Interviews- needing help with.

Spendless

It's nearly a year since I started this thread and I'm still there. :j Still a temp thru an agency but with increased hours and a bit 'more' to the job (though only in baby steps). The new person ended up fulfiling a role originally done at HO due to someone leaving (which possibly 'saved' me). Don't know how long it will last, as the companys contract finises in a year with no guarantee of it being re-awarded.

Racheldevon

I'm quite late to finding this thread, but thought i'd share some interview tips as I have spent quite a lot of time short-listing and interviewing candidates as part of my role as a manager for a national children's charity. I've listed below some of the things that might be helpful in general:

- Application forms - the number of people that don't write a decent supporting statement is huge! When doing this, go through the job description and person specification which often will have either core competencies or keys duties etc, and ensure your personal statement on the form covers these areas with examples or reference to the areas they'll be shortlisting against - if yuo haven't written it down, no one's going to know you've met that particular criteria and with so many applicants a lot of people are msising out due to the lack of attention on their forms.

- Check you application form - so many times you see statements with either no reference to the job spec/skills/anything relevant - writing a few lines isn't going to cut it. Check that if you copy from other supporting statements that you've written, that you haven't accidently left in some reference to another job.. 'I look forward to the opportunity to join XX (wrong company/line of work etc) doesn't go down too well.

- Check for spelling mistakes, don't write it all in capitals etc

-Interviews - the letters we send out always tell candidates what's involved in the process e.g. any written tasks etc, and who is on the panel - if it doesn't say - you can always call and ask. Also, it often makes a good impression if you call and ask if you can come and have a look around prior to the interview.

- Dress like you're attending an interview, people wearing jeans to them in my opinion doesn't make a very good first impression.

- We always have the same questions for each person, and always scored - the highest scoring candidate gets the job.

-You can do a lot of preparation before by really thinking about the job you're going for...
Always research the company you've applied for - you're more than likely to ask, and highly unlikely to get the job if asked 'What do you know about XX(Company name)' and you sit there, or say I didn't realise it was run by XX, or It's pretty much the same as XX (another charity) - you only have to be able to say a few things - who was it founded by/what year? Are there 3 or 4 key values they company have? What is their priority area of what that year? Which client group do they work with? Are there any big pieces of work they've been involved in like a piece of research etc - State how much XX appeals to you - show your enthusiasm for working in that company/charity!

- You're likely to be asked questions around key areas, so in advance think of some examples that you can apply to these. E.g., team work - Can you tell us about your experiences of working as part of a team? -Make sure you actually answer the question you're asked and not the one you prepared
- so don't just talk about what makes a team work well together, like good communication, role clarity etc, if you've been asked about your experiences then talk about roles you've had where you've worked as part of a team. Also dont' assume everyone on the panel will have read your applciation form - so state things that are already on it. This is particularly true if external people are sat on the panel.

- Don't down play your achievements and skills - you're likely to be asked something about why you're suitable for the role e.g., What skills and experiences would you bring to the role? This is something you can prepare for

- If in the job description it talks about particular key activites you'll be involved in such as evaluting a service, or delivery activities, then you'll probably be asked about this in interview - so prepare examples where you can show your knowledge in this area (or do some research if it's a weak area), and back it up with actual times you've done this in your past roles if possible.

-Spend some time reflecting on your self - so if you're asked how you ensure your work continuously improves, make sure you don't just say training!

-Same goes for if asked about what support you'd expect from the company int he first, say, 6 months - think creatively - show that you're open to feedback - Inductions, training, supervision, appraisals, feedback from colleagues/manager etc etc

-Don't be afraid to say that you're not sure/that you'd take something to your manager/mentor to explore further - knowing your own limitations is positive!

-We also have a couple of pages of value based questions - so think about things like diversity and equality - what does that mean to you? What would it mean for you in your working relations?
Prepare an example of a time you found yourself challenged, how you responded, what you learnt about yourself, how you'd approach a similar situation again etc

Anyway, this might not be that helpful, so i'll stop there

Spendless

And to update again. I have recently become an employee of the company. :j, with a particular responsibility and a new line manager to train me. :T It is only temporary for a few months but that is because the company is at the end of it's contract. IF they get it re-awarded, I may be kept on.

As an aside. The school that interviewed me, that led to me starting this thread, recently advertised the same position again. I knew it was the same position because this time, it actually said what they wanted someone to do (I had to ask the question at the end of my interview when asked 'any questions').

persa

Spendless wrote: »

And to update again. I have recently become an employee of the company. :j, with a particular responsibility and a new line manager to train me. :T It is only temporary for a few months but that is because the company is at the end of it's contract. IF they get it re-awarded, I may be kept on.

Congratulations, spendless! :T

As an aside for everyone one else still job hunting, you do get competency based interviews in the private sector and they aren't hard to do well in once you've done a few and know how to play along. Many companies will have a corporate profile which sets out their key values, which together with the job spec gives you an idea of what they're looking for.

It helps to determine some of these values before going into the interview, e.g. one company might be really big on customer service, another on giving back to local charities, etc. But if you can't work it all out, it's not the end of the world.

Spend some time reflecting on things you've done. Look at several jobs - voluntary work too, if you have done any. Come up with things you've done that could be used to evidence various competencies - a voluntary job could show good teamwork (few jobs involve no contact with other humans!), a strong motivation to give back to good causes, a time when you used good customer service, etc. Work on developing that further. Good teamwork? Was there a particular project that you worked on with other people? Passion for charities ("CSR")? Maybe you've volunteered for more than one charity before. Customer service? Was there a particular time when something when wrong and you had to square things with a member of the public?

Horses for courses and all that, but I much prefer competency interviews as they have a standard process that I know I can beat. When an employer asks me generic waffle-y questions about my background, my profession, etc, I'm often not convinced I'm really shining.

Oh and if someone asks you the same question twice - sometimes all it means is that they need to tick off a couple of things and you haven't given them enough evidence. Try a different tack and you may well hit it, rather than repeating your answer.

Spendless

And the job is to finish . The company has lost its contract and the office is to close. Upset cos the location of my office for communting, childcare and flexibility reasons were superb and the job had just started developing into something 'more'. Back to the beginning.

t0rt0ise

Not back to the beginning.. you've now got some more relevant experience. I've been in the same boat. Decided to get a job in the NHS and kept getting pipped to the post because of a lack of recent NHS experience.. mine was years ago. But eventually I have got a job albeit temporary but it's now given me the recent experience that I need, so onward and upward.