Job Interviews

Claire_MUFC

Hi everyone,

This morning, I got a reply back to a job I had applied for inviting me for an interview, which has since had to be cancelled as they advertised the job wrong, and I'm not eligible for it because I already have the qualification they are training for (wasn't mentioned in the original advert).

Anyway, lack a lot of confidence when it comes to job interviews. It's like I know I have the skills to do the jobs I'm applying for, but it's the convincing other people in person of that in my answers, if you get me ? I've had interviews in the past, but always end up with a lot of this "erm" stuff in there, as I'm not that confident in my responses.

Had a telephone conversation with my Work Programme advisor this morning, where he expressed his concern that the fact I'm not that confident answering interview questions, I mustn't of been listening to what he's been saying or something. Made me feel a lot worse about the situation than I already do, don't want to come across as someone who's completely thick at this kind of thing.

I am listening to what he's saying but so far, we've wrote answers down on paper, I've brought them home and it all gets forgotten about until the next time I'm applying for a job where I have a similar question, or a job interview comes up (which isn't very often).

Don't know if anyone will get me here, but with me some things I learn better by sitting and reading. Other's I learn best by actually doing, having a go at the thing and getting feedback. Continuous practice, not do it once bring it home and forget about it until it's needed.

He said he doesn't know what else to do. He doesn't need to do anything OTT. Just pick random questions every so often in our appointments to ask me, and give me feedback on my answers or the way I answered etc. Knowing how I learn, I think with interviews this would be helpful. I can come home and read them all day long, but to get more confident in speaking the responses I need him to maybe ask questions every so often.

Does everyone get where I coming from with that ? It's not that daft a suggestion ?

Claire_MUFC

I think one of my problems is that my advisor said just about every question always comes back to your strengths and weaknesses. So, we've wrote an answer for "what are you strengths" and "what are your weaknesses". I've bought them home and literally memorised them both word for word.

But when you go into an interview, it's not always as simple as "what are your strengths" and "what are your weaknesses". You get them horrid ones like "give an example of such and such a thing" or "tell me about a time when...". Although strengths and weaknesses come back to them, I find those a bit harder to answer.

Plus then there is other generic questions than strengths and weaknesses - like where do you see yourself in so many years time, tell me about yourself etc. etc.

The only way I can think of improving on this is to get my advisor to ask me random questions in our appointments, and give me feedback on my responses. We could write them down, but then I just end up memorising them and sound like a robot.

Does anyone understand what I'm meaning here ?

AP007

Never talk of a weaknesses as just that

Start off by mentioning something and then turn it round to a positive like for example I would say time management and trying to do 5 things at one time and then give an example of how I changed that round to excellent time management.

Claire_MUFC

Have you got any tips on how to handle competency based questions better. Got that STAR technique. But is it true what my advisor said that a lot of questions you just have to relate your strengths and weaknesses back to them ?

AP007

Claire_MUFC wrote: »

Have you got any tips on how to handle competency based questions better. Got that STAR technique. But is it true what my advisor said that a lot of questions you just have to relate your strengths and weaknesses back to them ?

Are you on the WP? You really need to ask them as that's what they are meant to be there for.

No, a lot of competency questions are to see if you can follow procedure and if you have a good understanding.

A customer service one is LAST - Listen, action, solve and thank

Listen to the problem - explain to the interviewer what the problem was
Action - tell them what the plan was to solve it
Solve - how where and what you did
Thank - thank the customer

Claire_MUFC

AP007 wrote: »

Are you on the WP? You really need to ask them as that's what they are meant to be there for.

Yeah, I'm on the Work Programme. Had a phone conversation with my advisor this morning, where he said he's running out of ideas what to do regarding interview stuff.

I know for a fact the thing I would find most helpful is if he in our appointments asked me random interview questions and gave me feedback on my responses. You know like a mixture of generic and competency ones ?

At the moment, we've literally wrote and answer for strengths and one for weaknesses which I have memorised word for word. That was my downfall in my last interview, I sounded too robotic.

If he just asked random questions in our appointments and I answer them and get feed back, its helpful in that I won't be memorising stuff. Plus, it kind of gives me the experience of the unexpected if I don't know exactly what questions he is gonna ask.

But then I feel proper stupid, if he's ran out of ideas what to do, if I then go well actually I would find the above helpful.

Claire_MUFC

Someone on another forum I go on has actually just said this:

Rather than trying to guess each and every possible question that may come up, or to focus too much on just strengths and weaknesses, what would help you is if you had some answers ready for those competency based questions. So what you really need to do is think about some concrete examples of things from your past experience, that you can talk about. For example, rehearse an anecdote about a task you undertook in a previous job that was particularly challenging, how you dealt with it and why it was such a success. Another one could be about how you multi-tasked and dealt with comflicting priorities. If you have some examples like that ready to trot out, at appropriate times during the interview, you'll be able to cope with most of whatever comes up.

Quite a good point that actually, and reading that seems to be one thing which as well as getting asked random questions would also help.

Do you think I should mention that to my advisor ? If we can come up with concrete examples for different competency based questions then that would be a major help. That's one thing I find hard, extracting examples. Some we even have to make up. But once I've got examples to use I don't have to worry as much about them anymore.

AP007

Claire_MUFC wrote: »

Yeah, I'm on the Work Programme. Had a phone conversation with my advisor this morning, where he said he's running out of ideas what to do regarding interview stuff.

I know for a fact the thing I would find most helpful is if he in our appointments asked me random interview questions and gave me feedback on my responses. You know like a mixture of generic and competency ones ?

At the moment, we've literally wrote and answer for strengths and one for weaknesses which I have memorised word for word. That was my downfall in my last interview, I sounded too robotic.

If he just asked random questions in our appointments and I answer them and get feed back, its helpful in that I won't be memorising stuff. Plus, it kind of gives me the experience of the unexpected if I don't know exactly what questions he is gonna ask.

But then I feel proper stupid, if he's ran out of ideas what to do, if I then go well actually I would find the above helpful.

To get a WP adviser to ask you random questions is going to be as much use as one of us on here asking you.

The WP advisers are not even specialised in any field. I know at mine they have NO ONE at all from an accounts background and have no clue what it was I did at my last job.

Why don't you ask for a mock interview? Love to see their reply to that

OR a session on interview technique?

Claire_MUFC

AP007 wrote: »

To get a WP adviser to ask you random questions is going to be as much use as one of us on here asking you.

The WP advisers are not even specialised in any field. I know at mine they have NO ONE at all from an accounts background and have no clue what it was I did at my last job.

Why don't you ask for a mock interview? Love to see their reply to that

OR a session on interview technique?

Haha, I think my advisor might be a bit more help than some. Think he used to do the interviews for one of the places he worked at

AP007

Claire_MUFC wrote: »

Haha, I think my advisor might be a bit more help than some. Think he used to do the interviews for one of the places he worked at

You worked with him once? He was HR?

Any adviser who works for anyone who operates the WP should know all industries or be a specialist in one at least and know all about interviews........but that's in the ideal world! lol