Preparing for Interviews
David Henderson
Careers Adviser
d.m.henderson@durham.ac.uk
http://careersatdurham.wordpress.com
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Interviews and Assessment
Centres
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Preparing for interviews
Performing at interview
∂
What questions will I be asked?
What can I expect at an assessment
centre?
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Practical preparation
What is the format?
• First interview
• Second Interview
• Technical or competency
• Panel
• Telephone
• Assessment Centre
http://www.wikijob.co.uk/
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Interview practice
e.g. mock interview, friends – practice talking about yourself
Questions for the employer!
Basics – avoid unnecessary stress
(location, date/time, travel arrangements, dress, items to take etc)
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Know yourself, your strengths
and your weaknesses
• Know your CV and Application Form
INSIDE/OUT!
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• Strengths: your ‘unique selling points’
• Weaknesses: Give examples that can
be ‘corrected’ / areas for development
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Know the job and the
employer
The Job
• Talk to someone doing the job
• Familiarise yourself with the role
• Tip: refer to case studies on Target Jobs, Prospects,
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employer websites & professional
bodies
The Employer
• Presentations at University, company reports,
careers literature, company websites
• Shows commitment, enthusiasm, motivation
• Tip: search for company related articles on online
websites of the Guardian, Times, Independent etc
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Knowledge about the job
http://www.prospects.ac.uk
Knowledge of the organisation
Sector specific press
http://www.consulting-times.com
http://www.efinancialnews.com
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http://www.ft.com/companies
Business publications (access via library database
http://www.dur.ac.uk/library/resources/online/databases)
Datamonitor 360
NexisUK
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Psychological preparation
• Selector are not there to embarrass you or show
your weaknesses
• Conversation not an interrogation
• Interviewer sets the pace, but you participate fully
• You are there to secure the
∂ position – opportunities
to make your points
• Does the company match your expectations ?
• Positive attitude – you are here for a reason!
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Aim of the interview
• To assess the knowledge that you have marketed in
your initial application
• To evaluate your transferable skills under pressure
• To judge how you would fit into their organisation,
institution, department
• To create a positive impression
(on both sides!)
∂
• Ultimately, they want to know:
Can you do the job? Will you do the job? Will you fit
in?
BUT
• It is also an opportunity for you to judge whether you
want to work for them
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First Impressions
• Be polite to everyone (they could all
be asked for their opinion!)
• Professional and∂friendly manner
• Be confident/establish eye contact
• The interviewer may be nervous
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What you say / How you say it
What you say
• Listen to the question
• Try to evidence your answers – don’t just give yes/no responses
• Volunteer relevant information about yourself
• Get across pre-planned key points
How you say it
• Clarity but also enthusiasm and conviction
• Body language conveys 65% of what
∂ is communicated, words
convey 35%
How long should I speak for?
• Difficult to quantify; ensure that you answer question fully
• Focused answers; avoid narrative and over-explanation
• Use judgement; body-language of interviewer
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Question Style
Positive questions (self-expression)
• Open
• Probing
• Clarifying
Poor Questions
• Leading questions ∂
• Laden questions
• Limited choice
• Don’t assume that the interviewer is
experienced and don’t be thrown by poorly
constructed questions.
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Key Questions
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Why are you applying to us?
What interests you in this job?
Why should we employ you?
∂
What do you consider
your
strengths?…and your weaknesses?
• How did you choose your degree
subject? Why Durham?
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Competency Questions
• Designed to let you sell yourself and evaluate your
transferable skills under pressure
• Provide specific examples; not general opinions or
philosophies
• Need to impress / interest them here
• Consider why question is being asked (make your answer
relevant to the job for which you
∂ are applying).
E.G. Achievements - Motivation, overcoming difficulties, problem
solving
E.G. Career Choice – appreciation of what skills are needed in
this role, evidence of when you have used said skills
E.G. Team Work – effective interaction with other people, what
constitutes good teamwork, barriers to effective teamwork etc
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STAR Quality
Situation
- describe with clarity
Tasks
- outline what needed doing
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Action
- your actions taken (what you
did but crucially HOW you did it)
Result
- outcomes/reflections
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Example Questions
Teamwork/Leadership
• Tell me about a time when you worked hard to get on with others.
What steps did you take to improve relationships within the team? How
did you encourage open discussion? What was the most difficult aspect
& what was most personally satisfying?
