job interviews
job interviews tips and
techniques, sample interview
questions and answers,
sample interviews letters and
templates
Job interviews are easier for interviewers and the interviewees if you plan and
prepare questions and answers, and use proper interviewing techniques.
On this page are job-hunting and job interviews tips, samples of tough
interviews questions, and answers, for interviewers and interviewees. There
are also many ideas for group selection assessment recruitment methods, the
most effective way to recruit people for most jobs.
If you are finding it difficult to get interviews for local jobs, here's a very
direct job-hunting method which can be very effective.
Job interviews are critical to the quality of an organization's people. Good job
interviews processes and methods increase the quality of people in an
organization. Poor job interviews methods result in poor selection, which
undermines organizational capabilities, wastes management time, and
increases staff turnover.
Below are samples of interviews questions asked at interviews. Many
interviewers and interviewees are keenly interested in 'tough' interview
questions and certainly interviewees need to prepare answers for 'tough'
questions. However, from the interviewer's perspective asking 'tough'
questions is not usually helpful. Interviews should not place undue pressure
on interviewees, because people tend to withdraw and become defensive
under pressure. We learn more about people when they relax.
It's better therefore to focus on 'good' interview questions rather than 'tough'
ones. Good interview questions encourage interviewees to think about
themselves and to give the interviewer clear and revealing information as to
the interviewee's needs, capabilities, experience, personality, and suitability
for the job. The best interview questions are therefore the questions which
most help interviewees to reveal their skills, knowledge, attitudes, and
feelings to the interviewer.
The UK (consistent with Europe) Employment Equality (Age) Regulations
2006, effective from 1st October 2006, make it unlawful to discriminate
against anyone on the grounds of age.
This has several implications for job interviews, documents used, and the
training of people who conduct job interviews. For example, while not
unlawful, the inclusion of age and date-of-birth sections on job application
forms is not recommended (as for all other documentation used in assessing
people).
For further guidance about the effects of Age Equality and Discrimination in
job interviews, (and in other aspects of managing people), see the Age
Diversity information. This is important for interviewers and interviewees.
Much of this guidance also applies to students seeking internships and work
experience placements. Effective interview techniques, and the processes
surrounding interviews, apply to all situations involving candidate selection,
whatever the position and situation.
If interviews make you nervous (as they do to most people), take comfort
from the interview story about the wrong Guy, which is also a great lesson for
interviewers in the need for good preparation and communication, and why
high pressure in interviews doesn't get to the truth, it merely forces people to
tell you what you want to hear.
Interviewers and interviewees can maybe take some inspiration for how to
handle the interview, and personal and organisational values, from the love
and spirituality page, which addresses the increasingly important area of
bringing compassion and humanity to work.
See the separate articles:
job-hunting method and tool - adapt it for your own situation
life balance
pay-rise negotiation
cv's writing templates, examples, and tips
reference letters tips, templates and samples
resignations letters tips, templates and samples
exit interviews - including exit interviews questions samples
assertiveness and confidence
raising self-belief
job interviews advice and
samples for interviewers and
interviewees
This job interviews article below includes:
job interviews tips for interviewers
job interviews tips for interviewees
job interviews questions and answers
samples - guidance for interviewers and
interviewees
stress and pressure interview questions
competency-based and behaviour interviews
'gut
instinct'...
I refer to The Apprentice TV
show, UK version. The US
version exhibits a similar
effect.
In perhaps the most
transparent and expensive
job interview process ever
devised, Sir Alan Sugar
almost always admits to
struggling to decide which
candidate to fire, and
ultimately to resorts to 'gut
questions
instinct' in making his choice.
presentations at interviews - preparing and
giving
There is a lesson in this for
interviewers and
interviewees, namely: Sir
Alan is not the only
interviewer who makes
decisions on 'gut instinct',
instead of using more
objective methods of
assessment.
questions for interviewees to ask the
interviewer and asking for the job at
interviews
salary negotiation tips for job interviews
second interviews guidelines
follow-up letters or emails by interviewee
after job interviews
group selection recruitment process (also
useful for assessment centres events)
designing graduate assessment recruitment
days and other group selection
days andideas for group selection activities
and methods
samples of job interviews thank you letters
or rejection letters
job interviews and job applications rejection
letters - handling the processes positively feedback to and from applicants
job promotion interviews tips
tips and techniques relating to salary
negotiations at job interviews
tips on what to wear for job interviews
tips on doing research before job interviews
When interviewingpeople,
please try to be objective and
fair to candidates - use
proper relevant
measurements - and so avoid
the need to make purely 'gut
instinct' decisions.
When being interviewed,
be prepared to present
convincing evidence to the
interviewer that you will be
the best person for the job,
so that the interviewer does
not have to rely on 'gut
instinct' in making that
judgement.
simple quick proactive plan to get the right
job
helpful process for planning your career
steps and successful job hunting
interviews tips - for interviewers
1. You must makes notes of the questions you intend to ask - otherwise
you'll forget.
2. Decide the essential things you need to learn and prepare questions to
probe them.
3. Plan the environment - privacy, no interruptions, ensure the interviewee
is looked after while they wait.
4. Arrange the seating in an informal relaxed way. Don't sit behind a desk
directly facing the interviewee - sit around a coffee table or meeting
room table.
5. Clear your desk, apart from what you need for the interview, so it
shows you've prepared and are organised, which shows you respect the
situation and the interviewee.
6. Put the interviewee at ease - it's stressful for them, so don't make it any
worse.
7. Begin by explaining clearly and concisely the general details of the
organisation and the role.
8. Ask open-ended questions - how, why, tell me, what, (and to a lesser
extent where, when, which) to get the interviewee talking.
9. Make sure the interviewee does 90% of the talking.
10.
Use 'How?' and 'What?' questions to prompt examples and get to
the real motives and feelings. 'Why?' questions place more pressure on
people because they suggest that justification or defence is required.
'Why?' questions asked in succession will probe and drill down to root
causes and feelings, but use with care as this is a high-pressure form of
questioning and will not allow sensitive or nervous people to show you
how good they are. Think about how your questions will make the
interviewee feel. Your aim and responsibility as an interviewer is to
understand the other person - not to intimidate, which does not
facilitate understanding.
11.
High pressure causes people to clam up and rarely exposes
hidden issues - calm, relaxed, gentle, clever questions are far more
revealing.
12.
Probe the cv/resume/application form to clarify any unclear
points.
13.
If possible, and particularly for any position above first-line jobs,
use some form of psychometric test, or graphology, and have the
results available for the interview, so you can discuss them with the
interviewee. Always give people the results of their tests. Position the
test as a helpful discussion point, not the deciding factor. Take care
when giving the test to explain and reassure. Ensure the test is done on
your premises - not sent in the post.
14.
Give interviewees opportunities to ask their own questions.
Questions asked by interviewees are usually very revealing. They also
help good candidates to demonstrate their worth, especially if the
interviewer has not asked great questions or there is a feeling that a
person has for any reason not had the chance to show their real
capability and potential.
interviews tips - for interviewees
1. Research as much as you can about the company - products, services,
markets, competitors, trends, current activities, priorities. See the tips
about researching before job interviews.
2. Prepare your answers for the type of questions you'll be asked,
especially, be able to say why you want the job, what your strengths
are, how you'd do the job, what your best achievements are.
3. Prepare good questions to ask at the interview. See the section
on questions to ask at job interviews.
4. Related to the above, request a copy of the company's employment
terms and conditions or employee handbook before the interview, in
order to save time covering routine matters during the interview.
5. Assemble hard evidence (make sure it's clear and concise) of how what
you've achieved in the past - proof will put you ahead of those who
merely talk about it.
6. Have at least one other interview lined up, or have a recent job offer, or
the possibility of receiving one from a recent job interview, and make
sure you mention it to the interviewer.
7. Make sure your resume/cv is up to date, looking very good and even if
already supplied to the interviewer take three with you (one for the
interviewer, one for you and a spare in case the interviewer brings a
colleague in to the meeting).
8. Get hold of the following material and read it, and remember the
relevant issues, and ask questions about the areas that relate to the
organisation and the role. Obtain and research: the company's sales
brochures and literature, a trade magazine covering the company's
market sector, and a serious newspaper for the few days before the
interview so you're informed about world and national news. Also worth
getting hold of: company 'in-house' magazines or newsletters,
competitor leaflets, local or national newspaper articles featuring the
company.
9. Review your personal goals and be able to speak openly and honestly
about them and how you plan to achieve them.
10.
Ensure you have two or three really good reputable and relevant
references, and check they'd each be happy to be contacted.
11.
Adopt an enthusiastic, alert, positive mind-set. If you want some
help with this try the 'I Am' self-belief page.
12.
Particularly think about how to deal positively with any negative
aspects - especially from the perspective of telling the truth, instead of
evading or distorting facts, which rarely succeeds. See the CV
pointers about this - it's very significant.
13.
Try to get some experience of personality tests. Discover your
personality strengths and weaknesses that would be indicated by a test,
and be able to answer questions positively about the results. (Do not be
intimidated by personality testing - expose yourself to it and learn about
yourself.) To understand more about personality testing and the
underpinning theory - and to find out more about yourself in this
respect - see the section onpersonality theories and make time to read
and understand it.
14.
Think about what to wear. See the guidance about choice of
dress, clothes and colours for interviews below.
15.
Some jobs invite or offer opportunity to re-define or develop the
role itself. It might be a existing role or a new position. If so prepare for
this. Most jobs in fact offer this potential, but sometimes it is a stated
requirement. See the notes in the CV section about approaching a
vacancy for which the role has not yet been fully defined.
sample job interviews questions and answers - for
interviewers and interviewees
These are samples of questions that interviewers ask interviewees, with
suggested ideal answers and reasons and purposes of the questions, to help
interviewers and interviewees alike. See also thequestions to ask at your job
interview for ideas and suggested questions that interviewees should ask the
interviewer, which are also extremely important.
There are very many different questions that can be used in job interviews.
This page does not attempt to list them all. Instead it seeks to give you an
understanding through the examples below and other tips as to what is
effective and why, from the standpoint of the interviewer and the interviewee.
Therefore, whether you are an interviewer preparing questions to ask, or an
interviewee preparing how to give great answers, it is better to read all of this
section to help you understand what works best and why, rather than simply
select a few 'stock' examples. Having a few 'stock' questions and answers
examples will limit your appreciation to just those examples. Instead seek to
understand the reasoning that determines successful interviews, and then you
will be able to formulate your own questions and answers for any interview
situations that you face - whether as an interviewer or an interviewee.
question
answers examples and guidance
question notes
How do you
measure
talent?
The first thing is to acknowledge the See general guidelines
significance and importance of a
above if you've not seen
question like these examples.
them already.
or
By showing that you recognise the
potency of the question (for
organisations as well as
interviewees), you are half way to
providing an impressive and
effective answer.
How do you
measure
talent in an
organisation
These (apparently)
tough questions about
'talent' and how to
measure and develop
'talent' are presently
confounding many of
(or company
or team)?
the world's biggest
(This principle of acknowledging very organisations, many
good questions in this way can be
leaders, and
and in similar applied to any other question that
organisational
vein:
addresses a serious and deeply
development specialists.
significant issue, as this is.)
How do you
These questions about
grow/develop You can show your recognition with 'talent' reflect
talent in an
an initial response such as:
widespread modern
organisation
organisational
(or company "That's a very significant question.
challenges, and so are
or team)?
Its implications affect the future
useful in interviews,
health of all organisations - probably especially for training,
now more than ever.."
HR, management and
executive positions.
Beyond this, the question might
initially seem impossible to answer,
Interviewees who can
especially if you've had no real
answer these questions
experience of measuring or growing sensibly and
such an intangible and
thoughtfully
fundamentally important aspect of
demonstrate
performance in people and
considerable
organisations, but there is actually
perceptiveness and
quite a simple way to answer a
ability.
question like this, for example:
Answers to these
"The reason why this is such a
questions are relevant
difficult question for modern
modern indicators as to
organisations to address and
an interviewee's value
resolve, is that while some
and potential in the
organisations and leaders know how field of management,
crucial 'talent' is for their survival
leadership and HR.
and competitive effectiveness, you
can't actually measure and grow
anything until you can define
exactly what it is, which is the real
challenge. I believe that you can
only begin to measure and
developanything when you can
define exactly what it is. Talent is
prime example. The concept of
'talent' alone is completely
intangible. It means all sorts of
different things to different people
and organisations. Therefore the key
to measuring and growing 'talent' is
first to define exactly what 'talent' is
- to understand and describe what it
means, what it looks like, how it
behaves and what it can achieve.
And these definitions will be different
depending on the organisation.
Talent in a bank will have a quite
different meaning to talent in an
advertising agency, or in a hospital.
So that's the first answer to the
question: First you need to define it
and agree the definition, which is
likely to be quite and involved and
detailed task, because it's such a
deep and serious concept..."
Here's how you can develop this
answer:
"Aside from defining what talent is,
the organisation needs to
acknowledge the importance of
talent, (according to the agreed
organisational definitions). This
requires a commitment from the
very top, which must be transparent
and visible to all. Then people will
begin to value talent more fittingly
and preciously. A similar thing
happened with the 'total quality'
concept, when leaders woke up and
realised its significance. But they
first had to define it and break it
down into measurable manageable
elements before they could begin to
improve it. Talent is the same."
If you really want to go for broke
you could add:
"The same thing will happen
with love and spirituality in
organisations, as is happening
already with ethics and
responsibility. These fundamentally
crucial concepts can only be
assessed, managed and developed
when they are given emphatic
priority from the top, and defined in
a meaningful and manageable way.
Then they can be grown just like any
other organisational attribute."
A supplementary point is that some
leaders simply do not appreciate the
really true concept of talent, which
unfortunately is a serious obstacle to
doing anything useful about talent at
all. Where this is the case, the leader
must be educated or replaced,
because as ever organisations can
only do what they leader genuinely
understands and commits to
achieving.
(Prior to a
sales
or commercia
l
management
interview)
The level of detail and precision that
you can include in your plan and
presentation depends on how well
you know the market and the
organisation. Beware of assuming
too much however - it's important to
Asking interviewees to
prepare a plan for their
first one or two or three
months in the role is an
increasingly popular
way for interviewing
Prepare a
plan for your
first 1/2/3
months in the
role and
present it at
the interview.
strike the right balance between the
need for assessment and action.
Interviewers want people who will
make things happen and introduce
positive change, but at the same
time who can preserve the good
things and avoid problematical fallThis example out.
and
guidelines for A Gantt Chart is a good way to
answers are present this sort of plan. See
orientated to the project managementsection, but
a sales or
avoid going into the level of detail
commercial
suggested for major projects.
management
role, but the A clear series of bullet points will
same
also be acceptable for most
principles
situations. Be guided by the
apply for
recruiting organisation as to the
many other
technology and media to use, but in
management any event concentrate on the
positions,
content rather than the bells and
and
whistles. A good candidate would be
increasingly
able to handle this using just a flip
front-line
chart.
positions too.
See also the presentationspage for
Market forces ideas about how to structure the
inevitably
presentation, but again be mindful of
tend to
the pressure of time: be very
require all
compact, impactful, concise and
roles to be
efficient in the way you put your
increasingly
ideas across.
strategic,
therefore this What's required here is essentially a
interview
cohesive list of strategic action
question
points, each aimed at producing
could be
specific results. Innovation helps
organisations to get a
real taste and sample of
how the job candidate
would approach the
job.
Seeing lots of fresh
ideas is also very
helpful in its own right
for the recruiting
organisation.
A question like this usually for a
management position,
but not always so - is a
great opportunity for
the interviewee to
use preparation and
research in producing a
compelling presentation
of your value to the
employer.
It's a real chance to
show what you can do,
in terms of ideas,
experience, technical
grasp of your subject,
and ability to present
and enthuse with
clarity, logic and
passion.
The guidelines and
examples here are for a
sales or commercial
position, but the same
principles apply for any
used for lots
of customerfacing roles
as well as
management
job
interviews.
provided it's not too off-the-wall.
Typically it's very difficult (and
generally unwise) to enter a new
organisation and immediately begin
making lots of big changes, unless of
course the situation is in crisis; a
period of assessment and research is
normally sensible.
Another crucial aspect is the
maturity and performance of the
team. Look at theTannenbaum and
Schmidt, and Tuckman theories to
understand the significance of the
team's capability.
Aim for 5-7 bullet points per section
of the plan (for example a 3 month
plan could be presented as three 5-7
point sections). Each action point
with outcomes and reasoning
explained. Financials and example
statistics/ratios too if you know
them.
Points and areas that could feature
in a sales management plan are as
follows - either as areas to address,
or areas to develop into specific
action points, depending on the level
of knowledge and experience. These
are in no particular order. Priority
and mix depends on the situation:

Immediate review of current and
projected performance and
factors - identify glaring gaps,
weaknesses and opportunities -
role when asked to
prepare a plan and
present it at an
interview.
The interviewer will
want to see that the
interviewee has a good
understanding of the
key performance criteria
for the function or team
or department
concerned, and can use
experience, research
and original thinking in
creating and delivering
a clear, logical cohesive
action-plan
presentation.
Thus the interviewer is
effectively having to
'pitch' for the job, in the
same way that an
agency has to pitch for
a new account.
Being asked to present
a plan at an interview is
a wonderful opportunity
to shine, especially for
people who do not
necessarily perform well
under pressure when
handling some of the
more unpredictable
questions that can arise
in interviews. Instead,
being able to prepare a
identify and optimise quick gains
where possible

Pareto (80:20) analysis products, markets, customers

People/team assessment - styles,
strengths, performance,
responsibilities, etc psychometrics if
possible/appropriate

Costs and spending review optimise and tighten - improve
accountability and freedoms
within agreed guidelines

Customer analysis/visits - protect
and consolidate

Competitor assessment - identify
losses and threats, especially
from a major accounts/sectors
view

SWOT, PEST analyses

Sales cycle and selling process
review - key ratios and statistics

Sales proposition, USP's, USB's
(see sales section)

Performance management,
measurement and reporting

ICT and internet - internal
communications and systems,
and customer interfaces

Pricing and marginsanalysis

Advertising and promotion and
plan and presentation in
advance allows
interviewer and
interviewee's to assess
and respond to each
others needs in a far
more professional and
well-organised way.
enquiry generation - conversion
ratios through the sales funnel

Strategy review distribution/route(s) to market(s),
partnerships - suppliers and sales
distribution

Marketing and sales materials and
documentation review, including
electronic and online data and
systems

Sales model - alignment of sales
people with markets, sectors,
verticals and horizontals

Sales
skills and trainingassessment

Sales processing and relationships
with other departments, CRM
(customer relationship
management)

Sales services agencies/suppliers
- telemarketing, A&P, etc

Quality/service assessment especially identify key
performance factors

Look at/develop interfunctional/departmental
communications/cooperation/relat
ionships

Motivation, morale

Sales planning, aims, objectives,
targets - cascading to individual
quotas and responsibilities

Standards and controls

Legal and licensing areas if
appropriate, contractsand SLA's
(service level agreements)

