non-Verbal Communication Exercise Positive Body Language Smiling, nodding, eye contact, sitting upright Negative Body Language Fidgeting, frowning, crossed arms, slouching

Questions to ask the interviewer  The Organisation What are the likely future developments?  The work and training What projects you would be involved in?  Colleagues Who would you be working with?  Salary and prospects Salary best discussed at second interview or when offer the post What career paths have other graduates taken in the organisation?  Timing How long will you have to wait before

Unsuccessful Candidates  Failed to prepare  Did not display a reasonable knowledge of the job/area applied for  Did not give direct answers to questions  Did not transfer their learning between contexts  Thought a good degree would be enough

Summary: Prep is Key 1.Know what you are offering 2.Identify key skills being asked for and have two examples for each 3.Find out some original things about the organisation 4.Identify questions you would like answered 5.Practise and get feedback Be positive, enthusiastic, natural & honest

Special instructions  You may receive special instructions with your invitation to the second interview.  Make sure you are happy with all the arrangements and check anything you are unsure about.  For example, do you need to arrive early to sit any tests?  Are you required to give a presentation ?

Assessment Centres Why do employers use them? Reliability – selecting the most appropriate candidate Retention – correlation between retention and selection method Development – a starting point for those appointed Skills level – increasing the skills level and experience of the assessors Competencies – highlighting and spreading their use PR – the perception of the organisation from the outside Fairness – candidates feel that they’ve had a ‘fair crack of the whip’

There are four components to an Assessment Centre  Pre selected candidates  The profile of skills or capabilities sought  A variety of exercises or tests  Trained assessors

What skills are employers looking for?  Planning and Organising  using available time in the most effective way  drawing up a workable timetable  checking deadlines and meeting them  Business Understanding  Identifying those issues which will move the most forward  Understanding customer care  Problem Solving  Identifying what the issues are and prioritising them  Identifying appropriate actions  Leadership  Identifying the people available to assist  Gathering appropriate people together  Communicating your goals and priorities to people  Delegating versus acting yourself

Length – ½ day – 2 days Range of Techniques  Psychometric assessments  Presenting information to a group  Group discussion Panel interview Lunch/Dinner Tour of the offices

Why use Psychometric tests?  Allow the employer to choose appropriate person for their vacancy  Measure skills, abilities and personal qualities  It may be possible to train a Turkey to climb trees but why not hire a Squirrel in the first place

Types of Tests  Aptitude or Ability  Measure your capabilities in tests of reasoning,ie level and nature of your thinking competencies  Personality questionnaire  Gather information about how and why you do things in your own particular way  How you react or behave in different situations  Your preferences and attitudes

Aptitude or Ability Tests  Tests of logical thinking and reasoning  Administered under test conditions  Questions become more difficult  Might not be able to finish in time  Numbers of correct answers count  Compared with how others have done in the past

How to give your best performance  Verbal tests read books, manuals newspapers, esp technical  Numerical tests do number puzzles, %, costs etc  Checking tests Use catalogues & compare entries each year, check sports or financial reports  Diagramming tests Check flowcharts, installation and circuit diagrams, draw flowcharts for everyday activities  Spatial tests Look at plans & DIY manuals. Make patterns or designs. Imagine how various objects look from different angles.

Be prepared  Before the session -Get a good night’s sleep, fatigue affects performance -Be in time -If you have a disability let them know in advance  At the session -listen to instructions and follow carefully -don’t be afraid to ask questions -read each question carefully before answering -work quickly and accurately -The more questions you get right the higher your score so don’t spend too much time on any one question

More practice on tests  To sit some practice aptitude tests where you can obtain feedback on your performance logon to the Ulster Personal Development System (PDSystem):  Click on 'My Career' tab and then 'Psychometric Tests' Home page: Click on 'My Career' tab and then 'Psychometric Tests'  Links open in a new window

If you have a disability If you have a disability and may need additional support or extra time to sit a psychometric test, let the employer know as soon as possible. Employers will then be able to make suitable arrangements in advance to ensure that you have a fair chance to perform well in the test.

Assessment Centres Why do employers use them? Reliability – selecting the most appropriate candidate Retention – correlation between retention and selection method Development – a starting point for those appointed Skills level – increasing the skills level and experience of the assessors Competencies – highlighting and spreading their use PR – the perception of the organisation from the outside Fairness – candidates feel that they’ve had a ‘fair crack of the whip’

There are four components to an Assessment Centre  Pre selected candidates  The profile of skills or capabilities sought  A variety of exercises or tests  Trained assessors

What skills are employers looking for?  Planning and Organising  using available time in the most effective way  drawing up a workable timetable  checking deadlines and meeting them  Business Understanding  Identifying those issues which will move the most forward  Understanding customer care  Problem Solving  Identifying what the issues are and prioritising them  Identifying appropriate actions  Leadership  Identifying the people available to assist  Gathering appropriate people together  Communicating your goals and priorities to people  Delegating versus acting yourself

Length – ½ day – 2 days Range of Techniques  Psychometric assessments  Presenting information to a group  Group discussion Panel interview Lunch/Dinner Tour of the offices

Why use Psychometric tests?  Allow the employer to choose appropriate person for their vacancy  Measure skills, abilities and personal qualities  It may be possible to train a Turkey to climb trees but why not hire a Squirrel in the first place

Types of Tests  Aptitude or Ability  Measure your capabilities in tests of reasoning,ie level and nature of your thinking competencies  Personality questionnaire  Gather information about how and why you do things in your own particular way  How you react or behave in different situations  Your preferences and attitudes

Aptitude or Ability Tests  Tests of logical thinking and reasoning  Administered under test conditions  Questions become more difficult  Might not be able to finish in time  Numbers of correct answers count  Compared with how others have done in the past

How to give your best performance  Verbal tests read books, manuals newspapers, esp technical  Numerical tests do number puzzles, %, costs etc  Checking tests Use catalogues & compare entries each year, check sports or financial reports  Diagramming tests Check flowcharts, installation and circuit diagrams, draw flowcharts for everyday activities  Spatial tests Look at plans & DIY manuals. Make patterns or designs. Imagine how various objects look from different angles.

Be prepared  Before the session -Get a good night’s sleep, fatigue affects performance -Be in time -If you have a disability let them know in advance  At the session -listen to instructions and follow carefully -don’t be afraid to ask questions -read each question carefully before answering -work quickly and accurately -The more questions you get right the higher your score so don’t spend too much time on any one question

More practice on tests  To sit some practice aptitude tests where you can obtain feedback on your performance logon to the Ulster Personal Development System (PDSystem):  Click on 'My Career' tab and then 'Psychometric Tests' Home page: Click on 'My Career' tab and then 'Psychometric Tests'  Links open in a new window

If you have a disability If you have a disability and may need additional support or extra time to sit a psychometric test, let the employer know as soon as possible. Employers will then be able to make suitable arrangements in advance to ensure that you have a fair chance to perform well in the test.

COM 4171M Mairead McFadden