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You’re Hired! Interview Skills that Make a Difference
Snježana Linkeš, Career Counsellor
M.Ed. (Counselling Psychology), CCC, CCC-S
slinkes2@uwo.ca
http://www.success.uwo.ca
January 9th 2015
Your expectations from the workshop?
• What do you know about interview?
Interview skills
Non-verbal communication
Interview formats
Interview questions
Presentation Overview
Your Personal Experience
What is your biggest concern and fear regarding self-promotion?
Confirm the impression gathered from resume, cover letter, references
Showing :
If you have skills and competencies of doing the job?
Showing :
Are you motivated to do the job and do
it well?
Showing : Are you the person with whom they will like working; do you make good addition to the team?
The Interview is the most important stage in the selection process
Developing Interview Skills
Interview skills must be learned and practised
Interviews are challenging, and often stressful
situations
First impressions are critical: you will “make or break”
your opportunities within the first few minutes of the
interview
There is no substitution for being prepared
•Commitment to students and student learning • Professional knowledge • Professional practice • Leadership in learning communities • Ongoing professional learning
Standard of Practice for the Teaching Profession Framework of principles that describes the knowledge, skills
and values inherent in Ontario’s Teaching Profession:
Screening Interview
Panel Interview
One-to-One Interview
Interview Formats
Teaching pool – as the first phase of selection
Eligibility to be hired
Pool for contract and occasional teaching position
Interviewer is often done by 3-6 principals
Identifies candidates who have the minimum qualifications stablished for a position
Shorter interview (15-20 minutes)
First impression
Screening Interview
Panel Interview
•Also known as Board Interview (30 minutes long) •Interview conducted by 2 or more interviewers at the same time (principal, vice principal, department head) •Meant to reduce individual bias in the final selection •One member may ask all questions OR panel members will take turns •Maintain eye contact with the person asking the question
•Often conducted by a direct supervisor (principal) •Be thoroughly prepared for this interview
– Know the job and know yourself
– This one person may be the only one deciding whether or not you
have what it takes to be successful in the position or role
One-to-One Interview
Strategies for Interview Success
Know yourself (personal, experience, skills, qualifications, curriculum, teaching strategies, classroom management)
Research the position
Research the school (reputation, location, size, number of employees, number of students)
Choose the “professional interview outfit”
Arrive early (5-10 minutes)
Before the
Interview
Non-Verbal Behaviour
Practice: Hand shake, eye contact, introduction, posture
Eye Contact • Indicates interest, confidence and sincerity
Facial Expressions • Smiling indicates warmth and friendliness
Posture • Good posture shows confidence and power potential
Gestures • Should be minimal, natural and meaningful
Space
• Interviewers become uncomfortable if their personal space is invaded
• A meter is a common “social zone” for more extraverted people while more space may
be required for others
Messages Implied by Body Language
Openness and Warmth open-lipped smile, open hands with palms visible, unbuttoning jacket upon
being seated
Confidence leaning forward, chin up, upright posture, eye contact
Nervousness
whistling, pinching skin, fidgeting, jiggling pocket contents, running tongue
along front of teeth, clearing throat, running fingers through hair, wringing
hands, biting fingernails or other objects
Untrustworthy/Defensive
frowning, squinting, tight-lipped grin, arms crossed in front of chest, backing
away, chin down, darting eyes, looking down when speaking, clenched
hands, gestures with fist, etc.
Exercise in moderate and regular amounts,
Eat well,
Establish regular sleeping patterns if you can,
Positive Self Talk,
Breathing exercises – abdominal breathing (practice)
Relaxation, Meditation, Visualization,
Some anxiety is helpful – it gives me an edge
Preparing for a stressful situation
Know what is appropriate
Your outfit should be more conservative and formal than the outfit you will wear if you secure the position
Usually, business casual or business formal is appropriate
Include:
Clean, polished shoes (no running shoes) Well-groomed hair and nails No fragrance (may be disallowed at the workplace) Rule of 3 for jewellery No gum, or distracting items (e.g. change in pockets)
Dress for Success
Dress for Success Women: Dark, conservative suit or pantsuit; Avoid bold patterns;
Use makeup conservatively
Rule of 3 = Jewelry
Men: dark, conservative suit, keep tie conservative, plain shirt with
contrasting tie, solid colour suit (gray, black, navy), polished shoes;
cologne-minimal/none
Greet with firm handshake, eye contact
Think positively and interact with confidence
If you don’t understand a question – ask
Before you answer, organize thoughts (pause)
Story telling – STARS
Near the end of interview, reinforce your interest
Ask appropriate questions
Thank the interviewer at the end of interview
During the Interview
Structured the most reliable for comparing
candidates (same set of questions in the same order
Semi-structured plan set of questions +additional
questions
Unstructured-rare no planned sequence of
questions
Types of Interviews
Behaviour Description Interview
Situational Interview
Comprehensive Structured Interview
Structured Employment Interview Techniques
Interviewer asks for specific example from past experience to determine if you can provide evidence of your skill in a certain area
Past behaviour is a powerful predictor of future behaviour
The more recent the behaviour, the better its predictive power
The more long lasting the behaviour, the better its predictive power
The interviewer will probably be taking descriptive notes throughout
the interview
Research probable skill areas that the employer will be interested in
and will therefore be likely to ask about in the interview
Behavioural Interview
Examples:
