Interview Skills Training

1. Interview Skills Training

2. Program Objectives Gain an understanding of the multiple styles of interviewing Understand how to best respond to questions asked during the interview Be prepared for a potential interview

3. The Hiring Manager’s Ultimate Interview Objectives To get information that answers the following questions about you: • Can you do the job and how well? • Will you do the job? • How well will you get along with others?

4. Your Ultimate Interview Objective To get a job offer! By … • Shining over your competition through • Preparation • Practice • Perform!

5. Reasons Why Interviews Derail

6. Top Ten Reasons Why Interviews Derail • Being unprepared • Not knowing your resume • Providing rambling answers • Demonstrating poor listening skills • Not coming across as interested or engaged • Poor body language • Coming across as unprofessional • Being inappropriately dressed • Being late to your interview • Not turning off or (even worse) using your cell phone

7. Interviews Styles

8. What Is A Competency? • Competencies include knowledge, skills, attributes and actions which are measurable and observable. • Competencies can focus on either behavioral characteristics or technical skills that an individual must possess and appropriately use for optimum success in performing specified work. Source: Global Interview Framework Training Materials

9. Types of Competencies Technical Competencies Behavioral Competencies The functional knowledge and skills that are required to perform a particular type or level of work activity. Examples • Brand & Product Knowledge • Scientific Risk Analysis • Technology Procurement The underlying traits, attributes and values which directly influence behavior. Examples • Leadership • Team Work • Attention to Detail • Multi-Tasking Source: Global Interview Framework Training Materials

10. Competency-based Interview What it is • A structured interview process • Designed to elicit information from candidates that will enable evaluation against selected criteria to determine their potential for success in a specific position Types of competency-based interviews • Behavioral • Situational/Case Competency-based interviews allow employers to make hiring decisions based on facts. They are structured, job-specific, and focused on relevant, concrete and tangible qualities.

11. Behavioral Interview What it is • An interviewing technique designed to evaluate candidates’ experiences and behaviors against selected competencies in order to determine their potential for success • Aimed at uncovering patterns of behavior and making inferences about how a candidate will behave in the future based on what happened in the past Elements of a behavioral interview • Open-ended questions that are designed to assess desired competencies by eliciting information on how a candidate behaved given a specific situation • A rating system or guide is developed and used to evaluate candidates’ responses to each question

12. Behavioral Interview Questions Main Interview Question • Asks you to recall and describe a time when you were faced with a specific situation or had to perform a specific task. • For Example: • "Tell me about a time when...” • "Describe a situation in which...” • "Give me an example of...“ • “Tell me about the toughest problem you have ever solved.”

13. Behavioral Interview Questions Learning Probes/Follow-up Probes • Help an interviewer delve deeper into your response to a main interview question. • For example: • “How did you approach solving the problem?” • “Why did you select that approach?” • “What was the impact of the solution?”

14. The STAR Response Format The most common and all-encompassing approach to responding to behavioral questions is to follow the STAR format • Situation/Task Start your "story" by explaining the situation you were in or the task you were trying to achieve • Action Then you should explain the action(s) that you took.  • Result Finally, it's important that you explain the outcome or results that you achieved.

15. How Can I Best Prepare For My Interview?

16. Before The Interview • Research the position and interviewer(s) • Know yourself and your resume • Prepare your “elevator speech” • Prepare questions to ask during your interview • Practice your interview skills • Look the part • Know where you are going • Bring copies of your resume • Arrive early • Turn off your cell phone

17. Preparing for a Behavioral Interview • Imagine what the ideal candidate for the position you are interviewing for would look like from the decision-maker’s perspective • Thoroughly review the job description and the components of the position • Research the department and its culture • Develop a list of competencies you believe a successful candidate will need to have • Review your resume and look back on your past experience to identify examples where you demonstrated those competencies • Prepare your stories following the STAR format (whenever possible, quantify your results) • Your examples should be mostly positive • Prepare some examples of situations that started out negatively but ended positively or you positively affected the result

18. Helpful Tips • Try to vary your examples – do not take them all from just one area of life/experience • Select examples that you can easily and quickly tailor to respond to a number of different behavioral questions • Use fairly recent examples (preferably within the last 12-24 months) • Keep your responses succinct (each story should take between 2 to 5 minutes to share with the interviewer)

19. How Can I Best Navigate The Interview Process?

20. During The Interview • Communicate with confidence and purpose • Mind your body language • Ask questions • Ask for the interviewer’s business card • “Roll with the punches”

21. After The Interview • Document and evaluate the interview • Send a “Thank You” note

22. Expecting The Unexpected

23. Dealing With The Unexpected What to do if the interview questions are not what you expected • Remain calm • Remain confident • Take notes • Use appropriate body language • Think before you speak • Remember that it may be a test • Go into the interview expecting the unexpected

24. Final Reminder

25. Above All, Remember … A successful interview depends on you … Knowing your value Remembering your value Conveying your value

26. Q & A