Interviews- needing help with.

Spendless

I've been job hunting since Jan last year. I am looking for p-time work and whilst I don't specifically want school hours, I am tied to the hours which childcare runs from and to- so 8ish-5.30. I live in one of the areas hardest hit by recession and have mainly been a SAHM for 10 years. In that time I've had a couple of retail evening/w'end jobs and worked as a dinner lady but mostly I've updated my I.T skills at college and for past 12 months worked as an admin assistant on a voluntary basis. First for a charity, at the moment in a school.

Initially i wasn't getting thru to interview but I've been lucky and manged to get help from an Employment support officer (I'm married, having working husband don't fall into 'poor' household income or live in the most deprived postcodes) and thru her I now know that I wasn't selling myself enough thru the person spec on application forms- since I've done this I've got interviews. This is where I need help.

For the first time in my working life, I go to interviews and they ask 'set questions' and score. I am just not used to this. All my interview have been along the lines of 'tell us about yourself, I see you have done x can you expand, what do you know about our company'. Now they aren't like this. They are this is a new role what things do you think will make a difference, what main characteristics do you have that you think important for this job' and so on. I am finding them difficult to prepare for. I've gone to 2 interviews where I could have known absolutely zilch about the organisations concerned and the interviewers would be none the wiser. I've asked for feedback o being told I haven't got the jobs and been told they were looking for 'key words and phrases'. Not that my answer was wrong but didn't contain the words or phrases they were looking for. My last interview said 'I came a close second, but there was only 3 of us interviewed. I checked the signing in list and they told me they were only interviewing that day. They gave me scores of 4s and 5s and a 6 for a customer service question, but then said the job had gone to someone with MORE experience in that area than me- the job was similar to one I did as a volunteer. Another interview I was told that the job went to someone with experience of working in a school (which is why I'm now volunteering at one) but they knew I ahdn't from my application form, so why offer me and interview if this was a criteria they especially wanted.

Can anyone help me with this?

Savvy_Sue

Ah, it's a tricky one if they are looking for key words and phrases.

For example one of my colleagues was talking about helping someone keep their flat the other day, and I chipped with "sustain the tenancy", which is the standard phrase for that.

However, I'd have thought that the 'key words' would be in the JD and PS, so making sure that before interview you've mugged up on them and know what the key phrases used were. Think about what they mean, and think about how your experience enables you to offer that skill etc.

As for the specific kind of experience, and why interview if you haven't got it, it sounds to me as if you were a strong candidate, BUT someone else was as strong AND could offer that experience. As you've now got that experience too, you'll be better placed next time.

Don't know if that helps at all?

Spendless

I can't remember them all from the last interview, but the school one I jotted down. They were
1. What skills do you have that you feel are important to this role?

2. From the skills you have just told us about what is your main strength & give an example.

3. Tell us about the Data protection act

4. If you see a parent smoking in playground what would you do?

5. How could you make a difference to the smooth running of a school.

6. What particularly initiatives would you take personally to promote good working relationships?

7. What more could you fetch to the school in this role? (I'm paraphrasing here I don't remember the exact wording of this one).

I asked what a typical day involved int his role and got told mainly counting dinner money. (which wasn't in the JD or person spec- not that I couldn't do that I've prev worked in a cash office)
For this interview I'd gone to the village the school was in and looked around for research, read their ofsted reports 4 of them as they'd just got out of special measures, know what they offerred by way of asc, plus plenty more and had no opportunity to fetch any of this up.

I asked the last interviewer (the charity job) about how I could work on this and she said what you did to read the JD and PS, but I'm still stuck for how to 'phrase' the questions asked. When I ask for feedback they say well question x we were looking for 'a fresh pair of eyes' or 'we wanted to know more about what you can do rather than how you are as a person'. Also I have not been told 'your scoring wasn't high enough' when being told I hadn't got the job. so how do they appoint does it go to the person with the highest score?

I filled in a job app earlier and my husband said 'just word like xxxx they can ask you more about it at interview and I said no cos that isn't waht they are doing, they are asking all candidates the same set questions.

I can't 'avoid' these type of jobs to apply for cos it seems like that's all there is.

As to being better placed that's just it. The jobs are so few on the ground, I can't just apply for the ones that I have current experience in (and when I did it went to someone with MORE experience). I am gettuing thoroughly disheartened by it.

newlywed

I'm not sure if it helps but not everyone does this interview method. I've been for 5 interviews in the last couple of months and none have done this, but I have an interview next week where they do the set questions technique. I'm somewhat worried as I've never experienced that before.

The recruitment agency told me to think of my 4 strengths, things I can bring to the role, things the company can do for me, and then think of some examples of where/how I have shown my strengths etc.

I'm trying to view each one as a learning experience, preparing me for the next one

Spendless

newlywed- The ones I've been to, one had 4 people interviewing each asking a question in turn 7 questions in all. The other had 3 people asking 3 questions each. I tell you this as I found it quite daunting to go in a room and there be more than 2 people and I wish I'd been prepared for this -it def knocked me off balance.

There are so few jobs here, if I could avoid these type I'm tempted to think I would but I can now spot them a mile off from the application form.

Is it just public sector (eg charities, schools) I'm likely to find this style of interviewing in or is it widespread int he private sector too?

newlywed

The one I've got coming up is a housing association. There's 3 interviewing me (I have been warned, thanks).

The other private sector companies I've been too don't seem to do this, but the recruitment agencies seem to think CBI interview is the all new way to interview and they imply that everyone does it (thats the whole give strengths, give real examples etc) thing.

I don't enjoy interviews anyway so I'm not looking forward to this one at all - just hoping I get the job from the interview the day before as it's closer for one thing, then I can just go out of interest to check the post out and not worry!

bristol_pilot

This interview technique is used in the public sector, local councils and the like.

They are seeking to be fair and unbiased by asking a set of stock questions and looking for key words and phrases in the answers. This approach is supposed to remove subjectivity, but in doing so it just biases the process to those 'in the know' regarding the process, perhaps internal candidates. There is a definite 'technique' involved in being interviewed in this way and if you don't know it you are at a disadvantage. For example, any part of an answer you gave to a previous question that is also relevant to the current question must be repeated even though you only just said it.

The private sector has not yet been infected with this nonsense, try a few private sector organisations that may actually be interested in finding the best person for the job.

Spendless

Thank you bristol-pilot. An explanation at last!

I think I need to tell my ESO I want to look for work in areas that aren't doing this tyle of interview. It makes no sense to me that for work that is 'mainly counting dinner money' I'm not asked 'I see you've worked in a cash office before can you tell me more about it' rather than saying they were looking for the phrase 'fetching a fresh pair of eyes' to a question about bringing fresh initiatives to the school.

So do they give the job to the person with the highest scoring or not? I ask cos each time I've not got the job I've been told I missed out on experience in that role- not that someone got more marks out of x than me.

bristol_pilot

Yes, the whole point is that they have to give the job to the person with the highest score [unless no-one scored above a pre-defined threshold]. Another part of the 'technique' is to give very full answers, as the more you talk the better chance you have of hitting the 'phrase that pays'.

Spendless

Is there any way to learn what the 'buzz words' are?

bristol_pilot

Get to know someone from the organisation in question.