1. Describe your most successful team experience.
2. What was your most difficult situation in a class and how did you handle it?
3. Give me an example of a student from whom you learned the most.
4. How did you handle a student who refused to work in your class or do what you asked?
5. Describe a teaching strategy you used to maximize the learning potential of all students.
6. Define cooperative learning and give an example of how you have used it.
Behavioural Interview (cont’d)
Tell stories based upon your:
•Practicum experience •Volunteer work •Participation in activities (school/community) •Part-time/summer jobs •Study/work/travel •Internships •School projects
Story telling
Storytelling Technique
When telling your story use the STARS method:
S Situation Where you were
T Task You were facing
A Action What action you took
R Result The outcome of your action
S Summary Remind interviewer of the skill, strength, lesson
A highly structured interview in which hypothetical situations are described and applicants are asked what they would do
Interviewers use a scoring guide consisting of sample answers to evaluate and score each applicant’s answers
Interview is geared to solving problems
on the spot
Designed to assess logical thought processes, general
knowledge, creativity and communication skills
Situational Interview
Examples:
1. What will you do if a parent of your student approached you with concern that his son was bullied on the school bus on his way home?
2. What will you do if you haven’t seen your student’s parents and you have been unable to reach the parents during the first 3 months of school?
3. Some students always finish their assignments early. How would you deal with the free time that they have?
4. How do you accommodate a student with special needs?
5. How do you challenge a gifted student?
Situational Interview
Examples: •Philosophy of teaching •Variety of teaching methods that you use •How do you prepare lesson plan? •How do you track student progress? •How do you collaborate with parents to improve student learning? •Your approach to school discipline •How do you individualize your teaching? Combines situational interview, job knowledge, job simulation and worker characteristic questions Answers are compared to a scoring guide and candidate is rated accordingly
Comprehensive Structured Interview
Tell me something about yourself.
Why have you chosen a teaching career?
What are your goals? Where would you like to be in 5 years?
Why should we hire you? What is unique about you?
What are your experiences working with children?
What are your strengths? Weaknesses?
Questions: Basic Ones
How has your personal background influenced what you are today/your career progression or your interpersonal style?
How do you define success? How successful have you been?
What mistakes have you made during your career?
What is the most adverse situation you have had to deal with in your personal/professional life? How did you deal with it?
What was the outcome?
What is the difference between a good teaching position and an excellent one?
Questions: Tough Ones
By asking questions you show interest in: - the students’ backgrounds, -the school and its staff, - the community, - district policies and - Resources Questions to ask an Interviewer: http://success.uwo.ca/careers/get_a_job/interview_preparation/questions_to_ask_an_interviewer.html
Do you have any question for us?
• Make comprehensive notes
• Overall assessment of the interview
• Questions you answered effectively
• Questions with which you had difficulty; prepare a good answer for next time
• Name of the interviewer
• Notes for future interviews
• Consider sending a thank you letter/e-mail to each person with whom you had contact during the interview process
After the Interview
What else do I need to bring?
Usually requested at the end of the interview
2-3 are ideal (e.g. 2 work-related, 1 academic)
Supply full name, title, company name, business address, contact information (phone, e-mail)
Tip: contact your references prior to the interview to keep them
up to date with your plans
An additional support which includes work samples representing
your skills, accomplishments and past experiences
Include: evidence of lesson planning, unit-building, results
of practicum experience
References
Portfolios
In Canada, employers may NOT ask:
Race, colour, ancestry, place of origin
Religion/creed
Citizenship
Sex/gender
Sexual orientation
Age
Marital status
Family status
Record of offences
For more information, visit Ontario Human Rights Commission http://www.ohrc.on.ca/english/index.shtml
Be Aware of Your Rights
Attitude
Motivation
Lack of energy
No flexibility
Not prepared
What are some common reasons for not getting hired?
We are here to help you with career decisions and employment
Location: 210 UCC
519-661-3559 www.success.uwo.ca
1:1 Career counselling session
WERC
Online and print resources (books, InterviewStream http://uwo.interviewstream.com/ Workshops (request own)
Mock interviews
Interview Preparation
http://success.uwo.ca/careers/get_a_job/interview_preparation/index.html
Interview question formats and answer strategies
http://www.quintcareers.com/intvres.html
Your rights at an interview
http://www.ohrc.on.ca/english/index.shtml
Additional Resources
One thing that you learn from today’s workshop!
Take away
THANK YOU
For your interest and
participation
Snježana Linkeš
slinkes2@uwo.ca
http://www.success.uwo.ca
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