JOBSHOP
A guide to Job Interviews Introduction Getting an invitation to an interview means you have already made a good impression and possess the skills required to do the job; you now need to demonstrate those skills. It is important to be prepared, be confident, dress appropriately and make sure you are polite and friendly to all staff and other candidates you meet. Remember the interview starts when you walk through the door and will not finish until you leave the building.
Preparation Action Point Ø
Note the date, time and place of the interview ensuring you are able to attend and confirm as soon as possible saying you will be pleased to attend the interview.
Prepare for the interview questions In the interview you will need to expand on information given in your application form. The purpose of most of the questions asked at the interview will be to find out about your skills and experience. You need to be prepared to give examples i.e. you may be asked ‘Can you tell us about a time when you used your initiative?’ You will need to be able to give a specific example of when you used your initiative.
A useful strategy for answering questions concisely is to use the STAR technique: §
Situation - briefly describe the where/when/who;
§
Task - outline the task or objective (what you hoped to achieve).
§
Action - describe what you did - focus on your role and your input.
§
Result - what the outcome was and what skills you developed.
You can prepare a number of examples for each of the competencies found in the person specification. Also take a look at the possible questions on page four of this factsheet and write down how you would answer these questions. It is a good idea to keep a copy of these examples, which you can update as you go through your career.