The Joys of Job Interviews

Attending a job interview can be a scary and overwhelming experience. Almost like a spy being interrogated. Your palms sweating, heart palpitating, mind racing. How can you be at your best and out-perform the other candidates being interviewed when you would rather be somewhere else?!

The idea behind a job interview is to give the potential employer an opportunity to understand your skills, experiences, short term career goals and your attitude towards work. It is also about you the candidate, getting an idea of how the organisation operates, the benefits of working for them, and the environment they have created for their staff. Will you fit in?

A potential employer wants to know about your previous roles, how you contributed to those organisations and where you can add value to theirs. Don't disregard experience you may have gained in a voluntary capacity. Just because it is not ‘paid employment' doesn't mean it is not important.

Some examples of the types of questions asked of you at a job interview are:

• What attracted you to our advertisement and this particular role?
• What has prompted you to move on from your current role?
• Why would you like to work for our organisation?
• What do you see as being our greatest challenge in the next 12 months?
• Can you tell us what your strengths are?
• What skills would you like to improve or further develop?
• How would your colleagues describe you?
• If we spoke to your manager, what would they say about you?
• What do you enjoy most about your current role?
• What is the one aspect of your current role that you will happily leave behind?
• In many organisations in New Zealand, you may be asked - what is your understanding of the Treaty of Waitangi?
• What would be your ideal career path within our organisation?
• What are your salary expectations?

Competency Based Interview Questions

Competency based questions are designed to draw out your specific experience and allow the potential employer to gage the level of your experience and skill set.  They require you to really think about the question and provide a response which will reflect activities you have actually performed.  The interviewers are looking for specific examples not thoughts, feelings or opinions as to how you may go about it.

Some examples of the types of questions asked of you at an interview are:

• Tell us about a time when you had to communicate some technical information to someone who knew nothing about the subject. How do you ensure they understood what you said?
• How do you build sound working relationships within an organisation? What do you feel is important to achieving this; given that initially it is sometimes hard to gain the respect of others?
• Describe the worst example of a team you have worked in/with and how could you have improved it?
• Describe a time where you felt your coaching directly improved the performance of your team.
• How do you delegate responsibility for tasks? How do you know the person has understood the objective of the task?
• Describe a situation in which you saw a problem and took action to resolve it. What could have been the consequences of ignoring it? Tell me about a time you were faced with conflicting priorities. In hindsight, what would you have done differently?
• How do you achieve a work/life balance?
• Describe a time where you confronted by a colleague or manager. What was the outcome? What did you learn from the experience?

Questions to Ask a Potential Employer

Remember you have an opportunity to ask 2-3 questions at the end of the job interview to assist you in deciding if the organisation and role are right for you.  What do you really want to know about the organisation, the person who will be managing you, or your new colleagues?

Prepare your questions the day before the job interview and take them with you. Don't feel embarrassed about taking notes along, it shows you are well prepared.

• What do you enjoy about your role within the organisation?
• Can you tell me about the other staff in the team?
• What do you see the team's biggest challenge being in the next 6 months?
• Does the organisation have an active social club?
• Who are your top 5 clients?
• What are the key responsibilities for this role?
• Could you tell me more about the salary and bonus structure?
• Is there anything else you would like to know about me?

Offer any further information that you feel is relevant to the position that has not been covered.

Always thank the interviewer(s) for their time and the opportunity to discuss the role. Smile and shake their hand.

After the Interview

After the interview take 10 minutes to sit down and think about what you were asked and how you responded.  

Make some notes about what you could have said differently? What other examples could you have used? Did you feel prepared and if not, what let you down?

If you are not successful in attaining the role, don't dwell on it for too long.  It is natural to feel disappointed but it is important to evaluate where you are at in your job application process.

Contact the interviewer and ask for some feedback – how you performed in the interview and what skills / experience you need to develop in order to obtain this type of role.  Take on board what they have to say and create an action plan to increase your attractiveness to the next potential employer.

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