• When have you had to work with a complete stranger?
• How would you motivate an underperforming team?
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Decision Making/Organisation
• Tell me about a time when you had to make a practical decision
about priorities and tasks. What specifically were you trying to
accomplish? What was difficult /easy about this? Tell me about the other
options you considered. What were the influencing factors you took into
account? What was the final outcome?
• How would you prioritise between two competing projects?
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Example Questions
continued…
Customer/Client Relations
Tell me about a time when you experienced very good (or bad) customer
service. In your opinion what constitutes excellent service? Why is this
important?
Communication
Give me an example of an occasion when you had to persuade someone?
When have you had to present a case? What approach did you adopt?
∂
Problem Solving
Give me an example of when you sat yourself a challenging goal, and
explain how you achieved it.
What sort of things put you under pressure? Give me an example and
explain how you coped.
Commercial Awareness
When have you improved an organisation or service?
What commercial experience have you gained from p-t employment?
http://www.dur.ac.uk/careers/s/cvapp/int/vid/ - extracts from graduate interviews
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Competency snapshot – Barclays Retail
Open questions
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What do you know about Barclays Retail Bank?
addressing career
motivation and
How did you find this information?
commercial awareness
Why are you attracted to this position in finance?
How is Barclays doing at the moment?
What do you think you will be doing if you receive this position? (Student comment: I
stated some things, and the interviewer asked me what they would involve
specifically)
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Describe a time when working as a team you have had to analyse information and
deliver an objective in timed conditions. How did you ensure the task was completed
on time? What sort of information did you have to analyse? What did you learn for the
experience? (Student comment: I could not use university examples)
Describe a time when you have had to deliver a difficult message which let down or
disappointed someone? How did they react?
Describe a time when you have convinced a team to follow a path they were initially
resistant to. How did you convince them? Why did they not want to follow the path
initially? What was the result? What did you learn?
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Very specific competency questions…you
are expected to provide answers that
critically evaluate your contribution and
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impact.
Challenging Questions
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What would you describe as your greatest strength?
What would you say is your major weakness?
How would you define your approach to team working?
Would you say you were a follower or a leader?
How well do you work under pressure?
How would you rate yourself from 1-10?
Have you ever had a bad experience with another employer?
∂
What would you say is your greatest
achievement and why?
Describe how you have overcome a major obstacle in your life
How would the skills gained from your course/previous
employment help our organisation?
• Are you applying to other jobs?
• Consider topics that are challenging or less comfortable for
you! I hope I’m not asked about…
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Challenging Questions
Technical/role specific
• What research skills do you have and how have they been applied?
• What analytical techniques have used in a laboratory environment?
• What is your favourite product/brand and why?
• Tell me about your understanding, and experience, of working with young offenders?
• What is the share price of…
• What should be included in a contract?
Situational
• Alternative to competency interviews with emphasis on ‘What would you do…’ rather
than ‘When have you…’.
e.g. A co-worker tells you in confidence that she plans to call in sick while actually taking a
week's vacation. What would you do and why?
Commercial
• Describe a company you think is doing well/badly and explain why you think this is so.
• What do you think are key qualities for a company to have to be successful?
• What significant factors have affected this industry in recent years? (The SarbanesOxley Act is a key factor for accounting and especially audit.)
• What do you understand of the role this firm plays in this industry?
• Are you applying to other jobs?
Abstract
• If you were a sandwich filling what would it be and why?
• If you could be a cartoon character who would you be and why?
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Technical snapshot – Trafigura
• Which derivatives could Trafigura use to
hedge against scenarios x,y,z in liquid,
illiquid markets?
Technical, commercial
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questions concerning both
financial instruments and a
specific market (oil); use of
jargon and finance terminology
• What risks are involved in shipping
Angolan oil to US refineries?
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Sector specific questions...
Unilever – questions linked to business function
• Finance - Interesting that Unilever has the cash to
make a large acquisition in a recessionary
environment. How is the Unilever share price doing
vs. peers?
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• Marketing - How has the recessionary background
impacted our marketing spend year on year? How do
we present value to cash-strapped consumers
through our brands?
• Customer Development - How has the growth of
discount supermarkets changed our business model?
Sector specific questions…Market
Research (Ipsos Mori - healthcare)
• Competency questions linked to decision making,
leadership, teamwork, results, organisation
• Why Durham and degree subject
• Technical question about statistics based project
∂
experience
• What do pharmaceutical companies need to do to gain
market access?
