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Interview Skills
Careers and Student Employability
Overview
• Interviews – the facts• Types of interviews• Interview questions• Contacts• Questions
Question time
What is an interview? How do we feel about interviews? What percentage of applicants reach the
interview stage?
The Interview: facts
If you reach the interview stage of an application process you are there for one reason – the employer believes you have the potential to do the job!
It remains for them to decide if you are the best candidate
Selection = prediction. It is not an exact science!
Interview facts
• Employers judge prospective employees in the first few minutes as follows:-
• 55% on how we look• 38% on how we sound• Only 7% on what we say
Presentation
• Look good– clean clothes, hair, shoes, nails
• Wear appropriate clothes• Positive body language• Turn off your mobile phone• Don’t panic!• Sell yourself
Planning
• Plan your route www.tfl.gov.uk• Remember the name of your
interviewer(s) and their contact number• Take a copy of your application and a pen
& pad• Arrive early (at least 30 minutes)• If you take a newspaper – make sure it is
a quality one
Types of interviews
Telephone - before- during – after http://employability.uelconnect.org.uk/page
s/interviews_and_assessment_centre/0/interviews_and_assessment_centres.html
Face to face – before – during – after http://employability.uelconnect.org.uk/page
s/interviews_and_assessment_centre/65/face_to_face_interviews.html
Interview questions
Typical questions
• Motivational Questions• Competency Questions• Scenario questions• Random Questions
Motivational Questions
These are questions designed to assess your level of interest in the job/role/company/sector.
Examples: “Why have you applied for this role”? “Why are you interested in working for us”?
Motivational questions/responses illustrate very well the 93/7% split
Competency Questions
Most jobs – including trainee graduate roles- are built around a specific set of competencies e.g. communication, interpersonal, problem solving
Questions will be asked to assess your potential in regard to these competencies
Typical structure – “Can you tell us about a time when…..”
The CAR approach
CAR can be used to respond to competency questions
Context: describe the context in which you are deriving your answer
Action: the steps you took to resolve the given situation (Most important!)
Result: the result of your actions and any reflections you can make on them
Scenario Questions
Similar to competency but more hypothetical e.g. “How would you handle this situation”?
Responses can either be based on previous experience or how you imagine you might respond in the given situation
Random Questions
In certain environments e.g. non public sector the employer may ask more random questions either based on your application or simply to assess how you react to unpredictable questions
Useful websites
http://www.uel.ac.uk/employability/index.htm
http://www.uelconnect.org.uk/employability/
http://www.uelconnect.org.uk/employability/interviews/index.html
http://www.prospects.ac.uk
Further Support
Book a mock interview with a CaSE Careers Consultant
Attend CaSE’s Career Development Workshops
Attend our “Day in the Life” programme to hear from employers about how they work
Attend our annual Careers Fair – 5th June Go online to our website -Interview
Simulator!
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