1. Perfect Preparation Perfect preparation for your interview Research the company Prepare the questions to ask about the job Fully understand the job you are going for Plan the responses to questions you may be asked Practice the interview Plan your outfit Plan your journey Arrive 15mins before the interview Know who to ask for Don’t’ smoke before the interview Don’t chew gum in the interview Shower & shave (if applicable) Don’t pile on the aftershave/perfume Don’t pile on the make up Take certificates and anything you need in the interview 1

2. Interview Questions What Other Interview Questions Could You Be Asked? “ Tell me a bit about yourself” “ What would you consider to be your greatest strengths?” “ What is your understanding of the company / course?” “What are your areas of development?” “ Why are you interested in this particular job/type of work?” 2

3. Types Of Interview Questions A question designed to gain specific examples of where the interviewee has been involved in some physical situation. Recruiters are looking for particular types of skills and characteristics i.e. not hypothetical answers. E.g. Can you tell me about a time when……….? Competency Based In many cases a competency based question is hard to answer as the interviewee hasn’t had work experience and hence doesn’t have a practical example. As a result situational judgement questions lend the interviewee to answer with a hypothetical answer based on a scenario. What would you do if……….? Situational Judgement Generic questions aim to explore about the strengths, areas of development, problem solving and the ability to put themselves in the situation of the question. What would you say are your top 5 strengths? Generic 3

4. CBI & Situational Judgment Interviews Competency Based Questions Can you tell me of a time when you have achieved something that you were really proud of? Can you describe a situation where you have worked as part of a team? Can you provide an example of when you have had to use your own initiative? Can you tell me of a time when you’ve handled a difficult situation? Can you think of an occasion where you have exceeded somebody’s expectations? Situational Judgement Questions What would you do if a customer was swearing at you over the phone? What would you do if you saw a work colleague stealing? Working in the care industry, what would you do if you saw a work colleague ignoring a resident in distress? What would you do if a customer was pleading for their bank charge to be removed, even though it was their fault? 4

5. Star Method and Popular Questions 5

6. The Interactive Job Interview 6 Watch through the following set of videos making as many notes of how not to conduct an interview……………. Try and beat the world record of 9

7. Rituals Of the Big Day The Day of your interview or assessment centre Wake up and get up nice and early Have something to eat before leaving Take extra time/care getting ready Check you have everything before leaving Make planed journey arrive 15mins early. 7

8. Dress To Impress Dress to impress! Look professional, it’s better to overdress you will make a great first impression. Wear a suit Clean ironed shirt/blouse Ladies - business dress knee length Gents - wear a tie. Smart trousers/ skirt 8

9. 1 st Impressions When Does A First Impression Begin? What Might They Be Considering About You? The Interviewer When Do You Start Making A First Impression? What Should You Be Considering when Trying To Make An Excellent First Impression? The Candidate 9

10. Arrive Punctually Arrive early and you’ve already made a great 1 st impression! You now have time to settle, gather your thoughts & make any final checks. Arrive late & you’re already apologising before your interview has started! Arriving late increases your stress levels on a day you want to reduce stress Consider 10

11. Verbal and Non Verbal Communication 55% Is what we see Appearance Posture/body language Facial expression Eye contact 38% Is how we hear Tone & pitch Pace & pause Clear communication Energy/enthusiasm 7% Is what we say Words used Content Meaning 11

12. Body Language Up to 80% of face-to-face communication is done without speaking Your appearance, posture, face, eyes, hands, arms, legs and gestures all give clear messages Many people are communicating using body language without realising it Use non-verbal communication to help your customer and add to your professionalism Don’t allow your body language to send mixed messages, or give the wrong impression 12

13. Building Rapport Rapport is about being friendly R Active listening skills A Posture P Pair your words with how you say them P Open questioning O Remember to use ‘clean language’ R Take notice to what your customer says T 13

14. The Apprentice Interview 14