Philosophy and belief,ethics and
integrity
The presentation needs to combine
relevant hot-spots from the above
list, and to suggest a process of
assessment and involvement of
people, blended with change, so as
to identify and optimise key
performance factors within strategy,
people/teams, skills and processes.
How
do/would you
optimise
performance
and lift
standards in
a team?
or
Explain your
approach to
maintaining
high
standards
and
improving
poor
performance
in a team.
Aside from the sort of poor
performance which requires a firm
disciplinary response (see the
section on performance
management), this question is best
answered from the viewpoint of
improvement and development,
rather than discipline and control.
The question provides a great
opportunity to refer to lots of
relevant theory, and to show you
know how to apply it.
'Poor performance' is actually not a
helpful perspective - it's negative.
It's best to interpret this as helping
people to become the best that
they can be, in ways that enable
them to align their natural strengths
and preferences with the needs of
the organisation and team.
These questions invite
candidates at
management interviews
to demonstrate their
management and
leadership abilities.
All management
interviewees should
prepare to answer this
sort of question. Even if
the interviewer doesn't
ask the question, there
will be plenty of
opportunities to use the
answers in dealing with
other questions.
Good modern
employers will look for
positiveY-Theory ideas
or
(prior to the
interview)
Prepare and
give a
presentation
on how to
maintain
standards
and address
poor
performance
in managing
a team.
Maslow is certainly relevant - we
need to help people self-actualise,
which a better angle of approach
than 'poor performance'.
Belbin's model of team roles is a
useful reference framework
(everyone's good at something - so
find out what it is and get them
playing to their strengths).
Also useful in this respect
isGardner's multiple intelligences,
and learning styles, along with the
otherpersonality styles theory,
although don't go into that depth at
the interview - just refer to the main
principles.
Aspects of delegation are relevant,
within whichTannenbaum and
Schmidt, and Tuckman's 'storming,
forming..etc' model are also useful
reference frameworks.
Adair's Action-Centred Leadership
model is a great reference for
illustrating the different aspects of
teams that need managing and
leading.
about managing
people.
More traditional and
autocratic interviewers
will seek a tougher
approach, in which case
you can incorporate a
few examples of
firmness and control
within your answers,
where situations and
scenarios warrant such
a style.
If you are the
interviewee don't just
use my words - take
what's meaningful and
workable for you and
make it your own.
Understand your own
strengths and style and
show you know when to
adapt and use a
different approach.
If you are the
interviewer ask this sort
of question and look for
the candidates to
demonstrate that they
The role of every good leader is to
understand about
develop a successor, alongside
modern methods of
which is the aim to develop team
managing, leading and
maturity so that it can self-manage. developing teams. You
This approach fosters high standards need to recruit
and great performance because the managers and leaders
team is being empowered. Open
who can empower and
clear positive two-way
communications help to establish
team understanding and agreement
of aims and direction (and
standards). Involve and consult and
enable and coach, rather than
decide and direct and control. People
perform and achieve best when
pursuing their own goals and aims,
not the ones imposed from outside.
The trick therefore is aligning people
with work, so it's meaningful and
important.
inspire others, so seek
these qualities in
people, which will be
demonstrated in the
answers to this sort of
question.
An interview presentation (ensure
you know how long the presentation
should last) is best structured in
three parts, plus the intro and the
close. Look at the notes
onpresentations. Use different ways
of communicating your ideas.
Physical props demonstrate points
powerfully and involve the
audience/interviewers if passed
around. Referring to case studies
and extracts from biographies of
high-achievers will help illustrate
that high performance is borne of
inner drive, not external control. A
good manager is an enabler not a
controller.
Have you
ever dealt
with a
customer
making an
unrealistic
demand?
Obviously if you have a real example
with a good positive successful
outcome for the customer and
supplier then use it (it's a good idea
to think about and prepare an
example for this type of question in
advance). Ideally examples should
The interviewer asks
these interview
questions give the
interviewee an
opportunity to
demonstrate firstly how
they decide that what is
include the following elements:
or
Central to this process is being able
to fully understand the customer's
Can you give position and feelings, without
me an
necessarily agreeing with them.
example
Explaining this difference between
where you've understanding and agreeing at the
had to deal
interview helps the interviewee to
with a
demonstrate capability to deal with
customer
these types of difficult situations.
who has
Good sympathetic questioning skills,
made an
and a good understanding of the
unrealistic or options available to the supplier
unreasonable organisation in solving problems, are
demand?
also vital for being able to adapt and
develop mutually agreeable
or
solutions. An excellent answer or
demonstration of excellent capability
How do you
would include a very positive result
deal with
in which the customer's satisfaction
difficult
and loyalty was increased to a
customers?
higher level than before the
complaint or request (which is
actually more easy to achieve than
most people imagine). To show
excellent technical skills in dealing
with very difficult and emotional
customers interviewees could refer
to techniques withinTransactional
Analysis,Empathy theory, and NLP
(Neuro-Linguistic Programming).
realistic and what is
unrealistic, and
secondly how to explain
to the customer why
the demand cannot be
met, and hopefully
better still suggest an
acceptable alternative
course of action,
preferably which results
in the customer being
more satisfied than if
the issue had not arisen
in the first place.
(Any question
that invites
you
to describe,
explain, or
comment on
a 'negative'
The purpose of these
questions may be
unwitting, that is to say
the interviewer has no
idea what they might be
uncovering. Or the
question might be to
When asked a question which
intentionally or unintentionally
exposes a 'negative' situation or
experience or reason (for example
for having left your last job), you
should provide a positive
interpretation and reflection of the
It is a fact that the
greatest customer
service challenges also
offer the greatest
opportunities to delight
the customer, and
interviewees who
demonstrate such a
philosophy are generally
indicating great
potential and value to a
prospective employer.
situation, for
example,
"Why did you
leave your
last job?, if
the reason
was that you
were being
bullied, or
that you lost
your temper
at your boss
and were
fired)
experience. This means objectively
(without emotion or bias)
demonstrating understanding of the
behaviour (which was directed at
you that caused you to leave, or
your negative behaviour that caused
you to leave). For instance if you
were bullied say so, but do not be
critical or bitter, and emphasise the
positives from the experience (which
not least would be that you thought
it best to leave rather than continue
in a situation that was not doing
anyone any good). If you behaved
badly then you should ideally explain
what you did and why, and how you
have learned from it and that you
will not make the same mistake
again.
intentionally put
pressure on the
interviewee in an area
of weakness, or
vulnerability, or past
failure or mistake.
In general the approach is the same
for most situations when dealing
with questions that expose
weaknesses or failures or
opportunities for bitterness: you can
(and should) explain what happened
(to lie or distort would be wrong) but
do so without bitterness or
recrimination, and demonstrate
forgiveness, tolerance and selfdevelopment achieved from the
experience.
Emotionally mature
people are able to talk
objectively and honestly
about 'negative'
experiences, and
interpret them into
positive experiences.
If you were the guilty party it helps
to show that you had the courage to
take some action to make amends,
even for 'lost cause'.
How would
Think before the interview and
In any case,
interviewers learn a lot
about an interviewee's
emotional maturity
(increasingly a much
sought-after attribute)
when the interviewee is
invited to explain,
comment, and show
their feelings about a
past 'negative
experience.
A good interviewer can
confidently form a good
impression of any
interviewee who
displays good emotional
maturity.
This is not a actually
you respond
if you were
offered the
job?
What would
you do if you
had to deal
with an angry
customer?
during the interview:
Howwould you actually respond to
this question? If you'd accept the job
and you are really happy and free to
do so, then say so. You have little to
gain from being evasive. If you have
other options or commitments that
need proper and fair consideration
before accepting the job offer then
say so (it does not put you in a very
good light if you demonstrate that
you are prepared to treat an existing
employer or another potential
employer badly). If you need more
information (about package,
expectations, responsibilities, etc)
then say so. If the interviewer is
being aggressive or provocative (as
can happen in certain sales
interviews particularly) you could say
that actually the only way to find out
for sure is to make the offer, ie.,
"...make me the offer and I'll tell
you..." (the interviewer will not
normally fall for that one of course
but at least he/she will see that you
can stand up for yourself, which
most tough-nuts will respect).
great question to ask (if
you are the interviewer)
or to be asked (if you
are the interviewee)
because it suggests that
the interviewer might
not offer the job to
someone who is not
certain to accept it.
Look at the Transactional
Analysis, NLP, and Empathypages - a
lot of what you need to know (and
will differentiate you from other
interviewees) is there, depending on
your interview situation. Basically the
answer is to empathise, understand,
and as quickly as possible obtain the
customer's trust in your promise to
try to resolve the matter. And then
This type of 'scenario'
question is good
because it enables an
interviewee to
demonstrate
experience, technique,
and awareness of why a
certain behaviour is
appropriate for a given
real situation that can
This is not great
indication of a good,
confident grown-up
high-quality employer
(or interviewer).
If you are strong and
mature you'll be able to
deal with an employer
who feels the need to
ask this question,
otherwise you might not
find this type of
employer mature
enough for you.
set about finding the facts and
resolving it, working within whatever
policies and processes are in place
for the particular problem. The
important thing is to remember the
difference between understanding
and agreeing - you need to
understand without necessarily
agreeing or pre-judging the outcome
(unless of course you can actually
resolve it an agree it there and
then). And you need to apologise
without pre-judging whatever
investigation you need to do or
arrange. Finally, take responsibility
for seeing the issue through to the
finish, when at the end of it
hopefully the customer is more
delighted than they have ever been,
(which is often what happens when
you do things properly).
What will you
bring to the
job or
company if
we employ
you?
arise in the job.
Demonstration of
exactly the same
experience is not
necessary, what
matters is the ability to
adapt and apply
technique and
behaviour, which could
come from different
related experiences, for
example dealing with
difficult or upset people
in any other situations.
The interviewee must
demonstrate knowledge
and/or experience of
appropriate technique,
behavioural and
emotional awareness
and capability, and the
ability to match a good
technical emotional and
constructive response
to a particular
emotional (and
probably processbased) challenge.
This tough interview
question is an
Imagine what yourobjectives will
opportunity for the
be if you were in the role, and
interviewee to relate
orientate your answer towards
their strengths and
meeting them, on time, on budget,
capabilities to the
and with style (especially toimprove priorities of the job
motivation and morale and to
function, and to the
avoid unnecessary disruption and
unhelpful side-effects).
aims and priorities of
the organization.
Try to focus on the particular
priorities and requirements of
the role, the targets and aims,
(which means you need to ask
what they are if your are not told)
and also if possible, focus
onworking style and behaviour
attributes that fit the preferences
of the interviewer, since most
interviewers prefer people like
themselves.
The interviewee must
therefore demonstrate
anunderstandingof
both sides of the
question - theneeds of
the employer,
andhow to apply
their own skills,
capabilities,
experience, style and
strengths to the
situation.
For example (assuming that the
points illustrated are relevant):
"I can see clearly that quick results
are a priority - and that's something
I'm good at generating, because I
have good abilities and experience
to interpret situations, and then a
strong focus on activities which will
achieve change and results in the
necessary areas."
It's a good question,
and also a great
opportunity to show
how good you are, and
how you will add
positively to the mood
and attitude of people
you'll work with.
This question invites
good specific solutions
"I'm diplomatic with people too,
and suggestions in
which means I can generally bring
response to stated
people along with me; if needs be
organizational
though I can be firm and determined requirements.
enough to convince people who
need a bit of extra encouragement." As such it will quickly
show up the candidates
who understand what's
needed in the role and
how to make it happen.
Certain interviewers and
situations will also be
seeking indications of
the candidate's personal
style when working with
others - notably
whether the candidate
will be an asset to the
team in terms of
motivation and morale.
If you are the
interviewer make sure
you explain earlier in
the interview what the
situation requires in
terms of results,
parameters and
attitudinal factors.
Tell me about
the culture at
your last
If the past culture was good them
company or
explain how and why in terms that
employer.
the interviewee is likely to identify
with, for example:
"The culture encouraged people to
develop, grow, take responsibility.
People were coached and mentored
towards quality and productive
effort. All of this helped me a great
deal because I identify with these
values, and respond to these
opportunities."
A good answer, in referring to a
non-supportive culture would be to
express the positive aspects (eg lots
of freedom for me to take initiative,
The proper purpose of
this tough question is to
see how you interpret
and explain culture,
which provides an
opportunity for you as
the the interviewee to
demonstrate how you
feel about and react to
whatever culture was in
place. It's a potential
trap for interviewees
who would be negative
and critical and
apportion blame, eg
'the culture was not
supportive and so it
didn't help me to
perform' (not a good
answer). The culture
Tell me about
your life at
College or
University (or
even your
time in your
previous job).
responsibility, find new ways to
contribute, a free market allowing
the good workers to naturally excel
and develop reputation and internal
working relationships, etc.)
question also invites
comments from the
interviewee about
management style, and
again is a trap for
negative respondents
who criticise their past
boss (bad answer),
rather than accentuate
the positives and
demonstrate positive
behaviour in negative
situations, which is a
highly desirable trait.
The question is an opportunity for
you to demonstrate the qualities that
the interviewer is seeking in for the
job, so orientate your answer
towards these expectations (without
distorting the truth obviously).
A big open question like
this in an interviewer is
a huge opportunity or
huge trap. It can be a
tough question if not
approached properly.
In your answer, emphasise the
positive behaviour, experience and
achievements (ideally backed up
with examples and evidence) which
will impress the interviewer because
of its relevance to the role
requirements.
Interviewees should
have the sense to refer
to previous experiences
that indicate capability
and behaviour of the
sort that the role
requires.
The interviewer is looking for the
same capabilities and behaviour in
your college (or university or
previous job) life that they want in
the job.
It's a trap for
interviewees who look
regretfully or negatively
on past experiences,
criticise or attribute
blame, or display
Your emphasis should be on
'someone else's fault'
your achievements, and how you attitudes.
achieved them, that are relevant
to the job requirements.
College and University
are environments which
Interviewers with special interest in provide lots of
behaviour and personality may also opportunity. Good
use a question like this to assess
applicants will be able
your self-awareness and maturity, in to demonstrate that
the way you consider your answer
they have used the
and relate it to your own experience opportunity to learn and
and development.
develop, whether their
experiences were all
positive and successful
or not.
What do you
want to be
doing in
2/5/10 years
time?
Or:
Where do
you want to
be in 2/5/10
years time?
It's not easy to answer this in terms
of job expectation - no-one can
realistically predict what job will be
required in 5-10 years, let alone
whether they will be right to do it, so
I'd avoid specific job aims or claims,
unless you actually have a very clear
plan, and are seeking a job and
career which clearly offers
predictable and structured
progression.
This is a common tough
interview question, and
it commonly trips
people up into making
over-ambitious claims
about their future
potential and worth. It
highlights feelings of
delusion, and a need for
security if they exist.
The question
For most people and roles, which are encourages the
largely unpredictable, this question is interviewee to think and
best and easiest answered in terms express their plans and
of the sort of situationyou'd like to aspirations, future
be in, which should reinforce all the direction, needs and
other good things about yourself, for wishes. Some people
example:
find it more difficult to
answer than others,
"Making a more significant
depending on their
contribution to whatever
personality.
organisation I'm working for. To
have developed new skills, abilities, Some people are able to
maturity - perhaps a little wisdom
plan and see clear steps
even. To have become better
qualified in whatever way suits the
situation and opportunities I have.
To be better regarded by my peers,
and respected by my superiors as
someone who can continue to
increase the value and scale of what
I do for the organisation."
along the way, which
would be more
commonly exhibited by
people whose work
involves this approach.
Job roles which require
a higher level of
adaptability and
"I'd like more responsibility, because flexibility are unlikely to
that's a result of personal growth
attract candidates who
and progression, and it's important
are meticulous
for my personal satisfaction."
planners.
"I have no set aspirations about
money and reward - if I contribute
and add value to the organisation
then generally increased reward
follows - you get out what you put
in."
The question is a
powerful one because it
prompts the interviewee
to think
andvisualise about
themselves and how
they expect and want to
"Long term I want to make the most change.
of my abilities - if possible to build a
serious career, but in this day and
age nothing is certain or
guaranteed; things can change. I'll
do my best and believe that
opportunities will arise which will
enable me to keep contributing,
increasing my worth, and developing
my ability in a way that benefits the
organisation and me."
Employers will respond well if they
see that you are mature,
independent, self-motivated; that
you will make a positive and growing
contribution, and that you
understand that reward (financial,
promotion, responsibility, etc) will
always be based on the quality and
value of your input.
Give an
example of
when you
had to settle
a dispute
between two
individuals.
This depends on your relationship to
the two people, so seek clarification
if this is not clear, but broadly the
aim is to first take any heat out of
the situation by calming the
individuals. Then firmly arrange a
three-way discussion later in the day
or an early opportunity in the future,
in a suitable environment (closed
meeting room), at which you can
facilitate a proper discussion of the
issues, so as to arrive at an agreed
positive way of going forward or
compromise. It's important
to understandeach person's
standpoint and feelings,
without agreeingwith them, unless
the argument concerns a clear
breach of policy or wrong behaviour,
in which case the transgressor
should be counselled separately,
after which the three-way meeting
can be held to mend relationships.
Arguments come in all shapes and
sizes - a more specific answer is
possible in response to a more
specific scenario.
The interviewer is using
this tough question to
test the interviewee's
experience and ability
to diffuse conflict, and
also to step back and
take an objective view,
rather than getting
involved and taking
sides, which is the
natural temptation.
Objectivity and
facilitation are
important skills of a
good manager, and this
question will identify
whether the interviewee
possesses them. This
question will also put
pressure on the
interviewee's ability to
manage people,
because it provides a
tricky peoplemanagement scenario.
What is your
ideal job?
Mindful of the trap possibilities, the
interviewee would always do well to
qualify the question by asking for a
timescale (at what point in my
career?) before answering. This
shows that some consideration is
taking place rather than a knee-jerk,
and that the question is producing a
This is a good and
tough interview
question, and the
answer would almost
always trigger a more
specific follow-up
question, asking 'why?',
and then probing the
serious response rather than a
fanciful one.
Aside from this, the best answer to
the question, as for any interview
question, is to use the opportunity to
sell the strengths of the interviewee
as a potential asset to the
organisation. This would produce an
answer that creates a picture of a
loyal, results-orientated person,
making a significant contribution to
the organisation (status and level
would depend on timescale). If the
answer is poor it will trigger a
probing follow up that puts pressure
on the interviewee to justify a daft
response. If the answer is impressive
there probably won't be a follow-up
as there's nothing to probe and the
interviewer can move on. Wrong
answers would include: 'boss of my
own company' 'your job' 'the top
salesman on half a mill a year' 'CEO
of this company' (unless you can
justify the claim) a pop star, a
railway engine driver, a film star, etc
Good answers would include: 'A
manager or executive with this
organisation in (function relative to
experience and skill set) where I
have the responsibility and
accountability for using my skills and
efforts to achieve great results, work
alongside great people, and get a
fair reward.' 'I'd like to become an
expert in my field (state function if
relevant), where I'm able to use my
skills and abilities to make a real
difference to the company's
reasons for the choice.
From the interviewer's
standpoint, the question
is open and vague,
which for certain
purposes (see the next
para re traps) is a good
thing. If the question is
intended to elicit
meaningful information
about the interviewee's
career plans, then some
timescale should be
attached (ie 'what
would be your ideal job
in 3/5/10 years time?')
The question exposes
interviewees who seek
only personal
gratification ('outputs')
from a role (money,
status, esteem,
