Kitabı oku: «Interview»
Interview
Secrets
The experts tell all!
Heather Salter
Table of Contents
Cover Page
Title Page
Author’s note
Overcome your fear of interviews
Applying for the job
1.1 Pick the right job
1.2 Choose the right sector
1.3 Research the organization
1.4 Avoid rose-tinted glasses
1.5 Get on the shortlist
1.6 Deal with disappointment
1.7 Get references
Writing your CV
2.1 Present yourself well
2.2 Get the right things in
2.3 Make your profile precise
2.4 Keep it short
2.5 Be accurate
2.6 Complete the application form
2.7 Write a good letter
Preparing for the interview
3.1 Get ready
3.2 Gather the evidence
3.3 Know yourself
3.4 Look the part
3.5 Build rapport
3.6 Look at body language
3.7 Get practice
3.8 Ask questions
3.9 Deal with surprises
Types of interview
4.1 Cope with unstructured interviews
4.2 Cope with semi-structured interviews
4.3 Cope with auditions and role play
4.4 Cope with competency-based interviews
4.5 Handle telephone interviews
4.6 Face more than one interviewer
4.7 Prepare for multistage interviews
Assessment Centres
5.1 Understand personality profile tests
5.2 Know the other psychometric tests
5.3 Prepare for individual exercises
5.4 Prepare for group exercises
5.5 Prepare for ‘in tray’ exercises
5.6 Deal with the competition
5.7 Try, try and try again
The day of the interview
6.1 Make an impression
6.2 Keep to the point
6.3 Provide the evidence
6.4 Give detailed answers
6.5 Be positive
6.6 Stay confident
6.7 Don’t be thrown by poor interviewers
After the interview
7.1 Make a decision
7.2 Negotiate
7.3 Take the next steps
7.4 Make your review positive
7.5 Don’t be afraid to get help
7.6 Look to the future
Jargon buster
Further reading
About the author
Copyright
About the Publisher
Author’s note
This book is dedicated to my very first interviewer and first boss, Arthur Parr, without whose coaching and mentoring I would never have progressed to where I am today.
Overcome your fear of interviews
After 25 years working in recruitment, training and development, I’ve seen how people dread interviews, many to the point where they start to suffer symptoms of stress at the very thought. Believe me, it doesn’t have to be like this.
If the very thought of an interview strikes fear into you to the point of mental blankness, or whether you just want to perfect your techniques and understanding of what interviewers are looking for then this is the book for you.
I have trained many people on a group and one-to-one basis on how to handle interview planning and performance. The key is in the preparation. You can choose to treat the book as a training course and work through each section and prepare at the same time, or you may want to flick through it and then come back when you need to. Either way, I am sure you will find what you are looking for.
People go from being terrified and inaudible to being confident and persuasive. I have no doubt that if you follow the 50 secrets in this book, you will be able to do the same. The secrets are spread over seven themed chapters:
Applying for the job. Have a clear idea of what you are looking for in a job and what’s important to you.
Writing your CV. The key to finding yourself on the shortlist for the job is all in the writing of your CV, so let’s have a look at what makes a good one.
Preparing for the interview. Now that you’re on the shortlist there are things that you can do to prepare for the big day and help you improve your presentation and your confidence.
Types of interview. There are many types of interviews. We will take a look at the whole range, from unstructured to very structured, so that you are ready for everything.
Assessment Centres. Many businesses now use whole-day – or sometimes longer – Assessment Centres to choose the right people. Assessment Centres involve a whole range of activities, so if you are invited to one this will help you prepare.
The day of the interview. Let’s look at how to remain confident and calm, and deliver your very best performance.
After the interview. Well the interview is over but what did you learn about yourself? This is an excellent opportunity to review your performance, get feedback and plan for the future.
If you currently lack confidence (or even if you are over-confident), if you use this book as a workbook and do the exercises all the way through then you will be well on your way to getting the job of your dreams.
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. This applies just as much to job interviews as to the world of work.
Applying for the job
You’ve seen an advert in the paper or heard about a job from a friend. So what’s the first thing you do – put the CV in the post and keep your fingers crossed? Well, let’s just take a few steps back and consider what’s really important to you, so you don’t apply for the wrong job. What sector or type of company would suit you best? You spend a long time at work so let’s choose wisely. Then we’ll move on to making the application and getting onto the shortlist.
1.1 Pick the right job
It is easy to get carried away by a job title and a good salary, but at the end of the day what is really important to you about the job? You will be spending a large percentage of your day working in the job, so taking some time out at the beginning will help you focus on what you really want.
Let’s take a look at some of the areas that you may want to consider before you decide whether you really want to apply for any job.
A two-way process. As human beings we are driven by our internal beliefs, values and goals although we are not often consciously aware of them. Finding the right job is a two-way process – the company will be looking to see if you are right for them; you need to see if they are right for you. Make sure that you have your list of what’s important to you clear in your mind before you apply.
What are your values and beliefs? Make a list of what the important factors to you are in any job and how the job fits with the other parts of your life – time for hobbies, family etc. Do this by asking yourself the question “what’s important to me in a job” and ask this at least seven times and write down your answers. You’ll be surprised when you get to the seventh time what’s really important to you.
one minute wonder Don’t waste your time and effort applying for jobs and going for interviews if they don’t meet your own personal values, beliefs or goals. If you accept a job for the wrong reasons you will soon become unsettled and have to start the search all over again.
Do you want a job or a career? Some readers may only be interested in just having a job, whilst others may be at the start of a career. There is nothing wrong with either, but just know which is right for you. If this is part of a career plan then make sure that the jobs you apply for fit in with your longer term plans and help you to get to your eventual goal. Don’t get side-tracked. If it’s “just a job” then go back to asking yourself what’s really important to you. We spend a long time at work so you want to get the best fit that will make you happy.
