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How to Have a Successful Job
Interview
This toolkit aims to help youth educators working with young
people who have applied for a job and have received a call to
be interviewed by a prospective employer or a recruitment
agency. By using this toolkit, it will be possible to assist
that young person in preparing better for a successful job
interview
Job interviews are commonly regarded as one of the most
stressful events in a person’s life, especially that of a
first-time job seeker’s. But job interviews don’t have to
be near-hysterical, stressful events. By preparing yourself
for a job interview, you should be able to manage most of the
events which take place during the interview.
Job interviews are usually scheduled to take place after an
employer has received all of the written applications for an
available position. Curriculum vitae and application letters
will be examined and from that a short-list of potential
candidates will be drawn up. If you exaggerated or lied in
your CV, there is a very strong chance that things will go
very poorly during the interview, so don’t lie and make sure
that you spend time preparing before you arrive for your
interview.
There are several types of interviews which job seekers may
have to tackle. But here are just two of the main ones with
which you may have to deal:
A screening interview is exactly that – it is about
screening. Employers can receive dozens of applications and in
order to compile a short-list of suitable candidates, they may
ask a recruitment agency or the company’s human resources
manager to run screening interviews from applicants whose
curriculum vitae they have short-listed. Screening interviews
can be conducted over the telephone or they can be
face-to-face ones. Irrespective of where they are conducted,
the primary objective of the interview is for the recruiter or
HR manager to get an idea in a short-space of time about
whether or not you are what you claimed to be in your
curriculum vitae. If so, then you may be asked to participate
in a selection interview.
A selection interview is an interview designed for two
decisions be made. The first decision, and the one most often
discussed, is for the employer to determine if you will fit
into the company or organisation at which the position is
available. In larger organisation, it might be the case that
you will be interviewed several times and by several people
within the organisation. The type of people who may be present
include the manager or director, the human resource manager, a
trade union representative or even a person who is from the
department or section in which you may be employed. It is
usually the case that the people who will be interviewing you
will have arranged a meeting before your interview begin to
determine what types of questions they will ask you and the
other candidates. Applicants are not always the only ones who
are nervous during job interviews. Human resource managers
have also sometimes said that they are nervous because it is
their responsibility to find new employees! The second
decision, unfortunately, is often not discussed enough with
young people who are searching for jobs. A selection interview
is not just about an employer deciding whether or not you
should be hired. A critical and often neglected objective of
the interview is for you to determine whether or not you can
fit into the environment in which the job is available. A
successful interview doesn’t necessarily mean that you get
hired. A successful interview could also be one which leads
you to the decision not to work at a company after meeting and
talking to the manager or human resource manager. If you
develop a sense during the interview that your principles and
values differ significantly from those of the people
interviewing you, then you need to think carefully about
deciding to work there. Making that decision can be
nerve-wracking, especially for someone who has never had a job
and isn’t sure about whether or not another opportunity will
come along. But if you feel that you are incompatible with the
environment, then don’t accept the position.
Now that you know about the difference between a selection and
a screening interview, here are some essential tips for
helping you succeed at those interviews.
It is quite common for applicants to spend time worrying about
what they should wear to an interview. Although we will
discuss briefly the issue of clothing, we want to emphasise
that there is a much more significant form of preparation
which is required. But before discussing that, here are
several tips about deciding what to wear:
The rule of thumb is to match your clothes to the type of job
which you have applied for. Most people think of the banking
or insurance sectors as conservative places to work and so,
they opt to wear suits and ties to their interviews in that
sector. Women might opt to wear trouser suits or skirt suits
to their interviews, too. If you don’t have a suit, there is
no problem with borrowing clothes from a friend or family
member who is exactly the same size as you. One of the most
ridiculous things which you can do is to buy clothing
specifically for a job interview. That’s a waste of money
and can get you into debt, so avoid it. But the thing to look
out for is to see whether the borrowed item of clothing
actually fits you properly. If it doesn’t fit, irrespective
of how impressive it might be, don’t wear it.
A second thing to think about is to match your clothes to the
type of company which you have applied to work at. If you have
no idea about how employees dress, then a few days before the
interview, pop into the reception area and introduce yourself
to the receptionist and while you are doing that, look around
you to see what the employees are wearing. Don’t become a
stalker while doing that but do tell the receptionist that you
just wanted to confirm that this was the physical address and
that you would like to collect some company brochures so you
can find out more about what the company does. If you can’t
visit the company before hand, visit their website and look at
photographs of employees on their company website. You will
soon figure out whether or not this is a formal, smart casual
or casual place!