excitement, glamour,
security, etc) rather
than seeking
opportunities to make
best possible use of
their effort, skills and
experience, in
contributing to the
performance/quality/res
ults of the organisation
for which the role is
performed ('inputs').
The question is a
potential trap for people
who are more
concerned with what
they get out of a job
Why do you
want this
job?
performance.'
rather than what they
put into it. Employers
do not really want to
recruit gratificationorientated people.
These people are
generally not selfstarting nor selfmotivating.
The question also gives
indications as to how
realistically the
interviewee sees
themselves. Some
people visualise highly
fanciful and unrealistic
jobs, which is a warning
sign to a potential
employer. Others
visualise jobs that are
clearly remote from the
job being applied for,
which indicates that
some falsification or
delusion is present.
Reflect back the qualities required
and job priorities as being the things
you do best and enjoy. Say why you
think the company is good, and that
you want to work for an organisation
like it.
Opportunity to sell
yourself and show you
understand what they're
looking for in the
role. Make sure you hit
both of these hot
buttons. It's a touch
question if you've not
prepared the answer.
What did you Prepare a number of relevant
achieve in
examples and explain one (two or
your last job? three if they're punchy and going
down well). Make sure you feature
Another tough question
which will expose a lack
of preparation or
relevant experience.
as the instigator, or the factor that
made the difference. Examples must
lead to significant organisational
benefits; making money, saving
money/time, improving quality,
anticipating or creatively solving
problems, winning/keeping
customers, improving efficiency.
The question and
answer show whether
any achievements have
been made, and what
values are placed on
work. Shows motive whether process,
results, accuracy,
security, social, etc.
Shows understanding of
cause and effect, proactive vs passive.
How would
you approach
this job? How
would you do
it?
Identify the two or three main issues
and say how you'll deal with them,
which shows you can focus on
what's important. Likely to be
planing and organising, ensuring all
the communications and
relationships are working well,
reviewing and measuring activities
and resources against outputs and
improving where possible.
Emphasise your personal strengths
that are very relevant to the role
requirements.
A tough question if the
interviewee has not
prepared. Shows if
you've thought about
what job requires and
entails. Role and
situation needs to have
been explained well to
enable a good
response. Exposes
people who can't
actually do the job.
What are
your
strengths?
Prepare three that are relevant to
the requirements of the role. Be able
to analyse why and how you are
strong in those areas. Mix in some
behaviours, knowledge and
experience and well as skills, and
show that you understand the
difference. Style should be quite
confidence rather than arrogant or
over-confident.
Shows whether
candidate has selfawareness, and can
identify what strengths
are relevant to role.
Shows if candidate has
thought and planned. A
glaring omission if not
planned as this is such
an obvious question
that everyone should be
prepared for. Strengths
should obviously relate
to the needs of the
employer and the role.
What are
your
weaknesses?
Start by saying that you don't
believe you are actually 'weak' in any
area. Acknowledge certain areas that
you believe you can improve, (and
then pick some relatively
unimportant or irrelevant areas). If
you must state a weakness these are
the clever ones that are actually
strengths: not suffering fools gladly;
sometimes being impatient with
other people's sloppy work; being
too demanding; refusing to give in
when you believe strongly about
something; trying to do too much,
etc, etc.
A tough question if
answered without
proper thought. A trap
for the unsuspecting or
naive. Will show up
those who've not
prepared as this is
another obvious
question to expect. Will
also prompt follow-up
questions probing what
the candidate is doing
to improve the
weakness, which is
worth preparing for
also.
What would
your
references
say about
you?
Another opportunity to state relevant Potential trap to draw
strengths, skills and behaviours.
out weaknesses - don't
fall for it.
How do you
handle
tension/stres
s?
Say that you tend not to get tense or
stressed because you plan and
organise properly. Say you look after
the other things that can cause
stress - health, fitness, diet, lifestyle,
etc. Talk about channeling pressure
positively - thinking, planning,
keeping a balanced approach.
Exposes people who
can't deal with pressure
or don't recognise that
lifestyle issues are
important for good
working. Exposes the
misguided macho
approach that stress
can be good. It ain't.
What was the
last book you
read and how
did it affect
Be honest, as the interviewer might
have read it too. There's no shame
in admitting to lightweight reading
material if that's what you like - put
Will provide another
perspective of the
interviewee's
personality that may
you?
it in context, why you read it, and
give a positive result, whatever it is.
Be able to give an intelligent reaction
to what you've read. Don't be too
clever or try to impress as nobody
likes a smart arse.
What
Tell the truth.
does/did your
father do for You are you. Your parents are
a living?
different people.
or
Your parents have no bearing on
how your value should be judged.
What do your
parents do
Avoid reacting in a defensive,
for a living?
judgemental, ashamed or critical
way.
or
Avoid any suggestion that any
Tell me about parental influence on others has
what your
been or could be useful to your own
parents do
career or success (i.e., references
for a living.
relating to 'old school tie' , or 'it's not
what you know it's who you know').
or
What work
are your
parents
involved in?
not otherwise surface.
Opportunity to
demonstrate skills ,
aptitudes, special
interests, selfdevelopment, analytical
ability, self-awareness.
May expose feelings or
issues that can be
probed further.
This question is not
appropriate or helpful in
most interview
situations, but it can
arise, and when it does
so it can be quite
emotive, which is
mainly why it's listed
here.
The question is
designed to expose
people who are overprotective or insecure,
or who might think that
they are somehow
entitled to privilege
because of who their
father is or has
achieved.
The question can also
expose emotional hangups or sensitivities if
any exist, with a view to
further
exploration/discussion.
Interviewers should use
this question with great
care, if indeed there is a
good reason for using
the question at all.
Tell me about
a big
challenge or
difficulty
you've faced;
how did you
deal with it?
Avoid anything deeply personal or
seriously emotional unless you are in
complete control of your feelings
about it. Try to prepare an example
that's work-related and relevant to
the role.
Can expose emotional
raw nerves or
sensitivities.
Opportunity to show
proof of being able to
achieve results in the
face of difficulty. Is this
person actually
experienced are they
just saying they are.
(Experto Credite - Trust
one who has proved it)
Tell me about
something
recently that
really
annoyed you.
Don't get trapped into admitting to a Exposes hang-ups and
temper or loss of control. Say you
style of management
tend to get more annoyed with
and communication.
yourself than with other people or
Exposes anyone who
other situations. Annoyance isn't
believes it's okay or
very productive, so you tend to try
even good to get cross
to understand and concentrate on
with other people. It
finding a way around a problem or
ain't.
putting things straight.
Give me
some
examples of
how you
have adapted
your own
communicati
ng style to
deal with
different
people and
Prepare this as one of your
strengths, as there's not a single job
that won't benefit from good
adaptive communication skills. Give
examples of how you've been
detailed and given written
confirmation for people who need it.
Give examples of how you verbally
enthuse and inspire the people who
respond to challenge and
recognition. Think of other examples
Exposes single-style
non-adaptive
communicators, who
don't understand or
adapt to different
people and situations.
situations.
of adapting your style to suit the
recipients. Give examples when
you've had to be task-driven,
process driven, people-driven, and
how you change your style
accordingly. A chance for you to
truly shine.
Can we check Yes.
your
references?
Exposes people who are
not comfortable about
having their references
checked, in which case
probe. Exposes people
who've not had the
foresight to organise an
important controllable
aspect of their job
search, which is a bad
sign.
What type of
people do
you get on
with
most/least?
Say generally you get on with
everyone. Say you respond most to
genuine, positive, honest people. If
pressed as to people you don't get
on with, say that you respect people
for their differences, and seek to
understand them, rather than seeing
differences to be a reason for
conflict or difficulty.
Exposes hang-ups and
prejudices. May prompt
issues to probe. Strong,
emotionally mature
candidates tend to
respect differences and
understand weaknesses
in others. Weaker
candidates tend to be
more critical and
judgemental about
others.
Give me an
example of
when you've
produced
some poor
work and
how you've
Don't admit to having produced poor A trap - don't fall in it.
work ever. Say you've probably
made one or two mistakes everyone does - but that you always
do everything you can to put them
straight, learn from them and made
sure you'll not make the same
dealt with it.
mistake again.
Excellent
answer - now
can you give
me an
example that
wasn't so
good?
You may be hit with this if you're too
contrived or clever, in which case
give an example of something that
didn't quite go so well, but make
sure you present it positively and say
what you learned from it. Don't try
to stick to your guns and maintain
that you're perfect - show a little
human weakness, but present the
weakness positively, either as a
lesson you've learned from, or an
area you are working on - or if it's
justifiably beyond the remit of the
job, then something you'd seek to
delegate or bring in relevant
support.
Will knock a lot of
people off guard, and
expose any tendencies
to confront or argue.
What do you
find difficult
in work, life,
or
relationships
(etc)?
Pick a relatively irrelevant skill and
say that you don't find it as easy as
you'd like, so you're working on it
(don't just make this up - think
about it and be truthful). Don't own
up to a weakness in an area that's
important to the role. As with the
weaknesses question, you can state
certain difficulties because they are
actually quite acceptable, even
commendable, they'd include:
suffering fools gladly, giving up an
impossible task, tolerating unkind
behaviour like bullying, having to
accept I can't help certain big
problems in the world, etc.
Another trap to expose
weaknesses, and an
opportunity to show
strengths instead if
played properly.
How do you
plan and
organise your
work?
Planning and writing a plan is very
important. I think how best to do
things before I do them, if it's
unknown territory I'd take advice,
A great opportunity to
shine and show
management potential.
Planning and organising
learn from previous examples - why
re-invent the wheel? I always
prioritise, I manage my time, and I
understand the difference between
urgent and important. For very
complex projects I'd produce quite a
detailed schedule and plan review
stages. I even plan time-slots for
activities that aren't in themselves
organised, like thinking time, and
being creative, solving problems,
etc.
is one of the keys to
good work at any level
so it's essential to
acknowledge this.
Exposes unreliable
people who take pride
in flying by the seat of
their pants.
How much
are you
earning?/do
you want to
earn?
Be honest about what you've been
Exposes unrealistic
earning and realistic about what you people. An opportunity
want to earn.
to demonstrate you
understand the basic
principle that everyone
needs to justify their
cost. Extra pay should
be based on extra
performance or
productivity.
How many
hours a week
do you
work/prefer
to work?
It varies according to the situation. I
plan and organise well, so unless
there's a crisis or unusual demand I
try to finish at a sensible time so as
to have some time for my
family/social life/outside interests.
It's important to keep a good
balance. I start earlier than most
people - you can get a lot done
before the phones start ringing.
When the pressure's on though I'm
happy to work as long as it takes to
get the job done. It's not about the
number of hours - it's the quality of
the work that you do; how
productive you are.
Exposes the clockwatchers and those
who attach some
misplaced macho pride
in burning the candle at
both ends. Look for a
sense of balance, with
flexibility to go beyond
the call of duty on
occasions when really
required.
Do you make Be honest. Yes of course on
mistakes?
occasions, but I obviously try not to,
and I always try to correct them and
learn from them.
Anyone who says they
don't make mistakes
either isn't telling the
truth, or never does
anything at all.
Whatever, a 'no' here is
a big warning signal.
(Ack. Linda Larkin)
(Follow
above
question
with) - Can
you share
your mistakes
with others?
Absolutely I can - I get the guidance
I need, and it may help prevent
others from making the same
mistake.
Shows whether the
person can take
responsibility and
guidance. A mature,
positive approach to
learning from mistakes
is a great characteristic.
(Ack. LL)
How to do
measure your
own
effectiveness
?
By the results that I achieve, and
that I achieve them in the most
positive way. If there isn't an
existing measure of this I'll usually
create one.
Exposes people who are
not results orientated more concerned with
process, relationships,
airy-fairy intangibles.
How do you
like to be
managed
/not like to
be managed?
Be truthful, but express positively.
I'm generally very adaptable to most
management styles. In the past I've
helped my bosses get the best out of
me by talking to them and
developing a really good
understanding. I work best when I'm
given freedom and responsibility to
take some of the load off my boss's
shoulders - they have enough to
deal with. Do not respond to the
negative and give any example of
how you do not like to be managed.
Indicates ability to
cooperate and manage
upwards, also how
management attention
you'll need. Exposes
potential awkwardness.
Only the most
experienced and
capable managers will
be seeking difficult
dominant types, and
only then for certain
roles requiring a high
level of independence
and initiative.
What
personal
goals do you
have and
how are you
going about
achieving
them?
Prepare for this - be able to state
your personal and career goals keep them reasonable, achievable
and balanced. Explain how you see
the steps to reaching your aims. An
important part of achieving progress
is planning how to do it. Be able to
demonstrate that you've thought
and planned, but also show that you
are flexible and adaptable, because
it's impossible to predict the future the important thing is to learn and
develop, and take advantage of
opportunities as they come along.
Exposes those with little
or no initiative. People
who don't plan or take
steps to achieve their
own personal progress
will not be pro-active at
work either. People who
don't think and plan
how to progress will
tend to be reactive and
passive, which is fine if
the role calls for no
more, but roles
increasingly call for
planning and action
rather than waiting for
instructions.
How do you
balance work
and
family/social
commitments
?
Say balance is essential. All work
Can expose those with
and no play isn't good for anyone,
outside interests that
but obviously work must come first if may prevail over work
you want to do well and progress.
commitments (keen
Planning and organising my work
sports-people, etc., who
well, and getting results, generally
cannot put work first.)
means that I have time for my
Indicates whether the
outside interests and there's no
interviewee has
conflict.
balanced approach to
life. Obsession with
work to the exclusion of
most else is not
generally a good sign.
Why should
we appoint
you?
You have a choice here as to how to
play this: you can either go for it
strongly, re-stating your relevant
strengths - behaviour, experience
and skills, or you can quietly
confidently suggest: I don't know
the other applicants, so it would be
wrong for me to dismiss their claims.
Pressure question opportunity for
interviewee to clearly
and confidently stake
their claim. Look again
for the interviewee to
state relevant strengths
in behaviour,
What can you
do for us that
other people
cannot?
However, I am sure that I have all
the main attributes the role requires,
which, combined with determination
and positive approach, should
ensure that I'd be a very good
choice. (If management
progression/succession is seen as a
benefit then you must refer to your
willingness to develop and take on
greater responsibilities in the
future.)
experience and skills.
Look also for good eyecontact when pledging
hard work, loyalty,
determination, etc.
I don't know the other applicants,
but generally I excel at . . . (pick
your strengths that most fit with
what they're seeking). Introduce
some behavioural and style
strengths as well as skills, and show
you know the difference between
them.
Pressure question, and
one that enables the
stars to shine. Look for
awareness in the
interviewee that they
know what their
relevant, even special,
strengths are, and can
link them to benefits
that they would bring to
the role.
Tell me about You must rehearse this one. Have
yourself.
ready a descriptions of yourself and
why you're like it. Don't just spout a
lot of standard adjectives, say why
you are like you are. Don't ramble
on and tail off. make a few clear
statements and finish.
Will show whether
applicant has selfawareness - a critical
skill that not everyone
possesses. Will also
show if applicant can
think and present a
complex case clearly
and to the point. Also
shows confidence and
security levels, and
'grown-upness'.
What makes
you mad?
Exposes poor selfcontrol or unreasonable
aversions, fears, and
Nothing really makes me mad - it's
not a good way to deal with
anything. Certain things disappoint
or upset me - rudeness, arrogance,
spitefulness (pick any obvious nasty
traits or behaviours, particularly
behaviours that you believe your
interviewer will personally dislike
too.)
insecurities. Exposes
lack of tolerance and
emotional triggers.
Clever interviewers may
infer or encourage a
feeling in the way they
ask the question that
it's okay to get mad.
Don't fall for it.
What do you
think of your
last
boss/employe
r?
Don't be critical. If possible be
generous with praise and say why,
giving positive reasons. If there was
a conflict don't lie, but describe fairly
and objectively without pointing
blame.
Exposes back-biting,
bitterness, grudges,
inability to handle
relationships. Exposes
people who can't accept
the company-line.
If you won a
million on the
lottery what
would you
do?
Probably save most of it, give some
away, maybe a small treat for myself
but nothing excessive. I could
handle it I think because I'd always
want to work, I'm quite sensible with
money, maybe start my own
business if I could be really sure to
make a success of it.
Exposes the foolhardy,
the irresponsible and
the dreamers.
Opportunity to
demonstrate levelheadedness, morality,
work ethic, intelligence
to know that money
doesn't buy happiness.
stress and pressure interview questions
When dealing with questions that put pressure on you or create stress, be
confident, credible and constructive (accentuate the positive) in your answers.
And make sure you prepare. Stress and pressure questions come in all sorts
of shapes and sizes. Three commonly used types of pressure questions are
those dealing with weakness and failure; blame; and evidence of ability or
experience.
weakness and failure
questions
"Tell me about your failures....", or "What are your greatest
weaknesses......". are the interviewer's equivalent to "Are you still beating
your wife?..".
Don't be intimidated by these questions - you don't have to state a failing or a
weakness just because the interviewer invites you to.
"I don't generally fail", or "I really can't think of any", are perfectly acceptable
answers. Short and sweet, and then wait smiling for the come-back - you'll
have demonstrated that you are no mug and no pushover. If you are pressed
(as you probably will be), here's your justification answer, or if you wish to
appear a little more self-effacing use this as a first response:
"I almost always succeed because plan and manage accordingly. If
something's not going right I'll change it until it works. The important thing is
to put the necessary checks and contingencies in place that enable me to see
if things aren't going to plan, and to make changes when and if necessary....."
or
"There are some things I'm not so good at, but I'd never say these are
weaknesses as such - a weakness is a vulnerability, and I don't consider
myself vulnerable. If there's something I can't do or don't know, then I find
someone who can do it or does know."
Do you see the positive orientation? Turn it around into a positive every time.
blame questions
Watch out also for the invitation to rubbish your past job or manager,
especially in the form of: "Why did you leave your last job?", or "Why have
you had so many jobs?"
The interviewer is not only satisfying curiosity.......... if you say your last
boss was an idiot, or all your jobs have been rubbish, you'll be seen as
someone who blames others and fails to take responsibility for your own
actions and decisions.
Employers want to employ people who take responsibility, have initiative and
come up with answers, not problems. Employers do not want to employ
people who blame others.
So always express positive reasons and answers when given an opportunity to
express the negative. Never blame anyone or anything else.
"I was ready for more challenge", or "Each job offered a better opportunity,
which I took", or "I grow and learn quickly and I look for new opportunities",
or "I wanted to get as much different experience as quickly as I could before
looking for a serious career situation, which is why I'm here."
I great technique for exploiting the blame question trap is to praise your past
managers and employers. Generosity is a positive trait, so demonstrate it.
Keep your praise and observations credible, realistic and relevant: try to
mention attributes that your interviewer and prospective new employer will
identify and agree with. This will build association and commonality between
you and the interviewer, which is normally vital for successful interview
outcomes. They need to see that you think like they do; that you'll fit in.
prove it questions
These can be the toughest of the lot. Good interviewers will press you for
evidence if you make a claim. So the answer is - be prepared.
Watch out for closed questions: "Can you do so-and-so?.." , "Have you any
experience in such-and-such?..."
These questions invite a yes or no answer and will be about a specific area.
If you give a yes, be prepared to deal with the sucker punch: "Can you give
me an example?........"
The request for examples or evidence will stop you in your tracks if you've not
prepared or can't back up your answer.
The trick is before the interview to clearly understand the requirements of the
job you're being interviewed for. Ask to see the job description, including
local parameters if applicable, and any other details that explain the extent
and nature of the role. Think about how you can cover each requirement
with examples and evidence. Wherever possible use evidence that's
quantified and relates to commercial or financial outputs.
Companies are interested in people who understand the notion of maximising
return on investment, or return on effort. If your examples and evidence
stand up as good cost-effective practice, they'll clock up even more points for
you.
Make sure you prepare examples of the relevant capabilities or experience
required, so that you're ready for the 'prove it' questions. You can even take
papers or evidence material with you to show -having hard evidence, and the
fact that you've thought to prepare it, greatly impresses interviewers.