• How is the recession affecting healthcare businesses?
• Who are the main competitors of Ipsos Mori and why
didn’t you apply for a job with them?
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Sector specific
questions…Professional Services
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Give an example of a company that you think could improve its
performance. How?
Why Ernst & Young and not Deloitte, KPMG, PWC etc?
Why Business Advisory?
Give an example of a team that you have worked in that did not function.
Why and what could you have done?
∂
How do you think you will spend your first year?
What are the main issues concerning Ernst & Young this year?
(the challenge of emerging markets or broader issues linked to commerce
such as mortgage collapse and consequent effects for business: more
reluctant to invest in consultancies and professional services?)
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Sector specific
questions...Faststream
Building relationships:
What are the components of a good team?
When have you been part of a successful team? What did you contribute
to its success?
Provide an example of working with someone from a different
background?
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Handling conflict:
Provide two examples of working with difficult people.
Learning and developing:
When have you benefited from feedback?
Have you given feedback to someone?
Sector specific questions...Law
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Why did you decide to study history and not law; it is a rather strange choice if you knew you
wanted to enter the legal profession? - this was designed to trip up those candidates who had just
picked a career in law without thinking about it.
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Why did you pick Durham University?
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Why did you apply to our Manchester office rather than London?
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If a firm was relocating from the south to the North, how would Eversheds go about attracting its
business in the face of the other competition?
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What three things would a client look for in a solicitor?
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What three things would a client look for in a law firm?
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Why did you decide to apply to Eversheds rather than a 'magic circle' firm?
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Why a career in law?
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Sector specific
questions...Corporate Finance
• What are the four steps that define a merger
deal?
• How would you invest £100,000?
• What do you know about…Operational Risk
Management/Islamic Finance
etc
∂
• Why…asset management?
• What is your understanding of a ‘hostile
takeover’?
• What is a hedge fund/derivative/fixed income
product?
Telephone Interviews
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Additional sifting & selecting tool for employers
• Prepare in the same way that you would any other interview
• Environment
• Professional manner – do not treat
∂ this as an informal chat
• Prompts / notes / copy of CV or App form
• Hand gestures / body language / voice
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The Interview - Important
Points
First Impressions
Body Language
- Body language conveys 65% of what is communicated words convey35%
Answering their questions
– what you say & how you say it!
∂
At the end
- Q’s/positive conclusion
After the interview
- reflection/make a note of Qs asked
- feedback/practice
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Assessment Centres
• These are used by many employers as a stage of
selection
• They can include individual and group tasks,
presentations, psychometric tests, panel interviews,
structured discussions, ‘non-assessed’ socialising
∂
opportunities
• Using a variety of different methods can give an
employer a good overall impression of you
• Range from ½ - 2 days (employers premises/hotel)
• Remain positive: a weakness in one area may be
overcome by a strength in another area!
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Selection Methods
• Aptitude Tests (verbal/numerical/spatial)
• Personality Tests (styles of behaviour)
• In-Tray or E-Tray Exercises
(prioritising/decision-making/time management/information
management)
• Case Studies (+ interview) – management consultancy/law/finance
(often involves analysing a company and making recommendations
based on financial data)
• Briefing Exercise (Civil Service: ∂
10min pres and 20min Q + A)
• Debate – often in Law interviews (globalisation, EU, interest rates)
• Voice Mail Exercise
• Written exercise e.g. drafting letter or document
• Critical Thinking (comprehension, logical reasoning)
• Presentations
• Role Play
• Discussion Groups e.g. Cancer Research
• Social Assessment e.g. Barclays Capital
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E-tray Exercise
Difficult to prepare for but there are useful online resources with
which to develop your understanding of what is required:
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http://careerweb.leeds.ac.uk/students/applications/e-tray.asp
http://www.pwc.com/uk/eng/car-inexp/student/challenges.html
http://www.faststream.gov.uk/index.asp?txtNavID=140
∂
http://careers.deloitte.com/unitedkingdom/students/csc_general.aspx?CountryContentID=12543
• http://www.studentnet.manchester.ac.uk/careers/downloads/pub
lications/essentialsseriesofhandouts/in-trayexercise/
• http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/interviews/intray.htm
Group discussions
Possibly based on a relevant case study or scenario:
• give opinions and contribute…you can only be
assessed if you are involved
• don’t be aggressive
• listen to others
∂
• value and respect the contributions of others
• encourage others to keep to the point but don’t be
overly controlling!
