University of Kent
Careers and Employability Service
Interview skills for IS
staff
Content
1.30
Introduction/Icebreaker
1.55
Interview skills presentation and quiz
3.00
Refreshments
3.15
Interview exercise
Presenters
Helen Johnson, Natalie Basden and Bruce Woodcock
Discussion
• What are your experiences
of interviews?
• What are your main
concerns?
HOW NOT TO INTERVIEW
•
Candidate had a fizzy drink just
before interview and spent the
whole interview burping.
•
Announced she hadn't had lunch
and proceeded to eat burger and
chips during the interview.
•
When asked him about his
hobbies, he stood up and started
tap dancing around the office.
•
Without saying a word, candidate
stood up and walked out during the
middle of the interview.
•
Dozed off during the interview.
•
Said he never finished high school
because he was kidnapped and
kept in a wardrobe.
Preparation
Carefully research the employer and the job
Commercial Awareness
• What do you know about our organisation?
• What are our main products/services?
• What are the problems facing our organisation?
• What changes have there been in our sector recently?
• Who are our clients?
• What do you think the job you would be doing entails?
The library in changing times
• move from books to e-resources and e-learning.
• wider perspective: information rather than just books
• serving the customer in a business sense,
• student satisfaction!
www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/commercialawareness.htm
Does what I wear really matter?
• 37% of employers decided against hiring someone
because of what they were wearing
• 80% of interviewers think it is inappropriate to wear red to
an interview
• 99% of interviewers said they would be inclined to mark
down female applicants if they wore dangly jewellery
• 95% find low-necked tops and no tights unsuitable
interview attire (The Ladders)
• www.kent.ac.uk/careers/ivdress.htm
BODY LANGUAGE
• Dress smartly
• Shake hands warmly but wait to
be invited to sit down.
• Smile!
• Eye contact
• Try to relax: don’t sit on the
edge of your chair,
but don’t slouch.
• Speak clearly and not too quickly
• Don’t fidget
www.kent.ac.uk/careers/interviews/nvc.htm
Interview Quiz!
NOW TRY ANSWERING THE
FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
• About how long should interview answers be?
• Tell me about yourself.
5 minutes
• What are your weaknesses?
• Do you have any questions you would like to ask
us? Think of three good questions to ask at
interview.
End
Interview nerves
•
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It's not that important: there will be other interviews in future.
Preparation: makes you more confident.
Dress smartly: if you look good, you feel good!
Start in a positive way and you will continue in this vein: smiling,
eye contact, a firm handshake.
Don't worry about making a mistake: everyone fluffs one question.
The day before write down everything you are worried about:
“downloads” your worries.
Visualisation: the night before, visualise yourself undergoing the
whole interview, step by step, and imagine everything going well.
Mindfulness techniques help to reducing stress.
Listen to empowering music beforehand!
Adopt power poses before (not at!!!) the interview:
standing upright with hands on hips,
steepling hands.
For more see
www.kent.ac.uk/careers/intervw.htm#nerves
Every question is designed to assess you
against set criteria
• “I tried to work out which of these criteria a particular
question was pertaining to, and address that, rather than just
the specific question.
• In the public sector there are no really spontaneous questions
and nothing is asked without a purpose: they have to do
everything fairly and openly.
• So there’s a grid of criteria, with questions that relate to those
criteria, and each question you get asked will result in the panel
writing down the evidence that shows you meet that criteria.
• Each question is given a score, then the highest total score
wins so you have to be hitting those criteria.
• It’s a question of asking yourself, what do they ACTUALLY want
from me with this one?”
Successful candidate for a library post
Person specification
Experience/Knowledge
Essential
Experience of prioritising
competing demands
Desirable
√
Experience of working with
a diverse client group
√
Skills/Abilities
Essential
Ability to achieve targets within
agreed timescales
√
Ability to work autonomously and
as a team member
√
Ability to work with people
at all levels
Desirable
√
Interview questions will be largely based around the
competencies in the person specification e.g.
“Describe a situation where you had to achieve targets
within agreed timescales”
COMPETENCY-BASED QUESTIONS
Describe a situation where you had to .....