If you don't have the evidence (or personal coverage of a particular
requirement), then don't bluff it and say yes when you'd be better off saying,
"No, however...."
Use "No, however ..." (and then your solution or suggestion), if asked for
something that you simply don't have.
Give an example of where previously you've taken on a responsibility without
previous experience or full capability, and made a success, by virtue of using
other people's expertise, or fast-tracking your own development or knowledge
or ability.
On this point - good preparation should include researching your employer's
business, their markets and their competitors. This will help you relate your
own experience to theirs, and will show that you have bothered to do the
research itself.
In summary, to deal with pressure questions: Keep control. Take time to think
for yourself - don't be intimidated or led anywhere you don't want to go.
Express every answer in positive terms. And do your preparation.
(This item about stress and pressure interview questions was written for the
Sydney Morning Herald, extracts of which appeared in April 2004.)
competency-based and behaviour interviews
questions - 'how would you do this...?'
For interviewers these are powerful and effective questions. These questions
make the interviewee tell you how they would approach, handle, deal with,
solve, etc., a particular situation, problem, project or challenge that is relevant
to the job role in question. The situation could be from the interviewee's past
experience, a hypothetical scenario, or a real situation from the interviewing
organisation. As the interviewer you should judge the answers objectively.
Avoid the temptation to project your own style and feelings into the
assessment of whether the answer is good or bad. Look for thoughtfulness,
structure, cause and effect rationale, pragmatism. The candidate may not
approach the question like you do, but they may have a perfectly effective
style and approach to the answer just the same. The answers will indicate the
interviewee's approach, methodology, experience and competency in relation
to the scenario, to how they get things done, and also the style by which they
do it.
From the interviewee's perspective, these questions commonly start with a
scenario and a question as to how you as the interviewee would deal with it.
Or the question might ask you to give an example of how you have handled a
particular situation or challenge in the past. Or the interviewer might ask how
you would approach a current situation in their own organisation.
In these cases the interviewer will often judge your answers according to how
much they agree with your behavioural approach. The questions may initially
seem or be positioned as competency-based, but often the interviewer will be
treating this really as a question of behaviour and style.
And as ever, without going to unreasonable lengths your answers should
reflect the style expected/preferred/practised by the interviewer/organization.
People like people like them.
For instance - a results-driven interviewer, certain high achieving dominant
personalities, aspiring MD's, certain ruthless types, will warm to answers with
a high results-based orientation (eg '....I focus on what needs to be done to
achieve the task, to get the job done, to cut through the red tape and
peripherals, ignoring the distractions, etc. Strong incentive, encouragement,
clear firm expectations and timescales, deliverables, etc........' - the language
of the achiever.
Alternatively, if you find yourself being interviewed by a persuasive, friendly,
influential, egocentric type, (lots of sales managers are like this) then frame
your answers to mirror that style - '.....I use persuasion, inspiration, leading
by example, helping, providing justification, reasons, empathising with the
situation and people who are doing the job, motivating according to what
works with different people, understanding what makes them tick...' - all that
sort of stuff.
HR interviewers are often 'people-types' and will warm to answers that are
sensitive, and take strong account of people's feelings, happiness, well-being,
sense of fairness and ethics, honesty, integrity, process, accuracy, finishing
what's been started, having a proper plan, steady, reliable, dependable, etc. the language of the fair and the disciplined.
Technical interviewers, eg., MD's who've come up through science, technical,
finance disciplines, will warm to answers which demonstrate the use of
accuracy, plans, monitoring, clearly stated and understood aims, methods,
details, checking, measuring, reporting, analysing.
These are generalisations of course, but generally relevant in most interview
situations when you are asked 'How would you ...?'
Obviously be true to yourself where you can. It's a matter of tint and
orientation, not changing your colour altogether.
Occasionally you might meet a really good interviewer who is truly objective,
in which case mirroring is not so useful - whereas confidence, maturity,
integrity, flexibility, compassion, tolerance, pragmatism are, and as such
should be demonstrated in the way you answer questions of a balanced
mature non-judgemental interviewer.
Interviews can be a bit of a game, so when you see that it is, play it - the
more you see subjective judgement and single-track behaviour in the
interviewer, then the more advantage there is in mirroring the interviewer's
style in your answers.
People like people like them. Which very definitely extends to assessing
behaviour-based competency.
giving presentations at job interviews
Being asked to give a presentation at your interview is a great opportunity for
you to shine and stand out from the crowd.
While giving interview presentations can understandably be daunting, a little
preparation and thought will enable you to use the situation to great
advantage. This is chiefly because giving a presentation offers you a much
better platform than is normally available when simply answering an
interviewer's questions.
A presentation enables you to showcase your attributes and qualities - and
often to research and prepare - way beyond the constraints normally
encountered in reacting to conventional interview questions.
So if you are asked to give a presentation - regardless of the time available
for preparation - welcome the challenge - be prepared, and make the most of
the your chance to show what you can do.
Demonstrating an organizational or strategic interpretation and
enthusiasm for the role - showing that you can add value beyond
what the employer hopes for - is the key to standing out as a star
candidate.
Research, preparation, and freedom to create and deliver a great presentation
are the main the ingredients for anyone seeking to make an impact in any
situation - and all of these are enabled when you are invited to give an
interview presentation.
While the guidelines below are chiefly for interviewees they also help
interviewers in creating instructions and a basis for reviewing and assessing
presentations given by job candidates at interviews.
When you are asked to give a presentation at an interview you should use
whatever time is available to consider the following questions in relation to
the employer organization, their market place and how your filling the role
can bring them what they need and more.
Here are some strategic questions to consider and resolve as far as possible
prior to planning an interview presentation. The scenario is a job vacancy in
training, but the principles transfer to any role.
1. Understand the significance of any particular key words used in
the presentation instructions - think about the words used by the
recruiting organization in their letter or specification, for example
"...give a technical presentation..." or "...give a professional
presentation..." Think about what they mean exactly by a word like
'technical' or 'professional'. Words like these are often especially
significant clues to the sort of presentation style and content that the
interviewers are seeking. Try to get into their shoes and understand
exactly what they are looking for in the successful applicant.
2. What are the essential competencies and attributes they need
in the role? Cover the basics - the job description is usually a good
indication, but sometimes you should look beyond this to more of an
industry-standard approach, especially if the job description is a little
flaky. Sometimes the employer will expect you to help re-define the role
- employers don't always know what they want, or the full extent of
what the role. Showing that you understand the role is a good basis for
demonstrating that you can actually perform in the role.
3. What gaps/opportunities exist in their knowledge/use of
alternative/advanced training design and delivery
technology/methods (or other role-relevant issues as
appropriate)? Recruiting new people offers employers the opportunity
to introduce new ideas and keep up to date with modern approaches,
technologies, methods, etc. You should demonstrate that you will be a
good source of new ideas and methods when you join them. Addressing
this in a presentation enables you to show how you will add value to
the employer's technology, innovation, methods, etc.
4. What particular challenges or crises do they face that you can
help them fix? Identifying and solving problems are usually big
priorities for new people, if only because everyone else had tried and
failed. New blood and fresh enthusiasm are often essential to break
deadlocks and find solutions to long-standing problems. So try to
discover their big challenges and difficulties, and consider how you'd
approach them, without making unqualified assumptions, or running the
risk of repeating things they've already tried. This sort of consideration
of their challenges and approaches to solutions requires a balanced
approach - not being too assumptive or presumptuous, but at the same
time demonstrating a level of confidence and determination to tackle
problems creatively with a fresh incisive view and impetus.
5. What specifically can you bring to the situation which will
improve their competitive position in relation to their own
markets and customers? This element of a presentation
demonstrates that you can add value to the organization in terms of
sales, business, profit and ultimately financial performance, (an area of
enormous importance for most employers) by your appreciation of how
the performance of your role can bring competitive advantage and
improvement to the organization. Consider what you can do that will
enable the organization to retain and attract more customers and
business. The ability to translate and express your job in terms of
competitive advantage - or in the non-profit sector, in terms of quality
of service - is an irresistible proposition for most employers.
6. What crucial differences/innovations/improvements could you
bring beyond even their ideal expectations?This is your personal
Wow Factor. The employer will have a baseline expectation of the sort
of candidate required to fill the vacancy. A number of candidates might
meet this specification. So what can you offer that goes beyond the
baseline expectation? What can you do that's different and better than
other candidates, in a way that the organization will regard it as making
a significant additional contribution - perhaps in an area or areas which
they have not yet even considered? Think about, prepare, and build into
your presentation a really special advantage or capability you can offer
that no-one else can, and translate this into what it could do for them.
7. How can you help them better identify, measure and improve
crucial performance in their overall learning and development
(or other role-relevant functions), and beyond this into their
operations? This adds value in the crucial and often neglected areas
of measurement, control and implementation. Most employers do not
actually measure and appreciate the critical priorities of their
operations, and how these key performance areas are affected and
enabled (or frustrated) by particular roles within the organization. As a
job candidate when you demonstrate that you can perform the role up
to and beyond the organization's basic needs, and then additionally
contribute much needed strategic interpretation and implementation
support, you will be presenting a very powerful case indeed that you
are the best candidate for the job.
At all times keep this at the back of your mind that unless the vacancy is for a
very specific and limited role, then the interview is actually mostly about the
recruiting organization and the interviewer(s), not you.
What this means is that you must present yourself in terms that make sense
to and match the needs of the organization. Everything you say about
yourself must be couched in terms of what it will mean for the employer.
There is no point in presenting a glowing picture of yourself and your
knowledge, experience, capabilities, etc., in glorious isolation. Instead you
must prepare and present everything about yourself so that you are
irresistibly relevant to the needs and aims and challenges of the organization.
The interview presentation offers you a wonderful opportunity to do this - to
demonstrate that you can enable relevant and effective
improvement/achievement for their biggest problems and opportunities,
better than any of the other candidates.
Research and understand their issues. Then prepare and and present your
own personal added value in relation to their situation.
Here are some more general tips on creating and giving presentations.
Finally some quick ideas for structure, especially when little preparation time
is available:
The Rule of Three
1. Introduction or aims.
2. The points you want to make (three, subdivided if necessary).
3. Summary - and ideally an impressive memorable finishing statement.
The Tell 'Em Rule
1. Tell 'em what you are going to tell 'em,
2. Tell 'em,
3. Then tell 'em what you told' em.
(Again, essentially intro, key points, summary.)
Three Big Points
(Especially for surprise presentations when you only have a few minutes to
prepare.)
Three big points must address the three biggest outcomes that the
organization needs from the new appointment.
1. Brainstorm (jot down as many relevant ideas for the three outcomes as
you can).
2. Decide (confirm if at all possible) and reduce these down to thethree
biggest outcomes that the interviewers are seeking from the person
to be appointed into the role.
3. Then hit them hard with how you will achieve each of the three big
outcomes - and also how you (and they) will assess the effectiveness of
the solutions. (Assessment is crucial to awareness, validation and
control.)
questions to ask at interview - for interviewees
While this section essentially gives guidance and tips to interviewees these
ideas and principles will also help interviewers.
At job interviews it's as important for you the interviewee to prepare
questions to ask the interviewer as it is to prepare answers and readiness
for the questions that the interviewer will ask you.
If you are the interviewer, ensure you offer the interviewee the opportunity to
ask questions about the job, the management, the organisation and the
market within which it operates. The questions that job candidates ask at
interview provide valuable insights as to their attitude, maturity, capability
and strategic understanding of the role and the organisation, so for
interviewers, questions asked by interviewees form a significant and
illuminating part of the interview process. Listen to and learn from what
interviewees ask you - often the questions that interviewees ask will provide
more information to the interviewer than anything you ask them.
As the interviewee, take full advantage of opportunities to ask questions.
Asking good well-prepared and researched questions is your chance to
demonstrate that you are better than the other candidates, and to show that
you have a tremendous capability and understanding and potential,
irrespective of what the interviewer asks you.
Preparing and asking great questions at your own job interview dramatically
reduces any dependance that you might otherwise have for the interviewer to
ask you 'the right questions'. It won't matter if the interviewer doesn't ask
good helpful questions, or fails to prompt the sort of discussion that allows
you to show how brilliant you are - instead, you can control this area of
discussion yourself by asking the interviewer great questions that will make
them sit up and realise what an excellent candidate you are.
An helpful although not absolutely essential aspect towards asking the
interviewer good questions is good research (which follows later on this
page).
A key to asking great questions at your interview is to ask questions that
impress the interviewer. Most candidates just ask about routine details
that they think they ought to know, or which they think of on the spur of the
moment, but which will probably be provided in due course anyway in
documentation about terms and conditions. This is meaningless twaddle and
to be avoided.
Instead focus on the job priorities and scope, on the organisation and ways to
make a difference or an improvement. Try to think strategically like a
manager, and for very senior positions, like the CEO. Try to adopt the mindset of a helpful advisor who needs to ask helpful facilitative questions. Focus
on the organisation not on your own needs.
Try to prepare and ask questions that make the interviewer think to
themselves, "Wow, that's a good question - this candidate has really thought
about the role, and understands the sort of issues we need them to
handle/the sort of responsibilities/initiatives we want them to take.."
Aim to ask questions that make the interviewer think, (depending on what the
organisation and role requires), "Wow, that's an unusual question - this
candidate is special - they are demonstrating to me that they understand
people/understand about communications/have great integrity/a strong value
system/great humanity/maturity/a good strategic mind/etc, etc."
Think before the interview about what the successful candidate will be like ask yourself beforehand, what great questions would the successful candidate
ask? And then be that person.
When you research the job look into the sort of challenges the organisation is
facing, and think how this affects the vacant role. What does the employer
need from the successful applicant? How might the role be extended to
contribute more to the organisation if the job were performed by a suitably
positive and capable person ? (That's you incidentally.) The job advert or job
specification might give you some clues. Do your research so that you
understand as much as possible about the priorities of the job position, and
the organisation and its situation, and then think about the ways that the role
could be extended to provide greater support towards achieving
organisational challenges.
This sort of background thinking will help you to prepare questions that will
seriously impress any interviewer, whatever the role. It is possible also to
think of good positive impressive questions just by using what you know of
the role and the sort of issues that face modern employers. The point is, you
need to think about it and prepare beforehand.
For example:
examples of good questions to
ask interviewers
These types of questions are certainly appropriate for interviewees to ask an
interviewer at an interview for a junior-to-middle ranking role. For more
strategic roles and executive responsibilities you'll need to raise the strategic
perspective of some of these questions - use your judgement. Remember, the
aim is to make the interviewer think (always relative to the role), "Wow, that's
a good question.."
In any event adapt the wording and develop alternative questions to suit your
own style and the situations concerned.
"Of the main priorities and expectations attached to this role, which ones are
well understood and measurable, and which are not?"
"If the CEO/MD/Departmental Manager/you were to name the three most
important priorities for this role/the successful candidate to achieve in the first
six months, what would they be, and how would they be measured?"
"I'm aware that this market is fast
moving/competitive/mature/local/regional/national/international (whatever
your research indicates); how is this affecting the strategic priorities and the
demands on the role/vacant position?"
"Communications, internal and external, are clearly extremely important in
this organisation; what are the related priorities for this role?"
"I've read that you (the employer organisation) face a lot of competition from
XYZ (sector, company, whatever); what do you think are the main ways that
the successful candidate can help the organisation deal with this threat?"
"Where are the priorities/What are the issues for this role/the successful
candidate in terms of maintaining/developing/improving effective interdepartmental relations?"
"What are the priorities and challenges as regards areas for change and
improvement facing the department/organisation/team
within/connecting/relating to the role?"
"What is the balance of priorities for this role - short-term efficiencies and
performance, or longer-term planning and organising?"
"If someone were to come into this role and begin to make a significant
impact on culture and morale, what sort of changes would people/you/the
management/the board/the CEO want to see most, and how would this be
measured?"
"It's normal that most roles are operating considerably below their potential to
contribute to strategic change/organisational performance and improvement;
what are the expectations in terms of broadening the scope of this role"?
"How might this role positively impact on/contribute to customer
relations/organisational development/culture/staff morale/training and
development/legislative anticipation/market development/sales
development/business retention in ways that it's not done so far?"
"Where do think there might be opportunities for this role to connect
with/cooperate with other functions, and what's stopped that happening in
the past?"
"What are the vulnerabilities in processes/people/business retention/grow/
technology, ITC systems within the organisation/department that need to be
attended to?"
And so on.. You get the idea?
Serious, strategic, thoughtful, facilitative questions. Questions that amaze the
interviewer - about things they might not have even considered. In fact the
best questions should make the interviewer think, "My God, if this person can
have this level of insight, and such a positive enlightened approach at the
interview, just imagine what they'll be able to do when they get their feet
under the table..."
This sort of positive expansive questioning is not limited to strategic
management positions - every job role is potentially strategic - what
makes the role strategic is the person doing it, not the job title or status.
And the role can be in any function, any industry, any type of organisation doesn't matter - every role interfaces in some way or another with people,
processes, other departments, customers and suppliers (internal or external),
and so has a strategic dimension. recognise the strategic dimension; influence
it positively, and you get asked to do it on a wider scale. Asking good
questions at a job interview helps the job candidate to demonstrate that they
have this potential.
Organisations, and therefore interviewers want to recruit people into all roles
who can come in and make a positive difference. By asking well-prepared and
thoughtful questions, you can demonstrate that you are one of these people.
Being an advocate of the maxim 'accentuate the positive' I am usually
loath to dwell on negative examples, however in this case I make an
exception because this is an important no-go area.
Just as it's helpful for interviewees to prepare and ask good questions, so it's
helpful also to avoid asking routine questions that waste time and can often
be covered more efficiently in some other way (by reading a document for
example.)
questions to avoid asking
Contrast the expansive, positive strategic questions above, about job scope
and contribution to organisational effectiveness, with this stuff below.
Interviewers will generally react negatively (secretly usually) to questions
such as the following examples, so unless you are a very junior person going
for a very junior role with an employer who has not prepared in advance this
type of routine information, avoid asking questions like these at your
interview.

