Interview

Preparation
Agenda
1. Purpose of the interview
2. Preparation
3. Types of questions
4. Creating an impression
5. Do’s and don’ts
1.Purpose of the interview
What interviewer looks for:
 The ‘Fit Factor’ –
Knowledge/Skills/Attributes
 Professional/technical competence
 Work ethic
 Personality and disposition
 Achievements and adding value
Your role as Salesperson
 Your goal is to convince  You need to
the interviewer that you
be selected – think of
demonstrate
yourself as the product  You can do the job
that you are selling!  You want the job
 Good salespeople know  You will fit in
their product and can sell
the key benefits
2. Preparation
Know the job – do your research
 Be very clear about the job and person
requirements
 Understand what the core aspects / tasks
of the job will involve – what is being
asked of you?
Professional standards, ethnics, values
Know the sector

 Research
 The organisation (Who they are; history)
 Strategy, priorities and challenges
 Government strategies
 Professional bodies (RCN, GTCNI, NISCC,
HPC)
Get yourself ready
 Prepare answers to likely interview
questions
 Identify any questions you want to ask
 Determine what to wear
 Be sure about time and place of interview
 Get any documents ready to take with you
3. Types of questions
Types of questions
 General questions  Competency (or
 Selfawareness behavioural) questions
 Work experience  Time management
 Knowledge of  Communication
organisation  Team Work
 The future  Customer Focus
 Flexibility
 Relationship building
What competencies will I be
assessed on?
 The recruitment advertisement will usually contain clues,
for example:

“you should have the ability to work within a

team, demonstrate initiative and customer focus
and work to timescales with a flexible approach.”

These are the competencies that will be focused on

during the course of the interview.
Structuring your response

 STAR technique
Situation
Task
Action
Result
 Example response using STAR
Q: Good time management is important to be effective as a teacher / social worker /
nurse. Give me an example of how you organise your time. What techniques and
tools do you use?
Situation In 2007 I was working as a HR Officer for a local council. I was
responsible for managing the planning and delivery of training.

Task I was given the task of managing a number of projects being delivered
at the same time and all were working to tight time scales.
Action Firstly I developed an action plan, identifying key tasks and deadlines,
who needed to be involved and kept informed, how often and so on.
On a daily basis I used Microsoft outlook to plan my diary, place
reminders for tasks to be completed, block out time to complete
actions. I used lists to help me monitor my progress each day/week.
I prioritised tasks on the basis of importance and urgency. I reviewed
my action plan on a weekly basis and provided updates to relevant
managers. I was also able to identify when I required support and
negotiated movement of deadlines on occasion
Result The result was that I managed to deliver all projects on time, in
budget and exceed expectations.
Activity
 Preparing for competency interview questions
 Insmall groups identify 3 competencies you might be
questioned on at interview
 Individually produce answers for at least 2 of these
competencies using the STAR technique
 Also produce an answer to the question ‘tell me about
yourself’
4. Creating an impression
Communicating with Impact
 Visual
 55%

 Vocal
 38%

 Verbal
 7%
First impressions count!!
First impressions
 Arrive 10 mins early
 Waiting room
 Smart and professional attire
 Opening conversation
 Confidence and Approachability!
First impressions are important
 Give a firm and positive handshake
 Good posture and body language.
 Pay attention to eye contact
 Be yourself and be honest
 Listen to the question – if you don’t understand,
ask for further explanation
 Take a second to think before engaging mouth!
 Be positive
 Be sensitive to the interviewer - look for signals of
boredom / irrelevance
At the end of the interview…
 Ask the job-related questions you
prepared for the interview.
 Thank the person for the interview and
their interest in you as a potential
employee or student.
 Shake hands firmly on the way out. Don’t
forget to smile!
5. Dos and Don’ts
Do’s
 Preparation and research
 Eye contact and posture
 Turn off your mobile!
 Avoid using poor
language, slang, and
‘filler speech’
 Show off the research
you have done on the
company and industry
when responding to
questions
 Show what you can do for
the organisation rather
than what they can do for
you
Don'ts!!
 Fidget  Be negative about
 Lose focus on the former employers
question being asked  Enquire about terms
 Rely on your and conditions or
application or CV to benefits
do the selling for you  Lie!
 Draw attention to
negative attributes