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Preparing for an interview
Comments
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lincroft1710 wrote: »you have to play the game by their rules
I would love to do this and play their game - I’m not trying to make it harder for myself or the employer. But understanding these abstractions is not something I’m capable of doing. They do not seem to relate to how I experience the world.
From my perspective, To be good at a job I think you mainly need competency at the role and the right attitude. I do not get how it can be about understanding visions and core principles.
:staradmin Happy World Autism Awareness Week :staradmin0 -
fuzzything wrote: »
I do not get how it can be about understanding visions and core principles.
It is basically how a company sees itself developing in the next few years, e.g. type and number of products, market share, market penetration, plus the qualities it believes in and expects its employees to adhere to.
I'm sorry but if you can't grasp these and a company's core principles are usually fairly straight forward, often simplistic and common sense, then you may struggle trying to get a job.
Is there no-one who could help you understand these?If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales0 -
fuzzything wrote: »Those type of questions can really confuse me - as someone with autism - and the company’s information listing them is just as difficult to make sense of, as the values are usually far from concrete concepts.
I personally think this can be a shame as it could be an unfair barrier to someone who would actually be well suited to the tasks and duties needed of the job.
I am curious what you are hoping to find out from their answers - who’s going to say they don’t feel they fit with them?
:staradmin Happy World Autism Awareness Week :staradmin
The question is to see if they have researched us or just turned up. The amount of people who say they haven't looked on our website is very few, but you do get them.Forty and fabulous, well that's what my cards say....0 -
lincroft1710 wrote: »It is basically how a company sees itself developing in the next few years, e.g. type and number of products, market share, market penetration, plus the qualities it believes in and expects its employees to adhere to.
I'm sorry but if you can't grasp these and a company's core principles are usually fairly straight forward, often simplistic and common sense, then you may struggle trying to get a job.
Is there no-one who could help you understand these?
That doesn’t really address my point - which was my confusion as to how understanding them is relevant to whether a candidate would be good at doing the tasks of the job.
As an example, if I were going for a job in my current discipline (main duties: system administrator, payroll lead and project technical advisor) the vision and principles below are too abstract for me to connect with what I do in my role.
Vision
- Sustainability
Core Principles
- Operational excellence
- Use our brand and efficient distribution channels to increase ancillary revenue
- Monitor and improve the cost base where possible
- To live and breathe as a positive and entrepreneurial organisation where everyone can make a difference
Whilst I am confident I do a great job, I am not capable of understanding the relevance to a job of what to me read as woolly concepts, nor able to explain how I see myself fitting within them.
:staradmin Happy World Autism Awareness Week :staradmin0 -
To be honest most of those words are just standard management gobbledygook. You won't find a company which will claim to have the principles to be "operational disaster", "decreasing revenues" and "ignore and increase the cost basis" even if that's what they do in reality.
They are all motherhood and apple pie. Nice things which nobody can ever be against.
So find out what the "core values" are and work out how work you have done in the past has aligned with them such as finding more ways of doing a task, identifying and dealing with a problem before it became a big issue or saved the company money.0 -
fuzzything wrote: »Vision
- Sustainability
'Fashionable corporate buzzword with no practical application - we're not a fossil fuels company after all.'Core Principles
- Operational excellence
'We were considering operational mediocrity as a guiding ideal, but ended up plumping for operational excellence instead. Ha ha, only joking!'- Use our brand and efficient distribution channels to increase ancillary revenue
'We have a sales team, and encourage project and client managers to be on the lookout for paid change controls.'
To be fair, this one might be genuinely meaningful, if what it really means is that operational managers are expected to do a bit of sales work on the side.Monitor and improve the cost base where possible
*Any* business in a competitive market needs to be monitoring and progressively improving its cost base to some extent.- To live and breathe as a positive and entrepreneurial organisation where everyone can make a difference
That said, a full-on focus on cost control is hardly conducive to a 'positive and entrepreneurial organisation where everyone can make a difference'...!Whilst I am confident I do a great job, I am not capable of understanding the relevance to a job of what to me read as woolly concepts, nor able to explain how I see myself fitting within them.
You're over-thinking it. This is internal marketing, nothing more - in general, anyone who genuinely takes this guff seriously is deluded, though they probably don't really anyway, outside of certain contexts.0 -
They are big and fairly woolly concepts and no one worker will be personally responsible for the whole concept, but find a concrete core within it.
Operational excellence = I will be good at this job and contribute to the excellent operation of the businessBut a banker, engaged at enormous expense,Had the whole of their cash in his care.
Lewis Carroll0 -
A company's vision and core princes are a subtle way of ensuring everyone is working towards the same long-term goals and when decisions need to be made the priorities are known.
So if being the best in their industry is important when buying new equipment they may buy the best rather than factor in the price more to buy "good enough" at an affordable price. If sustainability/environment is important they may choose equipment that produces the least waste or uses the least power while still being good enough.Don't listen to me, I'm no expert!0 -
My last interview wasn't what do you know about the company surprisingly
But
I certainly took the time to look up the interviewer and show admiration for their time in the role.
15 minutes and a listening exercise I was hired.
(I think I was the first choice in a while)
Yes even in 2019! (love it) even if I do serve the temporary market.
I would not over do the prep. Go easy on yourself if you want to rest.0
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