"How many weeks holiday do I
get?.."

"When would I get a payrise?.."

"What are the lunch times?.."

"What sort of car do I get?.."
Do not ask these questions
These are warning-sign questions
to most interviewers. Do not ask
these questions at interview unless
you want to be seen as someone
who cares more about the pay and
perks than the job and the

"What other perks are there?.."

"What are the pension
arrangements?.."

"Do you have a grievance
procedure?.."

"What expenses can I claim
for?.."

"How soon before I could get
promoted?.."

"When is going-home time?.."

and others like these
organisation, let alone making a
positive difference in the place.
Generally speaking these questions suggest to the interviewer that the
candidate is mostly interested in what the organisation can give the
employee, rather than the other way around. Interviewers want to meet and
recruit interviewees who see things in terms of what the employee can do for
the organisation.
Find another way to get this sort of information if you really need to know it
at the face-to-face interview. Good employers will explain all this to
interviewees during the interview or in written terms and conditions, which
many employers will send out prior to the interview. As suggested in the tips
at the start of this page ask prior to the interview for a copy of the
employment terms and conditions or an employee handbook. If they don't
have this or can't send it, and you have a burning question about these sort
of 'hygiene factors', the best way to approach it is to ask something like:
"What's the best way for me to see the routine details about the employment
terms and conditions relating to this role? Do you have a handbook or sample
contract for example? I don't want to waste time here going through
incidentals..."
By doing this you demonstrate several important things, that:

you regard these things as secondary - implication being that you regard
doing the job as the priority

you respect the value of time, since you appreciate there are better things to
concentrate on during an interview

you understand the principle of efficient information management and
communication, on the basis that all this detail will be available somewhere to
read rather than have to waste effort asking individual questions

you are professional - because providing information like this in the way you
suggest is the most professional way to do it.
Of course the job-grade and seniority of the vacancy and the size of the
employer organisation will affect the significance and transfer of this sort of
information. In an interview with a tiny little company for a junior clerk's
position the interviewee can be forgiven for asking these sorts of questions
relating to terms and conditions, not least because the company might not be
professional or organised enough to have produced a proper handbook or
contract, nevertheless, whatever the role and size of employer, the less time
spent asking about all this sort of information the better. And certainly avoid
the entire area in interviews for professional positions with professional
employers, especially in commercially competitive functions and industry
sectors.
A final point about questions to ask at interviews when you are the
interviewee:
asking for the job
In certain circumstances, especially for sales and commercial roles, there
might be an expectation or opportunity for you to 'close' or ask for the job,
which is potentially the most powerful question of all to ask.
If you really want the job and can accept an offer there and then, there is
often a lot to be gained, and very little to be lost, by asking for the job at the
end of the interview, although bear in mind the effect that this tactic has
on salary negotiation.
Obviously it's only appropriate in certain situations; notably towards the end
of the recruiting process when the interviewers have seen all the candidates,
or if the employer has more vacancies than they can easily fill.
Similarly, it's reasonable to ask for a second interview, or to be shortlisted, if
that's the next stage in the process.
Persistence and determination are highly valued attributes, logically in sales
and selling organisations, but also beyond the sales functions. In fact some
job candidates successfully take the method to extremes and simply do not
take no for an answer, virtually camping out on the employer's doorstep until
they are eventually brought in from the cold and offered the job. The
decision-maker, typically an owner-manager or CEO in such situations, is
finally forced to concede that if the person wants the job that badly then
perhaps they'll be rather a good bet after all. This sort of determination is
often associated with loyalty and commitment - and uniqueness - which can
all create a compelling case for decision-makers who are attuned to this sort
of style, particularly if other candidates are thin on the ground.
While these extremes are not for everyone, anyone is entitled to ask for a job
that they really want. Plenty of offers are not made because the interviewer
doubts the seriousness or commitment of the interviewer. Asking for the job
at least largely rules out that possibility.
Added to which, certain types of managers and directors (the ones who would
normally ask for the job at their own interviews for example) respond
positively when an interviewee looks them straight in the eye, pauses for
dramatic effect, and says earnestly,
"I want this job. Make me the offer and I'll take it here and now."
It's not really a question, it's more of a statement of intent, and lots of
decision-makers like to hear it.
As ever having other options - other interviews lined up, or even another offer
- is helpful and can add an extra bit of pressure to your push.
If you fancy using the ploy, it's also worth thinking about exactly what you
want to say. Decision-makers certainly like to hear that you like their
organisation (that you'd not be inclined to be this determined were it any
other employer) and that there are one or two compelling reasons for your
wanting to do a great job for them, so it's worth thinking about how you
might weave a few simple supporting points into your final coup de grace.
An employer or interviewer who is keen on you, who has satisfied they've
been through the proper processes, and who knows or believes that you have
other options, will sometimes give you the job offer there and then if you ask
firmly and professionally for the job. Which of course saves a lot of time for all
concerned, so if you feel like asking for the job - any job in fact - the
approach is not limited to sales and commercial positions - then go for it.
salary negotiation tips for job interviews
The best time to negotiate salary is after receiving a job offer, and
importantly before you accept a job offer - at the point when the employer
clearly wants you for the job, and is keen to have your acceptance of the job
offer. Your bargaining power in real terms, and psychologically, is far stronger
if you have (or can say that you have) at least one other job offer or option
(see the tips on negotiation). A strong stance at this stage is your best chance
to provide the recruiting manager the justification to pay you something
outside the employer's normal scale.
If there's a very big difference between what is being offered and what you
want, say more than 20%, you should raise it as an issue during the interview
for discussion later (rather than drop it as a bombshell suddenly when the job
offer is made). Do not attempt to resolve a salary issue before receiving a job
offer - there's no point. Defer the matter - say you'll need to discuss salary in
due course, but that there's obviously no need to do so until and unless the
company believes you are the right person for the job. "Let's cross that bridge
when we come to it," should be the approach.
A job and package comprise of many different things - unless the difference
between what's offered and needed is enormous (in which case the role is
simply not appropriate) both sides should look at all of the elements before
deciding whether salary is actually an issue or not.
The chances of renegotiating salary after accepting a new job, and certainly
after starting a new job, are remote - once you accept the offer you've
effectively made the contract, including salary, and thereafter you are subject
to the organization's policies, process and natural inertia.
A compromise agreement on salary, in the event that the employer cannot
initially employ you at the rate you need, is to agree (in writing) a guaranteed
raise, subject to completing a given period of service, say 3 or 6 months. In
which case avoid the insertion of 'satisfactory' (describing the period of
service) as this can never actually be measured and therefore fails to provide
certainty that the raise will be given.
If you are recruiting a person who needs or demands more money or better
terms than you can offer, then deal with the matter properly before the
candidate accepts the job - changing pay or terms after this is very much
more difficult. If you encourage a person to accept pay and terms that are
genuinely lower than they deserve or need, by giving a vague assurance of a
review sometime in the future, you will raise expectations for something that
will be very difficult to deliver, and therefore storing up a big problem for the
future.
Additional tips and techniques relating to salary negotiations at job interviews.
second interviews guidelines
At second interviews, unsuitable applicants should have been screened out by
this stage. For certain jobs a decision will be made to offer the job after the
second interviews; recruitments for senior positions may proceed to third
interviews.
Second interview questions should be deep and probing about the candidate
and the candidate's approach to work. The questions should concern detailed
and testing examples and scenarios specific to the particular job, asking how
the candidate would deal with them. This is to discover as reliably as possible
how the candidate would approach the job, and what type of person they are
- the interviewer needs to be sure they will get on with the candidate you and
that they will fit in well.
The interviewer should also probe the type of management that the candidate
responds to and doesn't, and how the candidate would work with other
people and departments, giving specific examples and scenarios.
Tests and practical exercises using actual work material or examples can be
used, which enable a practical assessment of the candidate's real style, ability,
knowledge and experience.
The candidate can be asked to prepare and give a short presentation about
themselves, or how they would approach the job or a particular challenge.
This could involve the use of certain equipment and materials, particularly if
such ability is to be required in the job.
The interviewer should also try to get to know more about the candidate as a
person - to be as sure as possible that this is the right person for the
situation; the interview approach should be probing and gaining practical
evidence, proof, of suitability.
A good second interview should establish as reliably as possible the
candidate's suitability and ability for the specific needs of the job, which
includes the work, relationships, aspirations, and personal background.
There is nothing wrong in the candidate asking the organisation prior to the
interview what to plan and prepare for in the second interview - interviewers
should regard this as a positive sign, and it may help the candidate to give
some clear information on what to expect and prepare for.
Certain senior jobs recruitments will involve a lunch or dinner so that the
interviewer and other senior managers or executives can see you in relaxed
mode. This is an excellent way to discover more about the personality of an
applicant.
Group selection (normally a half-day or even whole day) - see below - is a
very good alternative to conventional one-to-one interviews after first
interview stage. Group selection puts all the candidates together for a series
of activities and tasks, which can then be observed by a panel of interviewers.
Individuals can be asked to prepare and give presentations, and various other
exercises relevant to the job. One-to-one interviews follow later in the day
when the group has been reduced in numbers. Group selection takes a lot
longer than a conventional second interview and all candidates should be
notified as to the process and outline agenda.
interview follow-up letter or email by interviewee
If you are particularly keen to be offered a job and wish to increase your
profile and chances of receiving a job offer after attending interview, you can
follow up an interview with a letter or email (and then a phone call) to
reinforce your commitment and qualities for the job. The sooner the better.
Often jobs are offered to the most passionate and determined applicants, so
this should be the feeling that your follow-up should try to convey, without
giving the impression of desperation or crawling.
You should seek to focus your follow-up letter or email on the key
performance aspects in the role that the interviewer believes are required for
the successful applicant.
This type of follow-up enables you to show that you have considered and
developed your thinking after the interview (a desirable attribute), and also
enables you to re-emphasise your claim to the opportunity, bringing your
name to the front of the interviewer's mind again. A good follow-up letter or
email also enables you to demonstrate that you are persistent, professional,
interested, possess relevant capabilities, recognise what the requirements and
priorities are, are keen, and can sell yourself in a determined manner, that
probably the other applicants will not do.
Interviewers also respond well to applicants who really like the company,
especially if your reasons coincide with the reasons that the interviewer likes
the company too, so it can help if your follow-up 'resonates' with the feelings
of the interviewer about what is required for the role.
From the interviewer's perspective - if you are an interviewer or decisionmaker who receives a good follow-up letter from an enthusiastic interviewee I recommend you give the applicant extra credit and consideration. They are
demonstrating many of the most relevant qualities that you are seeking.
sample follow-up letter from
interviewee after interview
Use and adapt this template example to create your own interview follow-up
letter or email.
Dear ........
You interviewed me on (date) for the (role) position.
I really want this job, so I'm taking the liberty of re-stating why I think you
should choose me:
(then list 3-5 short points which relate your skills, knowledge, experience,
achievements, character, attitude, to the results and effects they'll be seeking
from the person appointed. It is very important that these points demonstrate
that you have clearly understood and can deliver - specific measurable things
if possible - what they need for the role, for example:)

You need someone who can produce new profitable business - a minimum
(stated target level) a year. My track record proves I can do this. I know
already how I will do this for you. Moreover I'll help others around me to do it
too.

You need someone who is very adaptable. Again my recent career history
shows how I'm able to adapt to fast-changing situations - to identify and
achieve new aims quickly. Put me anywhere - I'll adapt and create a new
plan, and achieve it.

You need someone who can hit the ground running - I can do this - I have
commitments from personal customers who have promised me business
equating to (amount) by (when) should I take on this new role.
You might have seen better qualified applicants, or people with more relevant
experience, but when it comes down to it, it's the person with the most
passion and determination who is able to make a real difference. I'd urge you
to give me the chance to prove I am that person.
Yours etc.
You could also follow up the letter/email with a phone call to ask what the
interviewer thinks, and if there's anything else that you can do or provide to
help the interviewer decide.
Persistence often pays off, especially in roles which require someone who can
get results by making things happen, which applies to most roles in business
and organisations these days, and certainly all management roles.
When you follow-up your own job interview with passion, determination and
expertise, the interviewer sees real evidence of how you can perform in the
job itself.
The interview follow-up letter, email and phone call is therefore a great
opportunity for you to demonstrate many of your attributes for real, in a way
that will raise your profile, re-state your credentials and understanding of the
role's requirements, and thereby create a clear separation between you and
the other job candidates.
attracting and recruiting high quality staff
Here are some brief but significant points about attracting and recruiting high
quality staff.
And while the methodology is especially important for recruiting rare
individuals, it actually applies to the successful attraction and recruitment of
all staff.
The methodology for attracting and recruiting good quality
employees follows basic marketing principles.
This might seem obvious to marketing and advertising folk, and even to some
sales-people, but commonly recruitment in organizations is a function of HR
(Human Resources) department, or in smaller companies the task is perhaps
handled by an office manager. Not all HR people and office managers think
like marketeers, and the world is a better place because of this, nevetheless:
If you want to recruit the best possible staff, you must approach the activity
as if you were marketing a product or service.
First, it might help if you consider the elements of the recruitment process in
terms of marketing language:

Your organization is effectively a supplier.

Employees are customers.

The two simple statements above represent a vital point. Ignore it or reverse
it at your peril. (There are unfortunately very many arrogant employers who
believe they are doing their employeees a huge favour by employing them.
The employer - typically the directors and the culture which emanates from
them - regards itself as the customer, and the employees as the suppliers.
This is a formula for the recruitment and retention of the disinterested and
demotivated. Try to see things the other way around: organization = supplier;
employees = customers.)

Employment/a career with your organization (essentially the job or
role) equates to the product.

The job candidates - your ideal new employees - are yourcustomers, prior
to which they are your target market ortarget audience.

The channel(s) or method(s) by which you reach your target audience is/are
your route(s) to market. (For example, routes to your target market of
potential employees would include headhunters, recruitment agencies,
recruitment websites, newspaper or trade journal adverts, job shows and
exhibitions, university/college/school career events, referral by existing
employees, etc.)

The employment opportunity is your product offering, within which your
organization is a vital component (in other words, it doesn't matter how good
the job is, if the organization is a pile of unethical crap, or perceived as such,
then the job opportunity will probably be irretrievably tainted).

The product offering (job opportunity) must contain at least one and ideally
a few USPs (Unique Selling Points) or there is little reason for good people to
be interested in working for your organization compared to competing
opportunities with other employers. (Ideally your organization should be so
bloody wonderful that the organization itself is one of the USPs of the job.
USPs must be considered from the perspective of the customer, not the
supplier. USPs effectively define the type of customers attracted to the
product.)

The way(s) in which the employment opportunity (product offering)
is communicated to the target audience/marketequates to
your advertising.

If you do not know what your USPs are then you need toresearch what they
are (assuming you have one or two...) by asking your best staff why they
continue to work for you so diligently and loyally.
So, having established a few definitions and correlations, here, simply, is the
methodology:
1. Identify/refine your USPs (as an employer - your unique selling points what makes a job or career with your organization different and special
versus any other). Different jobs will tend to imply different USPs.
2. Identify your target audience/market (candidate profile, deeper than
traditionally defined - this must go beyond job skills and experience consider lifestyle/life-needs/philosophy/outlook/etc).
3. Identify routes to market (how to reach the ideal candidates).
4. Implement activities/a campaign to put your offering in front of your
target audience.
5. Process the enquiries (applicants) with complete professionalism,
including very sensitive and respectful treatment of all unsuccessful
applicants.
As with marketing, differential in the product offering (employment USPs) and
creative and effective advertising/communications are the means by which
competitive superiority (versus other employers) is achieved and candidates
are attracted and enthused by the job opportunities.
If you are an HR person and all this sounds a little daunting, please be
assured that it is not rocket science - it's very logical - and you might have
some brilliant marketeers in your organization who can help with the process.
I'd add that (just like marketing a product/service) it's easy to make wrong
assumptions about your organization's (as an employer) own strongest
USP(s), as perceived by the potential customers (the best quality employees),
so just as with fundamental marketing, it helps to research and discover what
aspects of working for your organization attract and retain the best staff of
the type you are seeking.
Refer to the pages on marketing, and to a lesser extent selling. The essential
ideas of marketing and selling apply very directly to attracting and recruiting
good quality employees.
Crucially, the foundations - the philosophy, organizational integrity, values,
culture, etc - must be right and good, otherwise you are building on sand.
The best employees gravitate towards, and tend to perform best for, the best
employers. If your organization struggles to recruit and retain excellent
people it might be little to do with the job or the pay, and conversely, good
ethical caring organizations will generally attract and retain great people even
if the job and the money are not the most competitive.
group selection recruitment method
The Group Selection recruitment method (also called recruitment assessment
centres or recruitment assessment days) offers several advantages over
conventional one-to-one interviewing, which because of the limitations of oneto-one interviews, many interviewers find a very unsatisfactory method in
recruitment and selection. Group Selection enables a number of people from
the organisation to observe a number of job candidates, as they go through a
series of specially designed activities.
Group Selection also offers the recruiting organisation an excellent
opportunity to present the company and the job in a very professional way,
thus appealing to and attracting the best candidates. Also, the unsuccessful
candidates leave the process with a very positive impression of the
organisation and the experience as a whole.
Group Selection also enables the the best people to show themselves to be
the best, often working on real job-related scenarios, which removes much of
the guesswork about people's true abilities. One-to-one interviews tend to
favour the 'professional interviewee' types, who present very well, but who
might then fail to deliver - 'all mouth and trousers' as the expression has it.
There are very many different ways to structure a group selection or
recruitment assessment centre/day. The further group selection ideas below
will help expand possibilities for this super process.
Screening interviews are useful in short-listing candidates for group
selections. For a senior job group selection, screening interviews and
psychometric assessments are recommended to shortlist candidates.
Group selection activities are by far the most reliable way to see what people
are really like, provided the process is carefully planned, managed and
facilitated. If you'd like advice about Group Selection methods or designing a
Group Selection day please get in touch. Here's an outline of the process:
1. Create/confirm job specification, job description, skill-set, and personprofile.
2. Plan recruitment and induction schedule.
3. Create and place advert.
4. Shortlist applicants from written applications or CV's.
5. Write to candidates explaining selection process, venue, date and time.
6. Plan the Group Selection day or half-day, to include: presentation to
them by senior managers about the company and the role;
psychometric tests; activities, tasks and games for candidates to do,
including team and syndicate work, and individual presentations; lunch;
culminating in one-to-one interviews (usually three or four) involving
final shortlisted candidates with senior managers on rotation. See
the team building games sections for ideas of group selection exercises,
for example the project team exercise and the postbag group selection
recruitment exercise.
7. Management review and decision. (Candidates can be asked to leave
and hear later or wait, depending on situation.)
8. Job offers, acceptance, reference checks, induction.
For sales, sales management, and sales training vacancies, the Sales
Activator® system is an excellent resource for interviews, recruitment and
selection, and group selection methods.
ideas for designing group selection recruitment,
graduate assessment days and other assessment
centre recruitment days
Many of these principles are important for any sort of recruitment process not just for group selections. Also, many of the group selection ideas can be
adapted and incorporated into traditional recruitment and interview
processes.
This process grid illustrates the point. In both cases - conventional
interviewing or group selection recruitment - the first step (assessment
specification) is crucial. Everything else is built on this. If there is no
assessment specification, or if it is flawed, then the event will be flawed and
so will the outcomes.
Recruitment
process
conventional
recruitment
interviewing
group
selection
assessment
days or
events
1. Assessment
specification
2. Assessment
methods
designinterview
questionsand
break down the other tasks or
activities or tests
person profile
into manageable to assess each
elements - attach element of the
specification
standards or
measures or
parameters to be design group
selection
able to assess
activities to
whether met or
assess each
not
element of the
specification
3. Plan
event
4. Run
event
schedule
the
interview
and
activities
run the
interview
and
activities
schedule
the event including
presenting
and selling
the job to
the
run the
group
selection
event
applicants
The structure and activities of group selection days are flexible. Keep to the
important principles and process above, but other than that try to be
innovative and creative, and always aim to ensure that the recruitment
process is pleasurable and positively memorable for all job applicants.
When you communicate with and organize job applicants you are continually
presented with opportunities to give a powerful and positive impression of
your organization. Treat everyone as if they were a customer, and the
experience will produce various good outcomes in addition to successful
recruitment.
How you design and structure your group selection day depends largely on
the recruitment situation and the characteristics or profile - the sort of person
- you are seeking: their skills, experience, the demands of the role, the
culture of the employer department and organisation, the role's priorities and
success measures.
The group selection activities and content ideas below are just examples.
They are not attached to specific assessment characteristics, measures or
outcomes, which must be identified before deciding on suitable activities.
Your first step is therefore to understand and specify what your
needs are and how to measure when someone meets those needs.
Then you can start designing group selection or assessment centre activities
and the format of the event, be it a day or a half-day. There are no fixed rules
- a half-day is more suitable for junior roles. Very important roles might justify
more than a day - or maybe even a weekend.
The best assessment methods are typically built on the best
assessment criteria.
This is a simple statement, but a very important principle: You will more
reliably find the right person if you first know exactly the sort of person you
are seeking, and how to assess that they meet the selection criteria.
Start by asking yourself (and ask other people with interest in the
recruitment):

What information is missing or unknown or unreliable about recent or past
new starters?

What does the current recruitment process fail to discover about applicants?

What are the gaps in our knowledge about new starters until now?

What discoveries about new starters have caused problems or departures?

