Interview Skills Workshop
Tips on how to make it a success!
Career Development and Experiential Learning © 2009
www.mun.ca/cdel
A Job Interview Is…
• An opportunity to meet face to face
• To discuss your qualifications
• To assess your ability and skills
• To demonstrate your skills and personality
• To sell yourself
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The Keys to a Successful Interview
• Convey a positive attitude
• Show enthusiasm
• Beware of non-verbal communication
• Keep eye contact with interviewer
• Pay attention to physical appearance
• Be knowledgeable of the company
• Don’t talk yourself out of a job
• Don’t keep the interviewer waiting
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The Keys to a Successful Interview
• Be Prepared:
• Have extra resumes on hand.
• Have references on hand if not attached to resume.
• Conduct background research on organization.
• Remain calm when faced with periods of
silence
• Silence is not always bad but don’t wait to long.
• Know your resume
• Reread it before going into an interview.
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The Keys to a Successful Interview
• Arrive early
• 10-15 minutes early.
• Remain calm and collected
• Listen attentively
• Show confidence
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Pre-Interview Stage
• Assess your career path
• Research company and position you are seeking
• Find out what type of interview it is
• Develop list of potential questions and responses
• Confirm date, time and location
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Interview Stage
• Appropriate dress
• Create a good first impression
• Ensure that you understand the question
• Be yourself
• Maintain eye contact with the interviewer(s)
• Appear confident
• Listen carefully to the questions
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Interview Stage
• Bring extra copies of resume and references
• If you have a career portfolio, bring it
• Ask questions
•
What is the organization's plan for the next five years?
• What kind of work can I expect to be doing the first year?
• How much assistance is made available in developing career goals?
•
What are the opportunities for advancement?
• Thank them and shake hands
• Ask for business card
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Post-Interview Stage
• Recap interview
• Request feedback from interviewer
• Send thank-you letter or email
•
•
•
•
•
Follow-up within 24 hours
Express gratitude for the employer’s time
Highlight qualifications
Restate your interest in the company/career area
Communicate enthusiasm to have met with them
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4 Types of Interviews
• Case Interview
• Behavior Based Interview
• Telephone Interview
• Videoconference Interview
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Case Interview
• Used to assess logical thinking and problem
solving skills
• Geared around solving problems on the spot
• Classic business cases are used to test
analytic ability, logical thought process,
creativity, and comfort with quantitative
analysis
• Example of a Project Case: You are consulting for
a major Canadian airline. Every year, they make more
sales and every year, they lose more money. What
could be causing this?
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Behavior Based Interview
• Designed to determine if a candidate
possesses certain key competencies.
• Use specific examples from work history,
education and extracurricular activities to
demonstrate the skill the interviewer is
assessing
• Example:Describe the system you use for keeping
track of multiple projects. How do you track your
progress so that you can meet deadlines? How do
you stay focused? (commitment to task)
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Situational Interview
• Designed to assess your critical
thinking, problem solving, and
planning abilities
• What would you if…
• Often in the form of a scenario
• Example: You are approached by a member
of the media to give your opinion about an
issue just discussed at a press conference
hosted by your department? What do you
do?
Behavioral/Situational
Behavioral (Past
Experience)
• Situation
• Describe a situation you
encountered
• Task
• Describe task(s) you
completed
• Action
• Describe the action you
took
• Result
• What was the result?
Situational (What
would you do if)
• Situation
• Describe a potential
situation
• Task
• Describe tasks you
would complete
• Action
• Describe the action you
would take
• Result
• What would be the
potential result?
Telephone Interview
• Sound friendly, confident and calm
• Thank the interviewer for the call
• Collect your thoughts
• Smile
• Get company information
• Tip: Dress up as if you’re meeting face-toface
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Videoconference Interview
• Dress professionally – they can see you
• Speak slowly
• Prepare for silence due to a 5 sec audio delay
• Be aware of extra movements and noises
• Be patient – sounds may be distorted
• Speak up and project your voice
• Relax and smile
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Common Interview Mistakes
(Based on feedback from recruiters)
• Lack of preparation
• Inappropriate appearance
• Failure to ask questions
• Poor attitude
• Exaggerating or being deceitful
• Poor non-verbal communication
• Over or under answering questions
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Websites
• http://www.quintcareers.com/sample_behavioral.html
• http://www.mun.ca/cdel (>Students>Career Tips)
• http://interview.monster.ca/
• http://www.jobpostings.ca/resource.cfm?id=16
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Important Service
We do mock interviews!
Your only cost is time!
Setup yours today by calling 737-2033!
Don’t let the interview cost
you!
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Thank You!
For additional help, please visit us at
Career Development
& Experiential Learning
University Centre, UC-4002
(709) 864-2033
cdel@mun.ca
www.mun.ca/cdel