A second rule of thumb is to opt for an understated set of
clothes for an interview. Simple, neat, well-fitting clothes
will help communicate an impression that you care about what
you look like and will be presentable to clients. Another big
reason for opting for understated clothes is that they won’t
introduce any unusual tics into your body language. Imagine if
you opted to wear expensive, stiletto heels to an interview
and then found out that you had to take a tour through a
greasy factory floor! You might end up hopping from one patch
to another to avoid getting grease on your shoes!
Finding out about the company or organisation which you have
applied to is critically important. This cannot be emphasised
enough and is one of the main things which first-time job
seekers fail to do. It is also not enough just to find out
about the organisation, you also need to know something about
the sector in which that company works. Here is an example:
Imagine that you have applied to work at SUV International, a
company which makes sports utility vehicles, as a salesperson.
Before applying for the job, the first time you heard about
SUV International was when they placed an advert in the
newspaper calling for applications. What you have to do is to
find out about SUV International and about the motor industry.
You can do this in several ways:
Visit the company’s website and find out more about them.
Definitely look for information about what they do or sell –
i.e. their products and services – and who their customers
or clients are. Pay particular attention to whether or not
they are a local or an international company; the size of the
organisation; how many employees it has; where the company’s
office is based; what the company’s vision is; and who is
competitors are.
Take time to go to the company’s office a few days before
your interview and ask the receptionist for any brochures
which you can have and read about the company. Explain that
you have applied for a job and want to find out more. Most
receptionists will willingly provide you with brochures which
you can read.
Read the newspapers to find out what is happening in the motor
industry. The business sections of most daily newspapers will
provide you with some information. Try to find out whether or
not the sector is growing or in recession. If it is in
recession, then you know that you will have many challenges in
your job as a salesperson. Also try to find out about whether
or not there have been labour disputes in the sector over the
last few months. If there have been, then you will know that
labour relations in the workplace between management and
labourers might be strained and could be contributing to
stress among employees.
If you know someone who works at the company or who works at a
competitor company, you can always chat to them to find out
their opinions about the state of the industry or sector.
Read job advertisements in newspapers and on websites to find
our what the typical salary range is for people in similar
positions for which you would be applying. It’s a very good
idea to find out this information as you might be asked to
indicate what salary you want to earn during your interview.
All of this will help you to show to the people who will
interview you that you are aware of who they are and what
their company is about.
Another important step in the process of preparing for an
interview is to think about the questions which you will be
asked. Get a friend or family member to role-play the role of
a potential employer and practice answering the types of
questions which usually crop up in typical job interviews.
There are some very common questions which get asked and there
are also some completely unexpected ones. Here are just a few
examples:
"Tell us about yourself". This is an open-ended
question and is usually aimed at determining whether or not
you are articulate, confident and self-aware. How you choose
to answer this question is critical. Don’t ever answer this
question with the response "Well, what do you want to
know?" This suggests that you are either unprepared or
unsure of yourself. Spend time thinking beforehand how you
would answer this question and getting comfortable with
describing who you are.
"Why do you want to work for us?" The answer to this
question will tell a potential employer straight away about
whether or not you did some background research on the company
before you arrived at the interview. You also need to think
about why you want to work for the company and you need to
give a convincing, honest reason for why. In simple and clear
language, you need to explain why you regard the company as
the perfect place for you to work. Some of the reasons which
could contribute to why you wish to work there could be
factors such as it is a market leader in the sector or it has
really shown commitment to corporate social responsibility or
it is widely regarded as a company which cares for its
employees.
"Tell us about your strengths and weaknesses". This
question is designed to see if you are confident, honest and
self-aware. If you only mention your strengths, you might end
up looking arrogant. If you mention only your weaknesses, you
might end up sounding insecure. Before the interview, draw up
a list of 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses. Then spend time
thinking about how you could describe these to someone who has
never met you without sound like you are a sociopath or a
narcissist. Some people choose to identify characteristics
about themselves which are both weaknesses and strengths. Here
is an example: "I am a good listener but it can be a
drawback because a few people can abuse that by always
demanding that I listen to their problems. So I take care to
listen but to let someone know when he or she is taking
advantage of my time".
"What do you think your salary should be". This
question is aimed at determining several things. Firstly,
whether or not you have done background research on what the
typical salary is for the type of position in the industry.
Secondly, it lets an employer know whether or not you have
over-estimated your potential earnings. As we mentioned
earlier, you need to know what the typical salary is for
similar positions to the one you have applied for. So a
suitable response might be one which says something about the
range of lowest to highest salaries for the position across
the industry.