What discoveries by new starters about the organization led to problems and
departures?
When you understand the gaps or failings in your recruitment, then you know
some useful areas to focus on in order to improve your methods.
In addition to filling the gaps and addressing the weaknesses of your current
methods you must look at the role(s) being recruited in detail, and establish
profiles so you can clearly define (and communicate to others) what you are
seeking.
Defining a role or person-specification can be challenging, but approached
logically it's possible to define anything.
It's like the 'talent' question - which especially relates to graduate recruitment
and young-person recruitment:
How can you to identify, assess and measure 'talent'?
The answer to the sample interview question how do you measure
talent? illustrates the main principle: first define what it is - break it down attach parameters or measures or standards; then you have a basis for
assessment or development.
This same principle applies to designing good group selection and assessment
centres.
To identify, assess, measure and develop anything you first need to
define what it is.
You define something by understanding it and describing it, and breaking it
down into elements or component parts: a profile of some sort that is clear
and meaningful and usable to those involved.
At its simplest, an assessment specification or personal profile is achecklist,
ideally with some measures attached.
So, to run a successful group selection day or recruitment assessment centre,
you must first create your assessment specification.
Define and describe the person you need - using as many elements as
necessary - and then attach some measures to each element.
Having identified all the criteria that would define a successful new starter for
the given role(s), you can then design appropriate and corresponding
assessment methods.
This assessment specification can refer to as many perspectives as you need personality, skills, attitude, experience, values and philosophy, emotional
maturity, situation and circumstances - anything relevant to and required by
the role and employer.
Some elements of the specification (person profile) will be mandatory ('must
have') - others could be optional.
Alternatively decide if each element is 'essential' or 'desirable'.
The skill-sets and training needs analysis templates helps to illustrate this and will provide a basic format for creating your recruitment assessment
specification in the shape of a 'person profile'. You could even use a TNA
(training needs analysis) spreadsheet for organizing the assessments and
results. The process of assessment according to defined elements is basically
the same for recruitment as it is for development appraisals and training
needs.
How you structure the person profile or assessment specification is up to you.
Ideally it should enables you to attach measures and methods by which to
assess whether the measures are met.
Having established your assessment specification (or person profile or
checklist and measures), suitably broken down into elements or parts - you
can design suitable methods, activities, sessions, etc., which will enable the
applicants to demonstrate their capabilities, and for you to assess them
objectively - against a proper specification, rather than having to rely on your
subjective 'gut instinct'.
You might find the training planning format useful for this, especially to
understand the process of analysing a capability and then attaching a method
of assessment or development to it. Here is a training planner (xls format),
and also as a pdf.
Again, the process of assessment in recruitment is very close to the process
of training design assessment and development. All require understanding of
the whole person or role, breaking this down into manageable elements,
attaching parameters or measures, and then designing activities or methods
of assessment or development.
It's worth remembering, because it assessment and development are closely
linked, that job applicants attending a good group selection or recruitment
assessment will also derive a development benefit from the experience.
We cannot fail to learn and develop when we undertake good assessment
activities. Keep this in mind. It will help you to design a high-quality and
beneficial event.
ideas, activities, methods and examples for groups
selection and recruitment assessment centres
The aim of designing and running a good group selection event - as well as
identifying and successfully recruiting the best job candidates for your
vacancies - is for all those attending to leave with the feeling that they had a
great day, that they learned and developed a lot about themselves, and that
you are a wonderful positive employer. Achieve this, and applicants will
always look for your vacancies, and they'll tell all their friends too what a
fantastically well-organized and positive experience it was - even if they never
got the job.
Here are some ideas for creating magnificent, memorable, beneficial and
successful group selections and recruitment assessment centre events.
As with the principles above about creating a person profile and assessment
specification before deciding on the assessment activities, these ideas are not
all restricted to group selections. Many of the concepts are adaptable and
transferable to conventional recruitment interviewing processes.
I emphasise again the importance of first creating your assessment
specification (selection criteria or person profile or checklist and measures whatever you call it) before you design your activities.
You must know what you are measuring before you decide how to
measure it.
Here are the ideas. You will find many more ideas and methodologies for
assessment centres and recruitment group selection days all over this
website, especially in the sections dealing with teambuilding,learning
styles, personality and profiling systems, appraisals and training needs
analysis, and training evaluation.
1. Identify the gap and weaknesses in your existing methods.
Fixing current weaknesses in recruitment - the issues and characteristics that
are typically never uncovered - is a great way to start thinking of what
activities to put into a group selection event.
How do you know what your current gaps and weaknesses are?
As ever - don't guess. Why guess when you can ask people and find out for
certain?
Seek applicant feedback (especially from unsuccessful applicants) as to what
skills, capabilities, potential were not exposed or explored by the day's
activities, or by conventional interviews.
Additionally, conduct exit interviews especially when new starters leave soon
after joining. What mistakes were made? What was missed during the
recruitment stage?
Discovering weaknesses with your current methods will help you improve and
develop your assessment specification.
When you run any recruitment process you are effectively a supplier, and the
applicants are effectively your customers.
You must aim to delight them - to have them leave with a good feeling - that
they have been fairly treated. This partly achieved by planning and organizing
an interesting, dynamic and developmental experience, but mainly it results
from giving people clear opportunities to demonstrate how they can best
meet the specification for the job.
By providing a complete process aligned to the full specification, you improve
the clarity and justification of your decision-making for the unsuccessful
applicants. The unsuccessful then understand better why they did not
succeed and are less likely to bear ill will.
Paths cross often. Job applicants are all potential customers. Make friends. Be
good and fair to people.
2. Consider that different personalities and learning styles respond
in different ways - and so need different ways to demonstrate their
capabilities.
Again these principles apply beyond group selections - they apply to
conventional interviews too.
Consider that different personalities, communications styles, and learning
styles among people will cause some assessment activities to be easier or
more advantageous for some people than others.
In the future technology will make it possible to tailor assessment tasks and
activities according to individual personality.
How far you can explore this currently will vary according to your
resourcefulness and access to modern methods and systems, etc.
At a basic level consider using a VAK or Multiple
Intelligences or Kolbassessment at the outset of the day, to enable assessors
(and to an extent delegates too) to weigh/allow for individual
preferences/personality styles/strengths - and also to demonstrate that you
understand that different people have different styles and needs, and that you
have done your best to structure a balanced series of activities.
At a more advanced level, technology will increasingly enable us be able to
build some sort of 'artificial intelligence' into the day/processes/activities, not
only to be able to assess people, but also to assess people in a way that is
appropriate for each person's personality and natural preferences. (See
the Benziger theory if you want to understand this more about natural
preferences.)
3. 'Life-stage theory', emotional balance and maturity (relative to
age), are significant factors in the behaviour and effects of people at
work.
Explore emotional maturity and 'life-stage' factors among job applicants.
All the skills and experience in the world won't matter if the applicant's
emotional foundation is seriously or temporarily impaired or vulnerable.
Emotional problems can often appear as force of character, ultracompetitiveness, egocentricity, wit, wackiness, eccentricity, workaholism, etc.,
which for certain recruitments can be appealing. Be careful. You want
someone who will make a difference - but a good difference.
Conversely: genuinely stable, well-balanced and psychologically robust people
are an asset to any organization, pretty well regardless of the role, skills,
ambition, and natural (personality) style preferences.
Having a good reference point or discussion framework to exploreemotional
balance and maturity helps avoid being seduced by extreme behaviour,
especially if the assessment specification or role requires strength of
character, or other characteristics that verge on extreme.
Exuding more testosterone than Genghis Khan on acid might be good for the
ratings on the Dragons Den or The Apprentice (I refer to the panel not the
contestants), but would you really want to manage someone like that in your
organization, never mind the damage they'd do to the good folk around
them? Entrepreneurial egomania and organizational employment rarely
combine happily.
Having a good reference point for emotional balance and maturity also helps
remind us during the recruitment process that life and work are (thank
goodness) becoming more civilized. Successful workers, good managers and
great leaders these days are civilized and emotionally mature.
People with problems can be very successful entrepreneurs, and they can
make a big short-term impact in an organization, but usually they create a lot
of fall-out. Emotionally immature people (again this is not necessarily agerelated) tend to create mess, casualties, and at some stage need help
themselves when problems can no longer be masked. The egocentric
entrepreneur will typically create their own passive environment (their
equivalent of a padded cell some might say), but such tendencies (often
typified by bullying or temper tantrums) are extremely damaging to
organizations where there are other concerns like staff, customers and
suppliers. You don't need these extreme characters if they come with
emotional baggage: they don't possess sufficient reserves to really care about
you and their fellow workers. So don't kid yourself that a bit of madness or
psychosis can be good for a modern organization; it isn't.
As an aside, this invites a fascinating question: at what point does extreme
personality or questionable emotional balance fall within the bounds of
disability and equality legislation? Thankfully we have not arrived at the point
(yet) where rejecting an applicant for reasons of personality or attitude could
be deemed unlawful. No doubt a test-case will arise before too long.
Whatever, however you do it, any group selection should address emotional
maturity. I repeat it is not an age thing. It's whether the person is grounded,
reasonable, thoughtful, balanced - you know: a grown-up. It's simple but
often overlooked.
I value the Erik Erikson model greatly. It provides a super learning and selfawareness discussion framework.
If you are proposing to go into some depth with people ensure the session
facilitated by an expert or trained counsellor, appropriate to the personality
theory used.
Transactional Analysis is another immensely powerful, helpful and potentially
revealing model. There are many wonderful TA practitioners who will be able
to help with this aspect - whether from an activities or assessment viewpoint,
or both.
If I could do one thing in group selection it would be to explore emotional
maturity ('grown-upness' we might say) - because, irrespective of age, in my
experience emotional maturity is the greatest attribute for sustaining
successful work and contribution to any modern organization.
As the modern age and competitive pressures require organizations and their
people to be ever-more self-managing, the 'grown-upness' attribute will
become even more significant.
An emotionally mature person will always tend to find solutions and resolve
problems - even if they do not have the skills or experience.
Whereas even the most technically skilled and experienced butemotionally
immature person is liable, in response to sometimes the weirdest trigger at
any unforeseen moment, to implode, explode, rant, rave, suck in unbelievable
amounts of management (or boardroom) time, and generally be the biggest
recruitment disaster of your career.
You will gather by now that I consider one of the great opportunities at a
group selection event is to identify and avoid recruiting emotionally immature
people.
Approach the subject with care however. At a simple level simply facilitate a
group discussion about emotional maturity and observe people's contributions
and reactions.
Seek expert advice and facilitation if you want to go into more depth.
Helpfully emotional balance and maturity links with the next area - integrity
and ethics - which is easier to incorporate within group selection and
assessment activities.
4. Integrity and ethics - together a crucial factor for sustainable
success at work in the modern age.
Integrity, ethics, compassion, humanity are like emotional maturity
fundamental to sustainable success in modern organisations.
Therefore find a way to explore these values and philosophical factors
somehow at any assessment centre.
Incidentally emotional maturity and ethics, integrity, humanity are linked by
the simple concept of consideration for others - the opposite of selfishness
and greed, to put it another way. (See the Erikson life stages section if you
want to understand this more clearly. And see the note at the end of the next
section about reconciling money and ambition with ethics and integrity.)
Of course these factors (ethics, integrity, compassion, etc) are only relevant
to your recruitment if the work environment and corporation require and
aspire to these things.
If not, then it's unlikely that a well-run group selection is the answer to
current challenges.
On a complex level, ethics and integrity can be difficult to measure and judge,
but at the level we need to assess, it's simple.
We all basically know the difference between right and wrong - or the
difference between a good act and a selfish one - and the difference between
the truth and a lie. Telling a lie in order to gain or save business, or to cover
up a mistake is not acceptable. This isn't about having a doctorate in morality
- it's basic integrity.
Striking exactly the right balance in very difficult questions is not always
impossible - there will always be ethical questions for which there is no right
answer, usually because the problem is actually rooted way back when
someone else got a far simpler decision wrong. Your aim however is not to
resolve the wrongs of the world, nor to find new recruits with such a
capability. But you do need to determine whether your new recruits are the
right side of ethical and truthful given the standards set by your own
organization.
Ethics and integrity are crucial in the modern age of work and business, and
therefore should be part of modern selection criteria.
Moreover today staff at all levels should know that the organization is honest
and ethical, and that the organization expects the same of its people.
Simple methods of addressing and exploring these issues at a group selection
assessment day are for example:

discussion about corporate social responsibility, ethical business, fair-trade,
the environment, etc

discussion about politics, religion, crime and punishment

preparation and presentation of an issue connected with the above
N.B. A short note about ambition and money is appropriate: Being competitive
and financially ambitious and striving for status and responsibility does not
make a person unethical. Wanting to work hard, earn a high salary, achieve
status are perfectly normal and natural tendencies in many people
(see Maslow's theory for example), and these traits are desirable in many
roles. There is a point however at which a person's determination and method
of pursuit causes damage, harm, upset or risk to other people or the wider
environment, and I suggest that this is when the ethics alarm bells begin to
ring.
5. Personality profiling - involve the people - explain and give
feedback.
There are many good personality profiling systems available.
Each has a different perspective and value. Some systems are quite similar,
especially if based on the same basic psychological theory.
See the personality page for ideas and examples.
Work with a provider or system that will be helpful and constructive to the
recruitment process, which means being transparent and inclusive, not secret
and aloof, as some systems and providers can be.
Avoid using psychometrics (personality profiling) just for the sake of it.
Always involve the delegates in explaining the system and how it works and
what it means. (Remember everyone should leave the event with a positive
feeling - that they've learned and developed).
Accentuate the positives. Good systems do not attach 'good' or 'bad' to
people's traits.
People are strong in different ways. People approach tasks and responsibilities
in different ways. There is not a single 'right' profile.
Used well, psychometrics help us all to see where and how people (including
ourselves) can be most effective.
Graphology (hand-writing analysis) makes a fascinating session, and is
revealing in many ways. As with any specialised session, ensure you involve a
suitably qualified expert to facilitate the session, analysis, feedback and
follow-up as appropriate.
Importantly, avoid creating the impression (and of course the reality too) that
recruitment decisions are largely based on psychometric testing.
It is sensible to decide before the event the 'weighting' of psychometrics and
to convey this to the delegates so they know it's just a part of the picture.
It is not sensible to reject any applicant on the basis of psychometrics alone,
and it is daft to give any applicant the impression that this has occurred in
their case. (It does happen..)
5. Projects and tasks based on work scenarios enable practical
demonstration and evidence of capabilities, style, etc.
You can issue work-related tasks on the day, however you can achieve
greater value from issuing practical assignments (formulation of plans,
presentations, etc) if you do so a week (or two or three, depending on the
situation, the job-role and the timescales) before the actual day of the
assessment or group selection.
This increases the range of the task content and the review to a lot more than
if the assignment is issued on the day itself.
This also gives the nervous or quieter applicants a fairer opportunity to shine
without having to rely totally on the day's 'performance'.
You can relate the assignment task(s) for preparation before the group
selection or assessment day and/or on the day to real work situations or not,
as appropriate - do whatever helps you best to assess the attributes
concerned.
Stipulate the rules - especially if issuing a task in advance of the event - and
especially to clarify the situation about seeking support or help for the
assignment.
Since much modern work - especially management - is mostly dependent on
initiative and resourcefulness and working with others, rather than one's own
knowledge or personal ability, do not leap to the assumption that a task must
be 'all their own work'.
Whatever you deem it should be, as ever, clarify the expectations; and don't
create any rules for which you will be completely unable to assess
compliance, or the rule will be meaningless.
6. Extending the tasks ideas - applicants can be asked to engage
with existing staff and other people connected with the
organization.
You can make the tasks even more real.
You might for example be able to organize exercises or sessions connecting
the applicants with staff around the organization.
This enables you to see (and for delegates to experience) real engagement
with existing staff.
Many failed recruitments are accompanied by a regret on both sides that "..If
only we could have known we were simply not going to get on with each
other before accepting/offering the job.."
Who says you cannot get people to engage with potential colleagues as part
of the recruitment process? You can if it makes sense.
Incorporating reality and actual involvement - so that exercises deal with real
situations and real people - can give rise to other helpful benefits elsewhere in
the organization, if it's possible to do this.
Provided it's not seen as an unwanted distraction, existing staff will also enjoy
the participative involvement aspect, again if it's possible to organize.
The task doesn't need to be technically demanding if what you are assessing
is the 'getalongability' factor, which can be so crucial for team-based roles.
Simply, an information-gathering task or quiz about the company can provide
an interesting and enjoyable basis for assessing how people actually engage
with real colleagues and the real organizational environment.
Feedback from pre-selected staff can also be helpful and can be structured as
an adaptation of the 360 appraisal concept.
Involvement and buy-in among existing staff for recruitment decisions - again
especially for team-based roles - can be helpful beyond the recruitment itself.
This modern integrated approach can help expose many unknowns that
characterize traditional recruitment, in which selection decisions are largely
based on hypothetical scenarios and questions. Recruitment becomes less
risky the more we work with and observe candidates operating in real
situations.
For the more adventurous, you can even extend the engagement to involve
customers, suppliers, or even potential customers.
If you want to put a toe in the water why not involve one or two key
customers or suppliers in the day?
This level of involvement has positive benefits for company relations too,
outside of the recruitment.
Imagine the strengthening of relations with suppliers and customers if the
idea were to grow and you were to reciprocate and help each other with
assessment days..
7. Other group selection examples and ideas
There are many other aspects and ideas that you can include in a group
selection day or event. Above I've focused on the more innovative aspects.
There are several basic elements of the day which need to be considered too,
briefly summarised here. Again, while this section is mainly focused on group
selection assessment events, the principles and many of the ideas also
transfer to conventional interview recruitment:

Welcome and coffee - introduction and scene setter from a suitable
figurehead, or maybe the employee of the month?