Make up your own ‘decision matrix’. Write a list of what’s important to you down the left hand side of a piece of paper, with everything that you are looking for, including salary and benefits that you want. Then across the top you can put columns for each of the jobs that you are applying for. Do your homework and see how many ticks you can put in the box. This is known as a ‘decision matrix’. Later on if you have to make a decision between one or more job offers this may prove very useful. In putting this together you now have a start point.
Whether you just want a job or you’re thinking about a career, taking time out to really think through what you want helps focus you in your search.
1.2 Choose the right sector
Having looked at your values and beliefs in the last section you may have come to the conclusion that certain sectors of the job market place are ruled out for you, or you have some big question marks hanging over areas you don’t know about. Which companies do you really admire? What is it that you really like?
Let’s take a look at some of the areas you may want to consider and then you can do some more research if you want to know more.
Large businesses. If we take the UK as an example, large business accounts for about 0.2% of businesses in the UK and yet employs somewhere around 52% of all employees according to a survey by HMRC in 2006. Larger businesses may be multinational and give opportunities to move abroad. If you have language capabilities or a desire to work in another country this may be a good opportunity.
one minute wonder Finding the right type of business for you to work in is critical to your long term success. Make a list of companies you admire and then try to work out what it is that you really like about them.
Small and medium-sized businesses (SME). In the UK, statistics showed in 2009 that 0.6% of businesses employed between 50-249 people and that 99.3% employed up to 5 people. So the SME business in the UK is very large. What about the country you are in? With access to the Internet you should be able to find out more of your country’s statistics.
Charities/not for profit organizations. There are a large number of well-known charities that work all over the world, as well as the local charities which run totally on volunteers. The numbers of jobs will be fewer as the reliance has to be on volunteers, but these are businesses like any other. The key difference is that you may want to work in an area that you can help to make a difference to others’ lives and this may fit with your personal values.
The public sector. Local government and jobs that are government funded may appeal to some more than others. You may see this as a more secure post, or want to make a contribution to your own neighbourhood or the country you live in.
Each of us has a different vision of the perfect job. Make a list of the type of businesses you want to work in.
1.3 Research the organization
If you are considering applying for a specific job that you have seen, now’s the time to really do some research. When you are considering joining a new company you are probably committing to at least a year working with them.
It’s worth investing some time in getting to know more about the company so that you can start to decide whether it’s the sort of place you want to spend your working hours in – work is a huge part of our lives after all.
Going for an interview can feel like going on a blind date. Would you really want to turn up on a date without knowing anything at all about the other person? If you do there’s probably a 50/50 chance of success, it would be likely flipping a coin – heads you win, tails you lose. So shall we make the odds a bit better than that so that you don’t waste your time?
What would you want to know about the company? Well that will vary from person to person but here are some of the areas that you might want to check out.
one minute wonder Find out as much as you can about the company beforehand and be ready to impress the interviewer with your knowledge of their business. Make a list of some great questions to ask them.
Are they financially sound? You can get hold of a copy of their Annual Report or research their last accounts through Companies House (in the UK – it may be different in other countries). Would you want to join a company that was in severe financial difficulties? It may be a big risk, so it’s worth knowing.
Does the company publish their values? Most companies these days have a website where you can find out quite a lot about them. Some even publish the company’s core values and mission statement which will tell you a lot about what their intentions for the business are. Have a look at your own checklist in Secret 1.1 and see if they match.
Has there been anything in the press recently? The Internet is a great resource and you can browse to find out where there are any mentions of the company. On some company websites they have a section with press releases. Read them and find out more.
Do you know anyone who works there? If you can find someone who works there – someone you either know personally or through your network of friends and contacts – that will give you a better picture of what it’s like to work for the company. Finding out about the company’s culture will help you decide whether it’s the right sort of place for you.
If you are working in a financially secure business now, would you want to leap into another one without checking them out first?
1.4 Avoid rose-tinted glasses
When we start to look for another job we often only see what we want to see or hear what we want to hear. We blind ourselves to the downsides or negative aspects of the job and only focus on the positives. We only look at the areas where we have got the skills and ignore the others. Not a wise move!
Maybe we see the salary and benefits posted with the advert and are really attracted by the hope of an increase in our income. Maybe it’s
case study One of my small business clients had advertised for an assistant. This would be the very first person she had recruited to help her with the business. She received a beautifully crafted CV which seemed to have everything she was looking for. So she went ahead and interviewed the person and everything went well and she was on the point of offering her the job. Then the prospect started to unravel. It turned out that the person had very little experience on the computer and when asked to undertake a very brief test on typing a document and inputting to a spreadsheet she couldn’t actually do it! When asked why she had applied in the first place the woman said that she wanted part-time hours and this was the first job she saw that offered her exactly what she wanted. She had got her daughter to type up her CV. What was the point? Why go along to an interview knowing that you don’t have some of the key skills they asked for?
one minute wonder Look through the job advert and the requirements and make sure that you have the skills to apply for the job. You are wasting your own time applying for jobs that you cannot do. You will be found out!
the job title that we think we need, deserve or want. There can be any number of reasons why we fall in love with the prospect of the new job.
When you get the job advert or job description, go through and highlight all the requirements that you don’t actually meet with a yellow highlighter. Then go back and see if they are major or minor. If they are major gaps, then it’s not worth applying for the job. If they are minor, you may want to apply, but put in the letter that accompanies it an honest statement to say that you meet most of the criteria and are willing to learn or train on the points that are missing.
You may be lucky. If the advert does not attract the exact right candidate the company may consider making small adjustments, but don’t count on it and do be honest at the outset. If you apply for another position with this company at a later date this may count against you.
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