Interview skills Bruce Woodcock University of Kent Careers and Employability Service You can download a copy of this presentation at

Selection methods of top employers in 2014

HOW NOT TO INTERVIEW Candidate had a fizzy drink just before interview and spent the whole interview burping. Announced she hadn't had lunch and proceeded to eat burger and chips during the interview. When asked him about his hobbies, he stood up and started tap dancing around the office. Without saying a word, candidate stood up and walked out during the middle of the interview. Dozed off during the interview. Said he never finished high school because he was kidnapped and kept in a wardrobe.

Carefully research the employer and the job Commercial Awareness What do you know about our organisation? What are our main products/services? What are the problems facing our organisation? What changes have there been in our sector recently? Who are our clients? What do you think the job you would be doing entails?

BODY LANGUAGE Dress smartly Shake hands warmly but wait to be invited to sit down. Smile! Eye contact Try to relax: don’t sit on the edge of your chair, but don’t slouch. Speak clearly and not too quickly Don’t fidget

PREPARE ANSWERS TO OBVIOUS QUESTIONS Why are you applying to us? Why have you chosen IT/law etc.? What makes you suitable for this job? What other jobs are you applying for? Where do you see yourself in five years? Why did you choose your degree course? What have you got out of University? What do you do in your spare time? What do you get out of it?

COMPETENCY-BASED QUESTIONS Describe a situation where you had to..... show leadership make a difficult decision overcome a difficult obstacle refuse to compromise work with others to solve a problem

Person specification Experience/Knowledge EssentialDesirable Experience of prioritising competing demands √ Experience of working with a diverse client group √ Skills/Abilities EssentialDesirable Ability to achieve targets within agreed timescales √ Ability to work autonomously and as a team member √ Ability to work with people at all levels √ Interview questions will be largely based around the competencies in the person specification e.g. “Describe a situation where you had to achieve targets within agreed timescales”

COMPETENCY-BASED QUESTIONS: STAR Start by briefly outlining the Situation Keep the focus on your specific Tasks and responsibilities Say what Action you took, then try to summarise what you achieved. If it’s a group task, make sure you define your own role and contribution. This is the biggest part Give concrete Results when possible. If you cannot be totally positive about the experience, say what you learned from it and what you might do differently next time. Situation/Tasks/Action/Result =

Interview nerves It's not that important: there will be other interviews in future. Preparation: makes you more confident. Dress smartly: if you look good, you feel good! Start in a positive way and you will continue in this vein: smiling, eye contact, a firm handshake. Don't worry about making a mistake: everyone fluffs one question. The day before write down everything you are worried about: “downloads” your worries. Visualisation: the night before, visualise yourself undergoing the whole interview, step by step, and imagine everything going well.Visualisation Mindfulness techniques help to reducing stress.Mindfulness techniques Listen to empowering music beforehand!Listen to empowering music beforehand Adopt power poses before (not at!!!) the interview: standing upright with hands on hips, steepling hands. For more see

HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS "How would you deal with an irate customer?” (customer service interview) Interviewer picks up an object from the desk. "Sell me this pen". (sales/marketing) interview BA pilot - asked what he would do if he met the captain wearing a dress in the hotel bar. (British Airways interview)

HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS Used because it's impossible to work out your answer beforehand. Test your ability to think quickly, logically, produce practical solutions. Don't panic! Take a few seconds to think - this shows confidence. Just try to think of one or two sensible things to say to start off. There may be many possible solutions.

PREPARE QUESTIONS TO ASK DON’T ASK about holidays, pensions and parking facilities. DO ASK about training, career development and the work itself.

PREPARE QUESTIONS TO ASK How is performance at work assessed? What is a typical career path in this job? Can you give me more details of your training programme? What is the ‘‘work culture’’? i.e. informal, formal, do people work autonomously, does everyone come in early, stay late? What are the challenges that your organisation is facing? What is your personal experience of working for this organisation?

FOLLOWING UP The interviewer will probably let you know when you’ll know the result. If they haven't made this clear, ask! The next stage may be a second interview or selection centre. After the interview, make notes on the questions asked and what you could have done better.

On-line videos INTERVIEWS ON-LINE APPLICATIONS SELECTION CENTRES now streamed on-line All last about 25 minutes and are excellent!