Warm-up or ice-breaker

Company presentations - involve staff outside of the usual team, who'd maybe
benefit from the experience and set a great tone

Demonstrations and tours - you need to sell the job too, remember, although
keep it quick, snappy and dynamic

Short exercises to keep people active - linked to assessment specification
criteria of course

Presentations - although these are very common, so try to inject an innovative
aspect

Lunch and coffee breaks - breakfasts and dinners too if appropriate - people
behave differently when they are 'off duty'

One-to-one interviews - round-robins - avoid having people sitting around
waiting

Staged departures - lunchtime is an obvious break point for some to leave

Remember the psychometrics feedback - manage with care; feedback
sessions can be part of the assessment activities - it's easy to overlook and
forgetting this is not fair.
In summary..
Group selection assessment recruitment events offer dramatically more scope
for selling the job, and for finding the right candidate(s).
A group selection event does however require a lot more planning than a oneto-one interview.
You can be very creative when designing group selection recruitment events.
The event reflects on your organisation.
Aim to create a positive experience for people - whether they get the job or
not.
The principles and many of the ideas adapt and transfer to conventional
interview recruitment.
Whether recruiting through group selection or interviews alone - always
ensure you define the requirement very clearly (the person profile, developed
into an assessment specification, broken down in to manageable measurable
elements) before you design or select your assessment activities and/or
interview questions.
Your final selection decision can only ever be as good as your definition of the
person you are seeking.
samples of job interviews thank you letters or
rejection letters
From the interviewer's standpoint when writing to unsuccessful interviewees,
it's essential that you do not write anything that could carry a liability for
claims of discrimination, libel or defamation of character. If you are the
interviewing manager or have the responsibility for sending interviews
rejection letters and have any doubt about local policies and laws concerning
interviews rejection letters, consult with your HR department before writing
and sending job interviews letters to unsuccessful candidates.
Generally the safest kindest way to write an interview rejection letter is to
simply say thank you, and to state that the reason for the interviewee not
being successful is due to there being better qualified candidates. Below is a
sample thank you rejection letter.
See the notes below also relating to more complex and positive rejections of
job applications, notably for additional guidance about giving constructive
feedback to unsuccessful applicants.
basic sample job interviews
rejection letter
Name and address of candidate.
Date
Dear (Mr/Ms/Mrs/Miss Surname)
Thank you for attending the interview (or group selection event) with us on
(date) at (location) for the position of (position).
While you presented yourself extremely well and impressed us very much, I
regret that we are not on this occasion able to offer you the position, due to
there being other better qualified (or more suitably qualified) candidates.
I thank you for the interest and enthusiasm you have shown and wish you all
the best for the future.
Best wishes, etc
sample job interviews
'holding' letter
Here's a job interviews 'holding' letter, to be used when the selection decision
is delayed for some reason, when it is important to acknowledge and thank
the interviewee and keep them informed (and interested) in the position:
Name and address of candidate.
Date
Dear (Mr/Ms/Mrs/Miss Surname)
Thank you for attending the interview (or group selection event) with us on
(date) at (location) for the position of (position).
You presented yourself extremely well and impressed us very much, and the
interview process is still ongoing. We will be in touch as soon as possible to
inform you whether we can offer you the position or not (or when and if we
will need to see you again).
I thank you for the interest and enthusiasm you have shown thus far. Should
you have any questions meanwhile please let me know.
Best wishes, etc
other notes and examples for sensitive and
constructive job application rejection letters
Here are some further ideas for job applications rejections, sample letters,
and especially how to deal with unsuccessful applicants more
sympathetically and constructively. Use or adapt these examples and
ideas when informing job applicants that they have been unsuccessful in
applying for job interviews, or after unsuccessfully attending job interviews (if
you are a pioneering manager working outside of the HR department you
should agree things first with your HR department).
This is a challenging area that many employers will not be able, or desire, to
explore. Which is fine. You'll get around to it when you are good and ready...
First of all, you are not obliged to give a reason for the rejection. It is not a
good thing to concoct a reason, not least because people aren't stupid (think
back to your own experiences when you've been given a flimsy excuse or
reason), and obviously you should avoid writing anything to a job applicant
that could be regarded as discriminatory or insulting.
However, you should try to add a positive aspect to rejection letters if you
can. It's good to do so, especially when someone has clearly tried their best.
It's a wicked world - why not try to make it little kinder. People remember
when they have been treated well; they tell their friends, and they'll
remember when and if you meet them again one day. What goes around
comes around, as they say.
Employers routinely reject people without a care for the rejected person's
sensitivities; it's an assumption passed down from manager to successor.
"We've always done it that way - why waste time bothering about people?...".
However, a little consideration can help a lot to reduce the demoralizing effect
of receiving a rejection letter...
If the application or interview is a good one, but not quite good enough to
succeed, it often makes sense to keep the person's details for possible future
reference. If you plan to do this then tell the person. It's a positive aspect,
albeit within a rejection letter. Having said this, don't just say it for the sake
of it.
Particularly forward-thinking employers (and able managers) can offer to give
applicants constructive feedback on their unsuccessful applications (and failed
interviews too), and this again is an option that you can choose or not, in
which case be mindful as ever about potential discrimination and defamatory
risks. Postal or telephone feedback is possible, each of which of course have
implications for time and control, and costs, for the employer - it's your
choice. If you offer feedback ensure it is fair and that you establish a process
for identifying a few constructive points, giving them, and recording them,
which can quite easily be incorporated into the normal recruitment process
and documentation. You will after all have made the rejection on specific
grounds, rather than on a whim, in which case, it's a logical step to then
communicate these points back to the applicant. One can easily argue that it's
only fair to do so. A simple way to do this is to create a simple list of the most
common reasons for rejecting people, and to indicate on the list the reason(s)
applicable to each person failing to progress.
Giving positive feedback verbally or in writing, outside of a controlled list of
reasons, requires a certain level of skill, so that the feedback is not perceived
as a criticism, and so that the discussion or communication (whether verbal or
a written response) remains adult-to-adult. Written feedback is safer, but
verbal feedback is better, if handled well. The risk is that the feedback leads
to defence or argument from the recipient, so it's important to accentuate the
positive and be objective and factual, for example: "Clearer presentation of
your qualifications would have enabled us to make a fuller assessment," or
"The application would have stood a better chance if it had been more neatly
presented," or "We needed to see more evidence that you understood the
communications and relationships requirements of the role."
Here's an example of a feedback template which can be used by managers
who perhaps do not possess sufficient ability to work without one.
feedback template example for use after job application
rejection
NB - These are examples of feedback points - amend and add to them to suit
your situation.
recruitin
g
manager
to
reference.....................................................date..................
complet
.......
e
feedback to
applicant..................................................................
Unsuccessful job applications can be upsetting, so we try to be as
helpful as we can in giving a bit of feedback to all unsuccessful
applicants. Below we've indicated the main reason(s) why you
didn't succeed on this occasion, and we hope that this will help
you to take something positive from the experience, and to be
successful in the future. In return please feel free to give us your
comments about how we conducted the recruitment. It's a
difficult process for all concerned and we welcome your views.
relevant
reason(s
)
indicate
d with a
tick
Your application letter and/or CV could have been presented more
professionally and neatly.
Your experience was required to be more relevant to the job
vacancy.
We needed to see a clearer understanding of the job's priorities.
We were seeking, or managed to find, an applicant who had
better formal qualifications.
You were actually over-qualified and too capable for the job.
We were seeking, or managed to find, an applicant whose current
commitments or location or earnings requirements were more
suited to the vacancy.
Please give us your feedback about the way we conducted the recruitment by
also completing and returning the attached sheet in the envelope provided.
applicant feedback template
example - for use after job
application or interview
rejection
NB - These are examples of feedback points - amend and add to them to suit
your situation.
feedback from applicant...................................
ref............................................. date......................
Please help us to improve our
recruitment processes by giving us
your feedback about the way we
conducted the recruitment.
answer
Yes or
No
please give
your
comments
(applicant to
complete)
Could we improve the way the job was
explained in the advert?
Could we have explained better the sort
of person we were seeking?
Were all of our communications to you
clear and professional and polite?
Were the recruitment arrangements and
processes all explained clearly enough?
Is the opportunity to receive and give
feedback helpful to you?
Would you apply for a job with us again?
Do you have any other comments or suggestions?
Giving (one or a few) points of feedback like this keeps the feedback factual,
constructive, and provides the person with some helpful pointers for
improving applications that they'll make in the future.
Receiving feedback enables you to improve your recruitment and interviews
processes. Also, allowing the other person to give some feedback helps them
to feel better about their experience, and also leaves them with a much more
positive impression about you, instead of remembering you simply as the
employer who rejected them.
Giving verbal feedback also provides an excellent opportunity to ask
for feedback from the candidate concerning the candidate's experience
and feelings about the organisation's recruitment process. Like any feedback
about organisational performance this is valuable stuff, so seek it out. It will
also lead to a more balanced feedback discussion, allowing the unsuccessful
candidate to make some of their own points, which most folk find quite an
uplifting and pleasing experience.
In order to offer and give constructive feedback a lot depends on the scale
and the size of the business, the people handling the recruitment, the type of
jobs being advertised, the type of people applying, the market or trade sector,
the employer's attitude towards PR, and not least, how you feel about trying
to do good and helping people wherever possible. Aside from simply being a
good thing to do for people, a lot of goodwill and positive reactions result
from offering and giving good constructive feedback. Unlike most aspects of
the recruitment process, you're giving a little bit back, not just taking,
rejecting, and leaving people feeling bereft, which is the common application
rejection experience.
The employment and recruitment world is a cruel one, so it's good to make it
a little happier and more helpful if you can.
Giving constructive feedback to unsuccessful applicants and interviewees is
also particularly good to do when dealing with candidates who are already
employed within the organisation. This is for obvious reasons, not least:
they'll be more likely to stay motivated and feel positive about the
organisation; they'll be more likely to present their next application in a better
way; and they'll better understand why they didn't succeed on this occasion
and hopefully be less likely to blame others for not having succeeded.
See Transactional Analysis - it's a communications and behaviour model that
is enormously helpful to handling potentially emotional discussions.
See also exit interviews - it's a different subject and process obviously, but
rooted in a similar philosophy: trying to help people where you can.
sample rejection letter for
unsuccessful job interview or
job applications
Dear ....
(job title) vacancy
Thank you for applying for the vacancy (above/for ....).
(Or - Thank you or attending the interview for the vacancy [above/for ....] on
[date].)
I am sorry that on this occasion you have not been successful, (despite
presenting yourself very well).
(If you have no objection we will keep your details on file for possible future
reference.)
(When we receive a particularly good application that is not successful - as
yours is - we offer to give the applicant some constructive feedback about
their application, and we would like to make this offer to you. If you'd like this
to happen please let us know by (phoning/writing/emailing - as appropriate)
and we will be in touch.
I wish you all the best for the future.
Yours sincerely, etc.
See also the guide to exit interviews, with sample exit interviews questions,
and tips for interviewers and interviewees.
job promotion interviews tips
For interviewers and interviewees, much of the information above in the main
job interviews article is relevant to job promotion interviews.
These tips chiefly focus on interviews rather than group selections. Attending
group selections for job promotion is a different matter, which I'll comment on
briefly now:
Group selection enables the employer's selection panel to observe behaviour
and interaction in a group situation. Job promotion candidates in these
situations should therefore behave in a way that will impress the selection
panel, in areas which the employer logically expects the group
selection process or exercise to highlight. Here are the sorts of
behaviours that impress when demonstrated by group selection candidates:
responsibility, integrity, leadership, maturity, enthusiasm, organisation,
planning, creativity, noticing and involving quiet members of the group,
calmness under pressure, and particularly discovering and using other
people's abilities in order for the team to achieve given tasks.
The remainder of this item concerns job promotion interview situations.
For interviewees, the same principles apply as in new employer job
interviews. Interviewers commonly assess interviewees according to their own
personal style and approach - people like people like them. For example:
friendly people like friendly people; results-driven people like results-driven
people; dependable reliable passive people like dependable reliable passive
people; and detailed correct people like detailed correct people.
As an interviewer, when interviewing try to see the interviewee according to
their own frame of reference not your own - you will make a fairer
assessment.
As an interviewee be aware that even the most objective interviewer - even if
aided by psychometric job profiles and applicant test results - will always tend
to be more attracted to applicants who are like them, rather than applicants
who are unlike them; it's human nature.
When as an interviewee you attend promotion interviews, your answers
should be orientated to match the style preferences of the interviewer. Try to
see things in the way they see them, and express your answers and ideas in
language and terms that they will relate to and understand. Don't distort the
truth or make claims you cannot substantiate or deliver - show that you
understand how your boss and/or the interviewer sees the situation, and how
they see that the job needs to be done successfully.
Rebels and mould-breakers are rarely promoted because they are seen as a
threat or liability, so if you have rebellious tendencies it's a good idea to tone
them down a little for the promotion interview. In the rare case that a
distinctly mould-breaking individual is required for the role, such a
requirement will be stated, then by all means go for it, all guns blazing.
At promotion interviews, interviewers particularly expect to hear the
applicant's practical and cost effective ideas and plans for the new job.
As the candidate, be able to demonstrate how well you understand the
business and the organization. This requires that you do some research. Avoid
the common tendency to think that internal candidates already know what
they need to and therefore have a better chance than, for example, an
external candidate. If an external candidate has done their research they will
impress the interviewer more than an internal candidate who hasn't.
Doing some research - above and beyond your normal sphere of responsibility
and operation - demonstrates your potential, and particularly your capability
to make a difference in the promoted role, which for most promotions is a
strong requirement. If it isn't a requirement then it's a big advantage over
another candidate who hasn't thought outside of the box, so to speak.
Doing good imaginative research, especially looking at organisational and
departmental threats and opportunities, also enables you to prepare and ask
great questions of the interviewer, which regardless of the way the
interviewer handles the interview, provides you with a great way to show your
potential.
If appropriate, your ideas can be fresh and innovative (especially if the
interviewer is innovative and creative themselves), but you must above all be
able to demonstrate a clear grasp of 'cause and effect', and the importance of
achieving a suitable return on investment or effort.
Promotion almost always involves having responsibility for making decisions
about the use of time and resources. Interviewers need to be convinced that
you understand how to handle this responsibility - to identify priorities, to
focus effort in the right direction, to manage efforts productively - as if you
were using your own money.
Demonstrating clear knowledge and interpretation of policies,
processes, rules, standards, and a firm and diplomatic style when
supervising others, is crucial for promotion into most first-line management
or supervisory roles.
Demonstrating an ability to plan, organise and achieve effective
implementation (of plans, changes and objectives) is crucial for
promotion into most middle-management positions.
Demonstrating an ability to initiate and optimise strategic activities,
giving strong return on investment is be crucial for promotion into most
senior positions.
Demonstrating huge personal commitment and enthusiasm, together with
complete and utter loyalty to your boss and the organization, are always
essential factors for successful promotion interviews. Loyalty and commitment
are essential. The interviewer must be able to trust you to the extent that
they will stake their own reputation on your commitment and ability.
The ability to adapt and be flexible as priorities and circumstances change
around you, is also essential for promotion into most supervisory and
management roles. Interviewers will not promote children or people with
baggage or issues - interviewers promote mature grown-up people. People
who will lighten the management burden, not add to it.
It is important to convey convincingly that regardless of the challenges
that occur on the way, you will always strive relentlessly to achieve
your aims and objectives - and that you will never, ever, ever, let
your boss down.
If you really believe it and feel it, look the interviewer in the eye and
say: "Give me this opportunity, and I will repay your faith in me to
succeed in this job."
references and checking references
As an interviewee it's good to prepare your references in advance, and give
the interviewer a list of your referees with names, positions, employers
details, and all possible contact details. Try to identify (and agree cooperation
in advance from) referees who will be happy to give you a positive reference,
and in so doing, who will support your personality, skills, performance and job
history claims. Provide as many referees as you need to cover the important
aspects of your performance and employment history, plus any specific critical
requirements of the new job (accreditation, record, training, vetting, etc). A
healthy list of referees would normally be between three and five people. It
seems a lot, but it's more impressive than just a couple; it shows you've
thought about it beforehand, and it builds in a bit of leeway for when people
cannot be contacted or fail to respond quickly for any reason.
Generally the more senior and credible your referees the better. It's perfectly
acceptable to list one or two referees from your private life rather than work,
especially if they have a job or status that carries important responsibility
(councillors, police, etc)
If you know that a particularly significant and favourable referee might be
difficult to contact, ask them to provide you with a 'to whom it may concern'
open reference letter as to your character and history, signed by them, on
letterhead - and preferably use and keep hold of the original copy - ask the
interviewer to take a photocopy and give you back the original.
As an employer - employers should always follow up and check successful job
interview candidates' references. Not to do so is irresponsible, especially if
recruiting for jobs which carry serious responsibilities, such as working with
children, disabled people, sensitive data, money, valuables, etc.
You must inform or ask permission from the candidate prior to checking their
references.
The extent and depth to which references should be checked depend on the
situation and the referees given by the job applicant. Certainly make job
offers conditional to satisfactory checking of references, and if as an employer
you are not happy about the referees provided then ask for others. Checking
references can be a very sensitive area, so care needs to be used. Many
referees will not be comfortable providing personal information about a
person, not least due to fear of defaming someone and the liabilities
concerned. Postal reference checking is an alternative to telephoning,
although many referees feel less comfortable effectively making a written
record of negative comments, and may be more forthcoming in a telephone
conversation.
Refusal by a referee to provide a reference about someone is obviously not a
helpful sign, and considerable positive feedback from reliable alternative
referees would normally be required to proceed with a job offer following
such a response.
Bear in mind also that the referee may have their own agenda. Take care to
interpret carefully any personal comments which might stem from personality
clash. Try to concentrate on facts with evidenced examples rather than
opinions.
References should definitely be checked concerning job-critical areas (relevant
to the new job for which serious liabilities might exist if candidate is not telling
the truth), as should any areas of suspicion or doubt that cannot be
resolved/proven for sure at interview.
And for everyone, irrespective of satisfaction with interview answers, it is
important to check some basic facts with past employers to ensure that the
candidate has not been telling a pack of lies.
Possible areas to check (a sort of checklist - not a fixed agenda):

CV/career history, dates, salaries.

Qualifications and training.

Personal details, age, etc.

Claims about achievements and performance in past jobs.

Personality and relationships at work.