Not all interviews include being asked only standard
questions. Sometimes, an interviewer could throw a completely
unusual question at you in order to see how you perform when
asked something completely out of the ordinary. Here is an
example: "If you were a book, what book would you
be?" If you get this type of question, don’t panic and
respond with "I don’t have a clue!" Rather respond
by asking for a few moments to think about your response and
while doing that, take a few deep breaths. After a handful of
seconds, you should have been able to get your shock or
surprise sufficiently under control in order to come up with a
response.
As we all know, interviews are about questions but it is not
just about questions which you have to answer. Think about
what questions you want to ask your potential employers. Here
are some suggestions about the types of questions to ask:
What types of training and support are available for new
employees?
How would you describe the culture of the company?
How will my performance in my job be evaluated and who will do
it?
What is involved in a typical day at the office in this
company and how is it different from a competitor company?
Who are the people in the team or department which you hope to
join and how long have they worked at the company?
How has the company been affected by changes taking place in
the sector or industry?
One of the main topics which you will see missing from the
above list is the question about salary and benefits. On this
topic, opinion is divided. There are some people who think
that you should never ask this question in an interview but
there are others who think that you should. If you do ask
about salary and benefits, it’s a good idea not to ask that
as your first question. In most instances, though, a potential
employer will tell you about salary and benefits without you
even having to ask.
As part of your preparation, you should also pay attention to
getting comfortable with speaking. Make sure that you sound
naturally confident and self-assured but don’t try to recall
responses with perfect recall. That will make you sound
insincere and affected. If you do sound a bit nervous, don’t
worry too much as most people appreciate that it is a
nerve-wracking experience.
Some other tips on how to behave during an interview are:
Don’t rush your responses. If you are asked a question, you
don’t have to answer immediately. If you need time to think
about a response, say so. There is absolutely nothing wrong
with there being a few moments of silence before answering as
this will create the impression that you are thinking about
your answer. If you cannot think of a suitable response, you
could always ask for the interviewer to proceed to the next
question and to re-ask the one which you missed a bit later in
the interview.
Sitting up straight and keeping eye contact is important. As
uncomfortable as it may feel, eye contact is essential as is
good posture. Practice this at home during your role-play.
Shaking hands during the introduction is important and it is
not something which only men do. Even if you are a woman, it
is a good idea to shake hands with your interviewer. Shake
firmly and quickly and then wait to be told to sit down.
Don’t just sit down without being invited to do so or told
where to sit.
Make sure you know exactly where your interview is. Do not
leave it to the day of your interview to find out where the
location is.
Arrive 10 minutes before the interview commences. The rule of
thumb here is that 10 minutes before tells the potential
employer that you are interested and prompt. Arriving late is
an absolute "no-no" and arriving too early could
suggest you have too much time on your hands.
If you have a cellular or mobile telephone with you, turn it
off as soon as you walk in the company’s front door. Never
let your phone ring, beep or vibrate during an interview. If
you do, that immediately says to the potential employer that
you are more interested in your telephone than you are in the
job.
Don’t interrupt the interviewers
when they ask questions.
Avoid verbal tics such as ‘um’ or ‘ah’ or ‘uh’
when giving a response.
Don’t answer with only ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers but try
to give a complete answer to the question.
If, for whatever reason, you do not hear or understand a
question asked of you, then ask the interviewer to repeat it
or to rephrase the question. Listen carefully to the question
asked because you may end up responding to something which you
weren’t asked. And if that happens, it could suggest that
you don’t listen carefully or could make you look like a
fool.
Thank the interviewer after the interview is over for the
opportunity and their time. Also remember to find out from him
or her when you can expect to find out about whether or not
you will get the job.
Sometimes an interviewer may walk with you to the front door
once the interview is over. This is usually a chance for them
to find out how accomplished you are at small talk. Try to
avoid personal questions or riffling through your wallet or
purse for pictures of your family which you want him or her to
see. Rather ask a question about the building such as
"this is a very beautiful office, when was it
built?" or try something like "I see that you
haven’t opted for open-plan offices. Do you think that
open-plan offices increase or decrease productivity?"
A job interview starts from the moment you walk through the
door. If you look disorganised or are impolite to a
receptionist and people waiting in the waiting room, that will
definitely create the impression that you are abrupt, rude and
insincere.
With better preparation before the interview takes place, you
can be sure that it will go much more smoothly and you may
even end up enjoying the experience, irrespective of whether
or not you decide to take the position offered to you!
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M.A.D.
Making a Difference
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Our Time is Now !!
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