INTERVIEW WEB HELP Practice Interviews Online Teaching, accountancy, banking, journalism, marketing, retail personnel, Civil Service, postgrad. study, scientific research, IT and law Answers to 150 interview questions Telephone interviews Assessment Centres Employer Aptitude Tests

Careers Employability Award on Moodle Half the unemployment rate for students who complete the award DP2650 if you have problems enrolling

Employability Fest 26 th Oct. – 6 th Nov. Careers Fair 130 employers Tues 3 rd Nov 12 to 3 pm, Sports Halls AXA, Allianz, Accenture, CIMA, Deloitte, Fidessa, GT, Halifax, ICAEW, Lloyds, Morgan Stanley, PwC, RSM, Institute of Actuaries, Kent-Teach, DSTL, Airbus, IBM, Civil Service etc.

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Interview skills Bruce Woodcock University of Kent Careers and Employability Service You can download a copy of this presentation at

Moodle Careers Employability Award Assignments: complete 3 of these Analyse your skills and learn how to make top quality applications Do you want to live to work or work to live? Researching careers Choosing a career Submit a CV Social media Action planning 14 Quizzes: need 75% to pass Employability skills quiz Employability skills quiz: drag and drop How to develop the skills employers want? Test your spelling and grammar! What makes you happy at work? How commercially aware are you? Special interests topic lesson Interview preparation Practice interview What are the most common interview questions? Aptitude tests and assessment centres CV quiz CVs and covering letters: drag and drop quiz Career planning drag and drop quiz

Interview Quiz! NOW TRY ANSWERING THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS About how long should interview answers be? Tell me about yourself. What are your weaknesses? Do you have any questions you would like to ask us? Think of three good questions to ask at interview. 5 minutes End

Coping with the recession Still lots of jobs out there – 300 on our vacancy database Make sure your CV is top quality Need to be more flexible in terms of choice of job and location – don’t wait around for your ideal job. Consider further study, work abroad (TEFL) or voluntary work to improve skills. Ask us for help if you get stuck! Other hints and tips at

PREPARATION - THE KEY TO SUCCESS Research the employer and the job Prepare answers to obvious questions Think of your unique selling points Think of how you would answer questions about your weaknesses Prepare some questions to ask Dress smartly Leave plenty of time to get there

REAL QUESTIONS FROM CANDIDATES What is your Zodiac sign? Do I have to dress for the next interview? I know this is off the subject, but will you marry me? Will the company pay to relocate my horse? When is pay day? Would it be a problem if I'm angry most of the time? Why am I here?

Vacancy s Form IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR FINAL YEAR STUDENTS AND POSTGRADUATES WHO GRADUATE IN SUMMER. If you graduate in summer please complete our Vacancy Form if you haven't already done so. This will then ENTITLE YOU TO GET CAREERS HELP FOR UP TO THREE YEARS AFTER YOU LEAVE KENT including weekly vacancy s, use of the information room, and consultations with careers advisers.

Comments from students who have completed the award You get a really nice certificate! It was so easy, quick and I learned a lot. Without realising, you have finished the course and have already put together a very good CV and covering letter. It really blew my mind with some ideas I’ve never known before, such as portfolio working and working from home. I never thought about obtaining happiness from my work before. It would be mad to apply for a job or attend an interview without doing it! Before the course I had only a vague idea of my career path and opportunities. Now I am applying for summer internships and know how to effectively sell my skills to a prospective employer and have a much more focused plan for my future. The module is very, very useful! I really love how it makes you to think about your personality and helps you to identify your strengths and weaknesses. I found the module to be highly thought- provoking as it really encouraged me to consider how my degree will benefit my future and what I can be doing now to improve my graduate employment prospects. I enjoyed the depth of the module. It went far beyond some general tips on how to write a good CV and prepare for an interview. Rather it went in to detail about the whole process of graduate job search from the beginning to the end. It was very instructive. The amount of time put into this is astounding! I actually spoke to friends from other universities who said they wished they had something like this. It has made me feel a lot more confident when it comes to applications and interviews and has also made me think about skills that I didn't think I had before. I recently had a very successful interview largely because I put the advice on the module into practice.

Duty Careers Adviser A Duty Careers Adviser is available to help with queries between am to p.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. every day.Duty Careers Adviser No appointment needed - just drop in. Other Presentations.