Develop your Career: Interview Techniques

1. Develop your Career: Interview Techniques Miranda Carr Personal and Professional Development

2. Develop your Career: Interview Techniques Outline of the day • Introductions and main concerns • Background and context • Preparing for a successful interview • Q&A • Other selection tests • Handling nerves • NVC • … and finally Coffee to give us energy!

3. Background and Context What are they basing their assessment of you on? • Application • Interview • Other selection tests Anticipation and Preparation are key

4. Preparing for interview • Go back to the beginning – job description and person specification – the clues are there Do your research…. • Access to insider info? - Use it! • Read up on recent achievements and core business activities • Get up to date on current issues, challenges and debates in the field

5. Vision and Values Mission • The mission of the University of Cambridge is to contribute to society through the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence. Core values • freedom of thought and expression • freedom from discrimination

6. Preparing for interview What might they ask me? What do I want to ask them?

7. Answering Questions – a technique THINK STAR

8. Q&A Using the STAR technique…… How would you answer these questions? What has been your greatest achievement and why? Describe a time when you had to deal with a challenging situation and how you handled it. What is your greatest strength?

9. Key questions and how to answer them Tell me about yourself? Why do you want this job? What do you know about us? • Opportunity to show them that you have what they are looking for MATCH your skills, experience and personal qualities to the role/organisation • give a good sense of your personality and attitude • show your knowledge of the organisation

10. Key questions and how to answer them 2 Why should we hire you? • You are a product and you need to sell yourself • USP – What’s yours?

11. Strengths and Weaknesses Strength • Pick a strength that is relevant • Give examples • Show that you’ve been recognized for this strength • Tie it back to the current job Weakness • Be honest • Pick a weakness that is fairly minor and `fixable’ • Show what you have done to deal with it • Illustrate how it has turned into a strength

12. Q&A Difficult questions If you can’t answer immediately take your time to think If you don’t know the answer say so, don’t be tempted to lie Try to keep calm and keep thinking clearly Always keep your answers positive even if you are describing a difficult situation Remember STAR

13. Ask the interviewer Interviewer: “And do you have any questions you would like to to ask us?” Interviewee: “Um, no I think you’ve covered everything” Interviewee: “What do you see as the immediate challenges for me where I to be offered this job?” “What are the key objectives (tasks) for the organisation in the coming year and how do you see this role contributing to achieving those objectives?” “What are the opportunities for training and development/pathways for advancement within the organisation?”

14. Selection tests

15. Selection tests

16. Handling Nerves Take your time Remember to Breathe! Positive self-talk Reward Mindfulness It’s a two-way process Practise, Practise, Practise!

17. Handling Nerves Control your nerves through breathing Breathing exercise: • Place your hand, palm flat, just below your ribs • Breathe slowly in through your nose • Feel your hand rise up as your stomach expands • Breathe out through your mouth • Feel your hand fall back as your stomach contracts • Aim to take twice as long to breathe out as you took to breathe in • Practise beforehand

18. Non-Verbal Communication It’s all about making a great entrance…. Checklist: • Present yourself well • Keep good eye contact with the panel • Open arms – open approach • Think about what your hands are doing • Mirroring • Don’t fiddle! • Try to control any distracting habits

19. Skills Practise • You will undertake a 5 min (maximum) mock interview – 3 questions to answer • Each person will have a role. • Roles: Interviewee, Interviewer/Camera operator, Observer - Observer makes notes on the interviewee’s performance and keeps time • Feedback is given by the interviewee 1st followed by the observer 2nd and finally by the interviewer(s) 3rd • Each interviewee will have access to a film of their interview