Domestic situation, financial situation.
Seek local qualified advice from your HR department or advisor if in doubt,
and also if you want to use a postal reference checking method, since most
HR departments will already have a standard approved document for this
purpose.
tips on what to wear for interviews
You'll see various research and general advice concerning what best to wear
for job interviews. The sort of clothes, styles, colours, shoes, make-up,
accessories, etc., are likely to have the best effect. Standard rules for dress
code at interviews are mostly common sense: be smart, coordinated, clean,
tidy, relatively under-stated - however you can go further than merely
adopting the standard recommendations to wear blue or grey suits, black
shoes, white, cream, pale yellow and pastel colours for shirts and blouses;
and to avoid black (too funereal - unless your interview is with an
undertakers), bow-ties, Elton John specs and deer-stalker hats.
You can take a more sophisticated approach to your choice of dress and style
at job interviews.
Your best choice of dress, clothes, colours and style at interview should
actually depend on the role and what surrounds it.
For example, blue is thought by many people to represent formal business
professionalism, which is fine for 'professional' job opportunities, but a smartly
pressed blue business suit and crisp white shirt and tie won't help you much
in an interview for a role requiring care and compassion, working outdoors in
all weathers, managing down-to-earth labourers, being bubbly and creative,
or teaching disaffected kids.
What we wear should be an extension of our personality of course, but also
importantly, indicates to the interviewer our ability to recognise what
the employment situation and job requires.
No-one ever got a job because of the way they dressed whereas lots of
people fail to get jobs because 'something' about their appearance put the
interviewer off - maybe just a bit - but enough not to get the job.
Dress in a way that projects you personality, sure, but not to the extent that
your appearance is inappropriate to the situation. For adventurous dressers,
especially going for jobs that might call for a spark of individuality, it can be a
fine judgement. A lot depends on the interviewer too - innovative interviewers
in industries that are amenable to flair will respond more positively to people
who look different. But process-orientated decision-makers in structured
environments will prefer people who look safer. If in doubt err on the safe
side.
Employers want people who can do the job - that's a given - but they also
badly need people who will 'align' and fit in - people who can 'get the beat' of
the organisation and department. Empathy, trust, rapport, are all built on this
initial platform, and what you wear and how you style yourself provide a great
opportunity to start putting these foundations in place with the interviewer.
Your interview dress code and visible styling help you show the interviewer
(it's a conscious and unconscious effect) that you understand the
organisation's style and how to fit in with it; that you can adapt appropriately
to your environment - it's a valuable ability and there's nothing to be achieved
by creating doubts in this area.
So when you next prepare for a job interview, try to orientate your choice of
clothes and style to that of the employer, and also to the way the interviewer
perceives the role. Consider also the type of job and the service sector, and
particularly the personality, skills and behaviour that is required in the role:
For example is the role mainly extravert or introvert, detailed or conceptual,
creative or processing, conforming or innovative, etc., and how does this
affect the way you should be styling yourself and dressing for the interview?
If it helps you decide what to wear, think about how the existing employees
dress. Does the employer have a conservative attitude and culture regarding
dress code, or is the culture more modern and relaxed. It is as unhelpful for
you to be dressed too conservatively and professionally as it is to be dressed
not professionally enough. Try to get an idea of what people wear in the
organisation so that you can reflect, within reason, the tone and style that fits
in with the employer and the interviewer's expectations. Do the men wear ties
or not? Do the women wear suits? Do they 'dress down' on Fridays? (This is
particularly relevant if you happen to go for an interview at their offices on a
dress-down Friday, when prior knowledge will help you to tone down a little
and avoid sticking out like someone who doesn't fit in because they've not
had the sense to find out before-hand.) Go see or ask if this will help you to
feel more confident.
On the point of going and seeing, especially if you know very little about the
organisation, it's often helpful to get a feel of the place and the people before
deciding that the organisation is actually worthy of your talents and
commitment. If you live close enough to the organisation's offices or site it
makes good sense to visit their reception or sales office as part of your preinterview research, when you can pick up a few brochures, feel the
atmosphere, and form a view of staff attitudes and style, etc. This will also
give you a good indication of their dress code, especially if you visit when
people are arriving or leaving work. Lunch-time visits are interesting too - at
the start of breaks and when people return to work. It's amazing what you
can hear and learn sometimes, simply sitting in a busy reception for a few
minutes or approaching a reception desk and asking for a brochure.
As regards your own appearance for interviews, consider any jewellery and
other bodily adornments too. No-one ever got a job because they wore an
outrageously big fat diamond ring, or a nineteen-ounce gold chain over their
shirt, but I bet there'll have been plenty of people who've not got jobs
because they've erred on the wrong side of this particular judgement.
For the same reason, the number of body piercings displayed at interview is
generally inversely proportional to the chances of successfully attracting a job
offer, unless the job happens to be in a body piercing studio.
Tattoos are another interesting area. Attitudes to tattoos are certainly more
tolerant than twenty years ago: even main board directors these days
commonly will be hiding a little dragon or butterfly somewhere intimate on
their person, however, given two equally-matched candidates at a job
interview or group selection, the one with the short sleeves and naked ladies
up each forearm is unlikely to get the nod. Safest bet - especially for
customer-facing jobs (literally face-to-face) - is not to show too much
tattooed skin at interviews unless you are very confident of yourself indeed.
The reality unfortunately is that most people, including interviewers, will tend
to judge you with their eyes, not least because interviewers know that their
customers and staff will do too. And, like all business decisions, recruitment
decisions reflect on the people making them. Therefore when you are being
interviewed the interviewer is not only deciding whether you can do the job,
they are also deciding whether choosing you will reflect well or not on their
own reputation. The less you challenge this area the more likely they'll feel
comfortable deciding in your favour. Use your common sense.
So, if the role and the organisation calls for someone to conform and behave
according to strong corporate style and expectations then dress accordingly.
If the role and the organisation calls for individuality and fresh ideas then you
have more licence to dress more individually, but still beware. It remains that
most employers and interviewers, whatever they might say about welcoming
fresh blood and challenging new ideas, will always tend to err on the side of
caution. Interviewers generally don't knowingly take risks - they prefer safe
options - safe non-threatening people, who appear and dress in a safe and
non-threatening way.
I'm not saying you've got to become a de-humanised clone for the interview,
or that there's no place for individuality, on the contrary actually - you've got
to look good (and extremely smart too if it's called for) - and aside from this
there certainly is a huge need for individual thought and behaviour and
innovation in all organisations - but that's after you've got the job and settled
in. You've got to get the job first, and you'll do that most easily by
appearing immediately like someone who'll fit in rather well, not by looking
like someone who marches to a different tune or has no idea how to adapt to
their environment.
Clothes, style, colours, jewellery, hair, like anything else that represents you
as the applicant (just as the quality and presentation of your CV for example),
should project the 'fit' and congruence between yourself and the employer
and the interviewer's requirements for the job, and also show that you can
understand different situations and behave accordingly. Individuality is great,
but the job interview is not really the best place to start displaying a highly
individual dress style, unless the role specifically calls for it, which in truth is
very rarely indeed.
Look good, but under-stated. Project yourself and your personality in what
you wear, but above all show that you are aware of what's going on around
you, and that you can adapt to the situation and present yourself
appropriately.
do your research before all job interviews
A final note about the importance of researching the employer and their
markets and issues before interviews.
First, research can enable the least qualified, least favoured, least likely
applicant to succeed and beat off the most likely interview opposition
candidates. Doing good relevant research is the singlemost powerful thing you
can do to improve your chances of getting the job. It's that important. No
research, no views. No views, no value. No value, no job. It's simple: Do your
research and apply your experience, capabilities and thoughts in preparation
for the interview and you will have good views that will be valued. If you offer
good value you'll probably have the job.
Second, the above applies to any organisation or employer with whom you
have an interview; any size, any sector, commercial, not-for-profit, even the
corner shop. If you want the job - do the bloody research. This is not to
say that people who don't do their research don't get jobs, but the fact is that
any person who's done good research and thinking will virtually always get
the job over someone who has not bothered to.
If you are an external applicant bear in mind that you are likely to be up
against at least one good, favoured, known internal applicant, who already
knows and understands lot about the organisation. Your aim is to present
yourself as a more attractive option than the internal applicant. You will do
this by researching the employer organisation so well that you know it better
and more incisively and more strategically than the best of the internal
applicants. Your objectivity and neutrality, and your external experience, will
enable you to see many things that even the best prepared internal job
applicants cannot see. Use this opportunity to make a great impression on the
interviewer or panel.
If you are being interviewed for an internal job promotion, bear in mind that
the best external applicants will be doing all they can to demonstrate that
they have a keen knowledge and appreciation of the employer organisation
and its markets, etc. If you are complacent and think that you know it all
already then you will be bitten on the bum. Someone from the outside will
impress the interviewer more than you because they will seem keener, and
will be seen by the interviewer to have a fresh pair of eyes too, which can be
very appealing to recruiting organisations. When preparing for an internal job
promotion interview or groups selection you have a great opportunity to ward
off any threats from external well-researched applicants by doing lots of your
own research and thinking. This will put you ahead of external applicants
because you will also have the internal political and systemic insights that are
so difficult for external applicants to discover.
Internal or external job interviews - whatever - do your research.
Doing plenty of good quality creative research on the employer organisation,
their history, market sector, products and services, people issues,
organisational priorities, strategic challenges, competitors, threats
opportunities, challenges, etc., helps enormously to convince an interviewer
that your are the applicant who wants and deserves the job more than
anyone else.
Imagine you are a strategic advisor - remove yourself from the detail and
grind of the job role basics. Go deeper - think about what's going on in the
department or organisation at a higher strategic level, or whatever aspect of
performance that your capabilities can best understand and influence - think
about and be prepared to talk about how you can bring best possible
benefit and value to the situation.
Interviewees who possess good knowledge and understanding are able to ask
really good questions about the role and the organisation. They can discuss
how to develop and improve performance, how to exploit opportunities,
diffuse threats, and to help the department and the organisation meet their
aims.
You will be asked questions, obviously, many of which will invite you to
demonstrate all the fantastic research and thinking that you've done, and the
ideas that you have for helping the organisation and its people to perform
well and improve.
If the interview is for a customer service or management role particularly,
then having some first-hand experience as a customer or prospective
customer yourself (if only from the point of view of having made a tentative
'customer enquiry' or requested a brochure) will often provide you with lots of
ideas for commenting helpfully on how the organisation performs, and
potentially for improving services and quality, or morale or competitive edge whatever your research and thinking and expertise lead you to conclude. This
applies just as much to internal applicants as external interviewees - don't
assume you know it all. See things from the outside. See things from the
perspective of the customers or clients of the organisation.
All this is part of very necessarily researching the organisation before
attending the interview. Interviewers love to meet people who are
passionately interested in their business and have taken trouble to do some
homework and thinking. If you an external applicant, doing good research
before the interview gives you your best opportunity to demonstrate what you
can bring to the role, and that this is more than the internal applicants can
bring. If you an internal applicant, doing good quality research and
meaningful thinking, especially from an outside perspective (no-one else on
the inside will be doing much of this I assure you) is your greatest opportunity
to surprise and delight the interviewer about your terrific capabilities and
potential, and leave them wondering why you weren't promoted a long time
ago.
use a strategy and method for getting the right job
- be different
The success rate that people experience when applying foradvertised jobs is
on average very low. It's not your fault - it's the process: The recruitment
process is very arbitrary, subjective, and sometimes little more than a lottery,
and often advertised jobs are already destined for an internal applicant
anyway, so the external candidates never have a chance from the outset.
Here is a very specific job-hunting method and tool. You can also adapt it and
use alongside some of the techniques explained here.
Worse still, rejections and 'no-replies' can drag down your morale and
confidence, and this can turn into a downward spiral.
So do something different. Take control of your own destiny.
Why rely wholly on a process that involves inevitable intensive competition
and an arbitrary unknown selection method?
Instead be proactive. Use (or adapt) this simple process for getting a job
that's just right for you. If you want to continue to apply for advertised jobs,
fine, but follow this plan as well; aside from being very effective in its own
right, the method will improve your success rate with the advertised jobs too.
First realise that different people suit different jobs and employers, so you
need to know yourself and know your market (your market is the types
of employers and the industry sectors that need people with your particular
capabilities, personality, and aims).
Knowing yourself and what's out there will enable you to understand which
employers and jobs will offer you the best fit.
A dream job is one where the fit is right. This sounds simple and obvious
but it implies a lot.
Obviously getting the dream job is another story, about which more follows
later in this section.
For the time being though, how do you identify what is a potential dream job?
Think deeply and creatively about what will be the best sorts of jobs and
employers for you. They might be quite different from what you've habitually
believed or been conditioned to think.
Think and act creatively and innovatively on the way you 'package' or
yourself - the sort of image and presence you create.
A CV is no longer restricted to hard-copy paper or a digital document.
What about a video CV? What about creating an impressive web
presence for yourself?
Being proactive in this way impresses employers and will give you choice. You
become the buyer not the seller, because all good employers want innovative
proactive impressive people. So become one of these people.
Get to know yourself by seeking feedback from trusted friends. Do some
personality tests (there are plenty online now, and free). If you want to go
into detail look at the Personality Styles section.
Whatever you do - ensure you know yourself, honestly and objectively especially all your skills and strengths that will be desirable to employers.
Think deeply about your passions, your loves, what you enjoy - these are
likely to be or relate to your key strengths and potential. Look at yourself
from a deeper and wider perspective than job skills - think about your
personality - the situations and challenges you enjoy - the things in life as a
whole that you are good at.
Employers of all sorts now want and need people who have characteristics
and potential that cannot be represented by mere 'job-skills'.
Employers need people with more important and meaningful qualities; like
creativity, humanity, determination, self-reliance, unshakable dependability,
passion, compassion, curiosity, belief, integrity, vision, innovation, ethics, and
an awareness of the wider world, health and lifestyle, mind and body, diet
and fitness, leisure and entertainment, music and the arts, technology,
communications, the environment, the natural world, education, society,
people, relationships, and cultural diversity, etc.
Look at the Multiple Intelligences theory and do the self-test to prompt some
thinking about your fundamental attributes and strengths, and start to see
yourself in these wider terms.
List your strengths and dreams using this wider perspective. Not just
job-skills - instead: life strengths and passions. You will very quickly see a
person emerging who is unique, and able to offer uniquely special qualities to
all forward-thinking employers.
And then you'll perhaps begin to imagine all sorts of different types of work
that will provide a better fit for what you can do, what you love, and the
differences you want to make in life.
Use this new view of yourself to create or improve your CV.
Next, draw up a profile of the sort of work and types of employers that
will best fit what you can do, what you love, and where you want to go.
When you've thought carefully and decided where the best fit will be for you,
again, be proactive not reactive.
Go find the jobs and openings that fit your strengths that arenot
advertised.
Use your CV and covering letter to package and market yourself(see the CV
section on creating a great proactive CV).
Approach a least 20 of the right sorts of employers that you think will want
what you can do. Within reason the more the better: 50 or 100 is obviously
better, provided the fit is good and the data is reliable. Marketing is a
numbers game - hence the more the better.
Finding these organisations and names and contact details takes some effort,
which of course varies according to the types of organisations you want to
approach. The internet and the telephone make it relatively easy these days
to gather this detail, provided you apply yourself to the task.
You might think of a smarter way to create a list of potential employers in one
go - perhaps from the local chamber of commerce, or a trade association, a
library, a directory, or another information provider - maybe even a list
broker. There are many good list providers that have searchable databases on
the internet, and while your requirements are modest, many are happy to
help and costs can be very low. I've always found Electric
Marketing particularly good, especially for lists and details of large
organisations and recently appointed decision-maker contacts. It's possible to
buy a list of companies and contacts for upwards of 20p a name.
If you are comfortable using MSExcel or similar, put all the names and
addresses into a spreadsheet - a separate column per address line. If you buy
a list it will already be in a spreadsheet format. This enables you to run a
mailmerge with MSWord and saves a lot of time producing personalised
letters. Failing that, no problem - it does not take an age to create 20 letters
without mailmerge. Running a mailmerge enables 50 or 100 letters and CV's
to be sent easily.
Target your professionally written letter and CV at business-unit manager
level - it doesn't matter if you get referred to HR - you've made your mark.
'Business-unit manager level' means the overall manager or boss of the
business unit or division or site that you are targeting. These senior people
know what openings they have and what they need, and they also have the
clout to make things happen. And they'll recognise the strengths in your letter
and CV and the approach you have taken. The job title of your target contact
(business unit decision-maker) will depend on the types of organisations you
are approaching, and this requires some thought and research. Seek advice
from a list broker if you use one - they are generally very good at advising the
best contacts (job titles) for any given purpose. It's certainly worth sending
your letter and CV to more than one contact in large organisations. Some
detailed research as to structure and key decision-makers is warranted for
any large organisations that you believe could offer you the best fit and
opportunities.
Present yourself in your CV and covering letter in terms of what you can do
for the organisation or business. See the CV section. This aspect is crucial. It's
essential to describe yourself in a way that is immediately and obviously
appealing to the reader, which means putting yourself in their shoes and
imagining what they particularly need. What are the strategic and
organisational priorities that they'll need a new employee to address? What
are their criteria regarding style, approach, personality, values, etc., that new
employees must possess?
It might be that you have to vary the content of some of the letters so that
the approach is tailored suitably for each one or type of your targeted
employers. Refer also to the business writing tips, theadvertising writing
tips and the sales introductory letters. All of these notes contain useful
pointers for job seeking. You are after all selling yourself.
You must approach at least 20 organisations because the aim is to get at
least two interviews lined up (obviously with different employers or
departments). Securing more than one interview is very significant - it puts
you in a very strong position. You're doing the buying not the selling. You're
the one with the choice now, and most employers will want you all the more if
they think you are in demand elsewhere.
The interviews will probably not fall into your lap, although sometimes they
do: selecting appropriate target organisations and names of decision-makers,
combined with a good CV and covering letter can produce great instant
results. For the other organisations who don't respond immediately you'll
need to follow up your letters by phone. You will maybe have to send copies.
Things get lost, no matter. Be persistent and methodical. Ask the PA's of
decision-makers and managers for help rather than try to go around them.
Be persistent. Keep sending letters. Keep notes so you continually improve
your understanding of your own personal 'job market'. Keep following up by
phone. Keep positive. Refine your list and your letters and your CV as you get
a feel for what's working best.
You are managing your own personal marketing campaignand your
destiny is in your own hands.
When your letter and CV arrives it is unique and relevant and it's selling you,
in terms of what you can do for the organisation. It is not one of a hundred
other 'send and hope' applications for an advertised vacancy that's probably
going to go to the internal candidate anyway. Your approach is unique,
special, and it gets noticed.
Sooner or later you will be offered meetings or interviews. If you follow this
process, and the other related guidelines explained on this website, it is
inevitable that you will get some positive responses.
You might not actually need or be offered a 'job interview' as such - maybe it
will be offered as a 'meeting' or a 'discussion' - it doesn't matter. The aim is to
get a meeting or interview with someone, preferably someone who's got a job
opening at that time or an overview of several opportunities within the
organisation.
Aim to get two or more meetings or interviews. It gives a big boost to your
confidence level knowing you've other options, and it has a very positive and
helpful effect on the interviewer too. People want people who other people
want.
Now you are effectively at the job interview stage, and you must read the
various guidance notes about preparing and attending job interviews that are
provided on this page. You've completed the most difficult stage of the
challenge. You've carved out a unique opportunity for yourself, and whether
the opportunity that you'll be discussing is one that is advertised or not, you'll
stand out as the leading applicant because of the approach you have taken.
Commonly people who take this proactive marketing route save employers
the task of advertising altogether. If your approach and discussions coincide
with a vacancy arising then you'll offer an immediate solution that saves the
employer weeks of recruitment efforts, management time, and advertising
and recruitment agency costs. Alternatively the approach advocated here can
often prompt the employer to accelerate plans of one sort or another whereby
a role is created specially for you.
All employers need good people. When one comes along, as you will do when
you follow this method, many employers will try to find an opportunity to fit,
whether they are currently recruiting or not.
This is another advantage of having more than one interview lined up. It adds
to the pressure for the employer to make a quick decision and find a slot for
you, and also reduces any inclination to advertise the post, for fear of losing
you, a star candidate.
Aside from the advantage of anticipating and prompting vacancies and
job opportunities rather than waiting for them to appear in the papers or
on the internet (like everyone else), you will automatically demonstrate
that you possess many of the important attributes that the employer
seeks, simply by the way you've conducted your approach and developed the
opportunity, for example: initiative, self-reliance, capability to make things
happen, to communicate, put a plan together and implement it, etc.
By being proactive and making your own opportunities will make the interview
and the whole process much easier for you because you've controlled it,
moreover you look like a great fit for the organisation, you've proved you can
get things done, and you've avoided most if not all of the competition. And
you'll have saved them the hassle of recruiting too.
Anyone can take this approach. All it needs is a bit of thought, research and
preparation.
And all you need add is the simple commitment to do it.
So do it.
helpful questions and process for planning job
hunting, career advancement, or starting your own
business
If you are unclear or frustrated in your efforts to find the right job for
yourself, consider these points.
You will be able to plan how to achieve your career aims (similar principles
apply for starting your own business or becoming self-employed or freelance)
by asking and then answering (yourself) questions like:

What are the 5-10 main requirements of the position that you are seeking,
from the employer's angle (or from the customer's angle if you are
considering working for yourself)?
Then:

How can you demonstrate (to an employer - initially in a CV and short
covering letter - and then later in an interview - or to a customer, using
equivalent marketing materials) that you offer an irresitible way to satisfy the
above requirements, and more?

How can you best develop a personal marketing/selling campaign to sell
yourself into a position you are aiming for?
If you have skills in selling, marketing, coaching, business management,
training, etc., you can approach this question by imagining yourself to be one
of your trainees or a client.
In any event, imagine you are advising yourself how to package and market
yourself. How to prepare and move yourself into a new situation. Look at
the goal planning section.
It's often easier to plan how to achieve personal aims by stepping back and
seeing the situation as a stranger would do.
Understand properly where you are, where you want to be, and then plan
how to get there. If the step is too great to make in one go (which it probably
is if it's too difficult to achieve), break it down into steps or stages. Consider
these steps in terms of cause and effect. See the goal planner if you've not
already done so.
If you cannot yet meet and exceed the requirements of your ideal employed
role (or your target customers/market):

What steps are necessary for you to achieve these capabilities and attributes?
Use goal planning methods. Identify causes and effects. Make a plan and
implement it. Start controlling your future, rather than letting it control you.
Think creatively, 'outside of the box'. Challenge your assumptions, and
especially your fears and insecurities and worries.
On which point, if you are wondering if self-employment or starting your own
business might be better than working for someone else:

What are the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing a freelance route?

How does this compare to an employed position, in the widest sense?
See decision-making and SWOT analysis.
Use whatever methods will help you step back and assess your situation
objectively.
Identify:
1. Where are you now - your current situation and especially capabilities
and attributes?
2. What is your next important aim for a job or work situation?
3. What capabilities/attributes do the desired situation require you to
have?
4. What are the gaps between your capabilities/attributes, and the
capabilities/attributes required for your aim?
5. How will you fill the gaps - so that you meet or exceed the
requirements? (Use a goal planner of some sort.)
6. How will you find the right employers (or customers, if you prefer the
freelance/own business option) and put your offering in front of them
as efficiently and powerfully as possible?
7. Then implement your plan with determination, enthusiasm and a calm
confidence that having used this process you will inevitably achieve
your aims.