Interview Workshop

Resource

Face to Face and Virtual

How to prepare forfuture interviews

What makes a good interview?

In this Session.

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What is an Interview?

An interview is a recruitment tool which can be used for employment, volunteering or to fill places with an education or training provider.

It is a conversation where questions are asked by the interviewer to gather information, facts or statements from the interviewee that will help them to decide whether a person is the right person for the position.

Has anyone experienced an interview whether for work, work experience, volunteering, school etc including any informal ones?

Question

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Who Would You Interview?

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When you find out you’ve got an interview

On the day/night before an interview

On the day of your interview

Preparing for a Virtual Interview.

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Preparing for a Virtual Interview.

Prepare

Prepare

Test your technology

Check your environment

Remove any distractions

Think about body language

Dress smart

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A judgment is made in the first 90 seconds of meeting someone for the first time.

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Which action has the biggest impression on an interviewer?

Rate from highest to lowest

First Impressions.

Question Words

Body language

Tone

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55% of interviewers say that body language has the biggest impression on them when they first meet an interviewee

First Impressions.

Answer Body language: 55%

Tone: 38%

Words: 7%

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How can we use body language and tone to do well in an interview?

How should we not conduct ourselves at interview? e.g. chewing gum.

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Common Interview Questions

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“Tell Me About Yourself.”

How you respond to this question can set the tone for the rest of the interview.

You want to tell a great story about yourself that you can share in no more than two minutes. In your response, you can do the following:

1. Mention experiences and proven successes that relate to the position

2. Consider how your studies / experience relate to the job you’re applying for

3. Highlight your personality to break the ice

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Tell Me About Yourself.

Mention hobbies that demonstrate intellectual development and/or community engagement (e.g., reading, music, sports, volunteering) or those that showcase personal discipline and achievement (e.g., learning a new skill, training for a half marathon).

Go into detail about your private life or feel like you have to share something you don’t want to.

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“What do you know about us?” “Why do you want to work for us?”

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Companies prefer candidates who want to work for them, so they look for candidates who have done their research.

• LinkedIn • Google • Company Page• Industry publications

• Company Blog • Instagram • Facebook • Twitter

Places you can research a company:

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“What are your strengths?”

Example:

My greatest strength is my people skills. Part of that comes from my ability to maintain strict levels of confidentiality, I’m to go to person when my classmates & friends need advice or just someone to listen.

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“What are your weaknesses?”

Example:

I feel my weakness is my presenting skills although I’m currently working this. I’ve recently been practicing in front of the mirror which has really helped. Although I’m not yet ready to present to a large audience I’m now confident enough to present to a smaller group.

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Curve Ball Questions.

Curveball questions are questions that you might not expect to be. They are used to catch you off guard and test how you react under pressure.

There are obviously no right answers to questions like these, but this is your chance to be creative and really impress with your honesty / inventiveness depending on the question.

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Curve Ball Questions. Good answer:

‘I booked today as annual leave. I know colleagues who have lied about their whereabouts in the past, but it’s not something I’d be comfortable doing’

Example Question:

“Where does your boss think you are now?”

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Curve Ball Questions.

Example Question:

“Where does your boss think you are now?”

Bad answer:

‘At my Nan’s funeral’

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Which animals would you consider good or bad answer and why?

Activity

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Competency based questions require candidates to use real-life examples as the basis of their answers.

Candidates should explain why they made certain decisions, how they implemented these decisions and why certain outcomes took place.

Describe a time when you….

Competency-Based Questions.

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STAR Technique.

Set the scene Describe the purpose Explain what you did Share the outcome

Situation Task Action Result

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Share an example of a time you faced a difficult problem at work. How did you solve this problem?

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Situation.

I was working as a retail manager at a department store during prom season. A customer purchased a dress online and had it delivered to the store. One of my associates accidentally put the dress out on the floor, where another customer immediately purchased it.

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Task.

Find the best solution possible to provide great customer service in the given circumstances.

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Action.

Before calling the customer to let her know about the mistake, I located the same dress at another store location nearby. I ordered it to be pressed and delivered to her home the morning of prom, along with a gift card to thank her for her understanding.

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Result.

The customer was so thankful, she wrote us a five-star review on several review sites.

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Activity

In pairs, discuss your top 2 face-to-face & virtual interview tips you think are the most useful and why?

Interview Tips.

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Mock up interviews.

Time to practice our interview skills.

Use the tips you’ve learnt on body language, common interview questions and the STAR technique to help.

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Mock up interviews.

• Body Language – How did you engage?

• Answers – Do you feel you answered the questions well?

• Presentation - How did you present yourself?

• What could you improve on?

• What did you find hardest about the interviews?

• Were there any questions you didn’t expect?

• What were you most worried about?

• What surprised you ?

How you think the interviews went?

What Have You Learned?

In pairs, discuss what you’ve learned about face-face & virtual interview. Any surprises?

Activity

Any Questions?