Interviews
You have an interview! CONGRATULATIONS! Take some time to give yourself a pat on the back as you are over the first hurdle and now have the chance to really sell yourself as a person, enhancing what you wrote on your application form.
Most people feel nervous about interviews and a little daunted about the process. Unfortunately it can sometimes affect how you perform on the day so the following sections will hopefully provide you with some information about how interviews work, what is involved and some tips to help you prepare.
Initial Preparation
It can sometimes be helpful to plan out how you are going to prepare for an interview. This will help you to even out your 'study time' so you don't end up cramming into the early hours the day before. The following is a checklist of things you may want to consider doing to prepare for your interview:
- Re-read your copy of the application form and be prepared to expand on some of the issues you have highlighted; for example, you might be asked to talk about your role on specific projects you referred to.
- Re-read the person specification and job description for the post and think very carefully about how your skills and experience match the requirements of the post.
- Think about examples that you could give which could clearly demonstrate your skills and competence. This might be how you dealt with a particularly troublesome person, how you set up an administrative system (manual or computerised), how you solved a difficult problem or gained new business through use of your initiative etc.
- Do some research! Familiarise yourself with the Council and the Directorate/Service that the job is situated in. There is a lot of information on the Council's website. There may also be other websites where you can find useful information; use a good internet search engine to have a look around. The depth of the research you need to do will depend on the job; remember if you are being interviewed for a position as a Caretaker in a school you will not be expected to know all the major issues the Council will be facing over the next 12 months. The job description should give you an idea of how much you will need to know.
Interview Methods
There are several different ways that your competence for a position may be tested at interview. You will generally be expected to answer a set of questions, normally relating to the criteria listed on the person specification you were provided. Your interview letter should tell you if you will be expected do any more than this. Examples of some of the testing methods involved in interviews are as follows:
Questions
The questions that the interview panel ask will normally be related to the criteria within the person specification for the job you have applied for. However, this might be extended to draw out more information about you and your experience and how you might handle certain situations that may arise. There are 2 types of questions that you may be asked:
Closed Questions
Questions that only allow a one word answer, usually yes or no. These are not common in interviews because they do not bring out more than the basic answers; they are used more for clarification purposes.
Open Questions
These usually start with 'what', 'when', 'where', 'how' and 'why' and are inviting you to talk in depth about the subject matter involved. You may need to take a moment to think about your answers to these questions so you can explain 'what' you did and 'why' you did it, making sure that you actually answer the question without digressing. Examples of these types of questions are: What skills/knowledge/personal qualities can you bring to this job? How would you prioritise your work? What experience of supervising staff have you had to date?
Scenario Based Questions
This type of question can be taken one step further and you may be asked a Scenario Based Question. This is when the panel will give you an invented situation e.g. "Mrs Smith has telephoned customer services this morning to say that her bins have not been collected again. Your supervisor is not available and Mrs Smith is very angry and would like you to tell her when her bin will be emptied now and not call her back". You may then be asked several questions relating to this such as - How would you respond in this situation? What might you say to this customer? How do you think you could resolve this problem? These questions can often take a lot of thought and if you need to take some time to ensure you have understood the situation, ask the panel to repeat the scenario so you can relate the question to it.
Have a look at the person specification and think about some of the questions you might be asked to let you draw out all the relevant experience/skills you have.
Presentations
You might be asked to give a presentation as part of your interview. These are usually quite time restricted so if you are given a time to, work to eg a 10 minute presentation, make sure you practise your timing - it is likely that you will be marked on whether or not you can deliver in the time requested. Your presentation subject will usually be given to you in your interview letter. It is advised that you check what equipment is available first; do not assume there will be a computer or an Over Head Projector. To be safe, bring a copy on computer disk and a copy on acetates; if there are any technical hitches on the day, you will be prepared. It is also good practice to bring a copy of your presentation for each panel member; not only is this professional but it will also remind them of what you said.
Written Tests
You may be asked to undertake a written test when you arrive for your interview; you are not always given warning in advance about these. You could be asked to write a report for the management team or prepare a proposal for a new service launch. You will normally be given a scenario first to base your written work on.
In-tray Tests / IT Tests
These tests are quite common with clerical and administrative positions. You will generally be given a set of documents and be asked to prioritise them based on the nature and deadlines that come with each one. Once you have prioritised you may then be asked to action or complete the work on the document. This might be typing a letter, inputting data into a spreadsheet, organising a database into alphabetical order etc. There are several areas here that you will be marked on, timing and accuracy are the main elements. You will need to demonstrate that you can work at an efficient and effective pace so ensure that you read your instructions carefully and if you finish early, proof check everything! The spell checker will not pick up common typing errors such as mixing up 'of' and 'off'.
Ability Tests
These are usually given to test a specific skill or ability such as numeracy for Finance related jobs. They can also go more in-depth into areas such as Psychometric testing. Psychometric assessments give a better understanding of candidates' potential, and can help individuals develop and align their skills to match the demands of specific jobs. The results give an objective indication of an individual's ability, aptitude and potential for acquiring specific skills.
Group Exercises
These exercises require candidates to work together to make decisions about scenarios. You may have assigned group roles or non-assigned group roles. There are a number of different formats for group exercises including leaderless group discussions, construction tasks and survival task discussions. Group exercises are an effective way of assessing a number of different abilities in one exercise.
Role Plays - One to One
These exercises involve you working with a role player/actor and assess your ability to interact with another person. The simulations reflect the role applied for and are specific to the post. You may be asked to deal with a phone call, visit, meeting from a dissatisfied customer or member if staff. These exercises also allow a number of different abilities to be assessed in one exercise.
Attending the Interview
Now you have done all your preparation and you are ready and raring to go here are a few final tips to help see you through your interview:
- Plan what you are going to wear the night before; get it all out and ready to make sure you don't have any last minute emergencies with a stain!
- Always plan to arrive 15 minutes early - this will give you extra time if you are delayed but if you arrive too early, take a walk around the block to relax before you go in.
- Remember to bring any necessary paperwork with you such as exam certificates, portfolio, copies of presentations etc.
- When you are called through for your interview ask for a glass of water; stress and anxiety can cause you to have a dry mouth so you may need some refreshment, especially if you are giving a presentation.
- You may be asked at the end of the interview "is there anything you would like to ask the panel"? This is your chance to ask any questions that haven't been answered for you so far relating to the job or main duties/responsibilities.
Remember the Job Club hold workshops at local libraries which are attended by the Council's HR department and offer interview techniques and 'mock' interviews to prapare you for your interview. For more information about the Job Club and workshop dates.
GOOD LUCK!