• remember peoples names
• use body language to show interest
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Case Studies
• Often linked to a group activity but can be
individual activities
• Basis for interview/presentation
• Subject matter not always important but ability to
analyse information, prioritise key issues and
make recommendations that you can support!
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• Means of assessing commercial awareness,
problem solving, decision making and information
management skills
• Prior knowledge not required but important to
practise and appreciate relevance to business
area
Case Studies
Useful resources
• University of Kent (http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/interviews/Marstairs.htm)
• McKinsey & Company
(http://www.mckinsey.com/careers/how_do_i_apply/how_to_do_well_in_the
_interview/case_interview/practice_cases.aspx)
• Bain & Co
(http://www.joinbain.com/apply-to-bain/interview-preparation/default.asp)
• Boston Consulting
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(http://www.bcg.com/join_bcg/interview_prep/practice_cases/default.aspx)
• Oliver Wyman (http://www.oliverwyman.com/ow/4803.htm)
• Ace the Case (http://www.acethecase.com/site/1438552/page/758891)
• Capital One
(http://www.capitalone.com/careers/hiring/business_case.php?linkid=WWW
_Z_Z_Z_CARHIIN_C1_01_T_CARHIBC)
• OC&C Strategy Consultants (http://www.occstrategy.co.uk/node/453)
Presentations
• Usually 5 -20 mins (shorter if prepared on the day)
Preparation key – understand topic, purpose, audience,
time, facilities
• Logical structure
“Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, tell
∂
them what you have told them”
• Interesting but simple
• Notes as a prompt, not a script
• Practise your delivery – clarity, enthusiasm, timing,
change pace
• Be prepared for Q & A
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Interviews + Assessment Centres
Prepare and Present
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Be yourself
Confident in the examples that you use for competency questions
Be willing to expand on any responses that you make
Don’t be thrown by the unexpected question
Stay calm
Buy time to think
∂
Remain positive throughout
Show them that you are right for the position and for them!
At the end of the interview think about what impression you want to
leave with them:
‘If you can’t think of good questions [to ask them] don’t ask stupid
ones.’ Ian Jackson, BT
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Tip from an Interviewee
“Prepare, think positively, ask for
feedback later on and, whatever
∂
happens, aim to learn from the
experience.”
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How can the Careers Centre help?
Videos/DVDs
The interview & assessment centre DVD
Case Study DVD
Books
Great answers to tough interview questions Pub. Kogan Page
Mike Bryon, How to pass graduate recruitment tests Pub. Kogan Page
Online psychometric tests: MyPotential & Kenexa
(http://www.dur.ac.uk/careers/s/cvapp/pt) ∂
Information Staff will direct you to the available resources and help you to book
an appointment with an adviser should you wish to
discuss your interview!
Useful links on the Careers Centre website (Interviews and Assessments)
http://www.dur.ac.uk/careers/s/cvapp
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Feedback from other students / alumni
(http://www.dur.ac.uk/careers/s/cvapp/int/ifd)
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Events for your diary
• Practise assessment centre exercises (group activity
& presentation)
• Quick Query appointments (bookable online) can be
used to discuss upcoming interviews
• Mock interviews, assessment centre workshops,
skills sessions delivered by employers
∂ Epiphany term...keep
• Employer events throughout
checking the events diary (Careers Online https://careers.dur.ac.uk) and weekly emailed events
bulletin
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Useful websites
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www.prospects.ac.uk
http://targetjobs.co.uk/general-advice/assessment-centres.aspx
http://targetjobs.co.uk/general-advice/interview-techniques.aspx
http://www.get.hobsons.co.uk/advice/interviews
www.shldirect.com
www.psychtesting.org.uk
www.markparkinson.co.uk/psychometric_links.htm
∂
http://practicetests.cubiks.com/
http://graduates.deloitte.co.uk/index.cfm?p_id=113
http://www.faststream.gov.uk/index.asp?txtNavID=140
Please also refer to the resources in the Careers
Centre!
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Careers, Employability
and Enterprise Centre
49 New Elvet
Open 10am – 5pm
∂
Tel 0191 334 1437/1424
http://www.dur.ac.uk/careers
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Any Questions?
d.m.henderson@durham.ac.uk
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