• show leadership
• make a difficult decision
• overcome a difficult obstacle
• refuse to compromise
• work with others to solve a problem
COMPETENCY-BASED QUESTIONS: STAR
• Start by briefly outlining the Situation
• Keep the focus on your specific Tasks and responsibilities
• Say what Action you took, then try to summarise what
you achieved. If it’s a group task, make sure you define
your own role and contribution. This is the biggest part
• Give concrete Results when possible. If you cannot be
totally positive about the experience, say what you
learned from it and what you might do differently next
time.
• Situation/Tasks/Action/Result =
www.kent.ac.uk/careers/compet/skillquest.htm
HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS
• "How would you deal with an irate customer?”
(customer service interview)
• Interviewer picks up a cheap biro from the desk.
"Sell me this pen".
(sales/marketing interview)
• BA pilot interviewee:
was asked what he would do if he met the
captain wearing a dress in the hotel bar.
(British Airways interview)
HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS
• Used because it's impossible for you to work
out your answer beforehand.
• Test your ability to think quickly, logically and
produce practical solutions.
• Don't panic! Take a few seconds to think:
this shows confidence.
• Just think of one or two sensible things to say
to start off.
• There may be many possible solutions.
PREPARE QUESTIONS TO ASK
• DON’T ASK about
holidays, pensions
and parking
facilities.
• DO ASK about
training, career
development and
the work itself.
PREPARE QUESTIONS TO ASK
• How is performance at work assessed?
• What is a typical career path in this job?
• Can you give me more details of the training
programme?
• What is the ‘‘work culture’’? i.e. informal, formal, do
people work autonomously, does everyone come in
early, stay late?
• What are the challenges that the organisation is facing?
• What is your personal experience of working for this
organisation?
FOLLOWING UP
• The interviewer will probably let you know when
you’ll know the result. If they haven't made this
clear, ask!
• After the interview, make notes on the questions
asked and what you could have answered better.
On-line videos
• INTERVIEWS
• ON-LINE APPLICATIONS
• SELECTION CENTRES
• streamed on-line
www.kent.ac.uk/careers/IntVid.htm
• All last about 25 minutes and are excellent!
Further Help: Interview Skills Web Pages
www.kent.ac.uk/careers/applicn.htm
University of Kent
Careers and Employability Service
Interview skills
You can download a copy of this
presentation at
www.kent.ac.uk/careers/slides.htm
Task 1
• Get into pairs, decide who is the
interviewer and who is the candidate
• Interview question: Give me an
example of a situation where you
have had to refuse to compromise
• Interviewer – take notes identifying
whether the answer uses the STAR
approach (Situation, Task, Action,
Result)
• You have 5 minutes
5 minutes
End
How not to interview!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd_dGhHAAFc&feature=related
Dress Smartly
• Men - conventional suit with a conservative
shirt - plain pastel shades or modest stripes
and dark shoes. Don't wear light coloured
socks or too much aftershave!
• Women - conventional suit or coordinating
jacket and skirt. Dark colours suggest authority
but bright can work with care. Wear tights. Don't
wear lots of frills, trousers unless smart, very
high heels or lots of make-up, perfume or
jewellery.
REAL QUESTIONS FROM CANDIDATES
• What is your Zodiac sign?
• Do I have to dress for the next interview?
• I know this is off the subject, but will you marry me?
• Will the company pay to relocate my horse?
• When is pay day?
• Would it be a problem if I'm angry most of the time?
• Why am I here?
PREPARATION - THE KEY TO SUCCESS
• Research the employer and the job
• Prepare answers to obvious questions
• Think of your unique selling points
• Think of how you would answer
questions about your weaknesses
• Prepare some questions to ask
• Dress smartly
• Leave plenty of time to get there
UoK Careers Fair
Tom: Audit Supervisor
Baker Tilly
We look for how the candidate is presented.
They need to be professional. We also value
communication skills and confidence. The thing
that annoys us most in the interview process are
the ‘know it all’ candidates!
Alison, Vanessa, Caroline, Liz
Canterbury Christ Church PGCE