Boost your job seeking skills:
prepare for interview
11.2.2014
Salla Niittymäki
Pajatso Project / HAMK
www.hamk.fi
Career planning themes
JOB HUNTING
SKILLS
Documents and
interview skills
DECISION MAKING AND
ACTION PLANNING
SELF-ASSESSMENT
Skills and knowledge,
areas of interests,
goals, values, personality
OPPORTUNITY
AWARENESS
Career life expectations
and requirements, trends,
employment and employability
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Self-assessment
• Self-assessment helps you identify and recognize the
abilities, skills and special expertise that you have to
offer for the right employers
• Skills can be divided into categories:
1) work-specific/technical skills (such as knowing how to use specific
computer program or repair a broken engine)
2) employability/transferable skills (fundamental, personal and
teamwork skills you need to succeed in every work situations)
• Remember to use all your skills gained in various
situations!
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Self-assessment in connection
with career planning:
Values
Interests
Personality
Skills
• Things that are important
• Things I like to do
• Things that suit me
• Things I can do
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Company requirements
Can you do the job?
Will you do the job?
Personality - Attitude
Will you fit in the industry/company culture?
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Interview process
• Interview is about evaluating your skills and your
personality in relation to the particular position.
• The focus of the interview is to find a suitable match.
• Your skills and accomplishments are key aspects that
will be focused on during an interview. However, how
you present yourself – your appearance, attitude, body
language and so on – is also vitally important. You won’t
get a second chance to create a good first impression.
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Interview process
• Interview is the most effective way of evaluating your
skills and your personality in relation to the particular
position.
• The focus of the interview is to find a suitable match.
• Applicants with polished job interview skills might prevail
over candidates with better applications and CV´s.
• Your skills and accomplishments are key aspects that
will be focused on during an interview. However, how
you present yourself – your appearance, attitude, body
language and so on – is also vitally important. You won’t
get a second chance to create a good first impression.
www.hamk.fi
Preparing for an interview
in practice
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Be yourself, be positive
Be prepared and rehearse interview situations
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Be prepared to ask questions from the interviewers
Listen carefully and make sure you understand the question
It is ok to take notes
Body language and appearance: be calm and confident, look professional
Be active. Ask about the procedure and schedule, be prepared to say yes
for the further interviews or tests
Express your motivation and plan what you want to say. Only you can
decide what kind of image the employer gets.
Focus on your strengths.
Religion, race, political view, sexual orientation, family planning are illegal
questions, but prepare to handle these situations
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Example questions for interviews
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How would you describe yourself?
What are your strengths? What is your greatest weakness?
Describe how you work under pressure, deadlines etc.
What two or three things are most important to you in the job?
Do you have plans for continued study? An advanced degree?
What motivates you?
What kind of career plans do you have in short-term and in long-term?
What are your goals in life and work? How have you achieved and are going to
achieve these goals?
Why are you applying for this particular job?
Why have you chosen this profession/field?
What have you learnt in your previous jobs?
Are you able to lead? How creative a problem solver are you?
What is your greatest accomplishment?
What kinds of problems have you faced and how have you solved them?
Give me an example of when you’ve demonstrated your customer service
www.hamk.fi
Example questions for you to ask
in an interview
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How would you describe the responsibilities of the position?
How would you describe a typical week/day in this position?
Is this a new position? If not, what did the previous employee go on to do?
What is the company's management style?
Who does this position report to? If I am offered the position, can I meet
him/her?
How much travel is expected?
What are the prospects for growth and advancement?
How does one advance in the company?
What do you like about working here?
What don't you like about working here and what would you change?
If I am extended a job offer, how soon would you like me to start?
When can I expect to hear from you?
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Exercise: Elevator Speech
What would you say if you met a
person who could lead you to your
dream job and you had only 2-3
minutes to state your case?
• Prepare to describe briefly:
– Who are you? What is your
background?
– What has been the focus of your
studies? (major, minors, key topics)
– What other experience do you have
(work, volunteer work, hobbies&
activities)?
– What do you have to offer?
– What are you looking for? What are
your future goals?
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http://www.prepa
ry.com/how-tocreate-anelevator-pitch/
Exercise
• What kind of interview experiences do you
have?
• What captures your attention when
meeting a new person?
• Rehearse in pairs: practise the job
interview by playing the roles of the
interviewer and the interviewee. Use
example questions and course
material.
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Source: University of Helsinki
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Practical tips for preparing
for an interview
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Prepare to tell about yourself and answer to questions
Prepare to ask questions
Be prepared to be asked about salary expectation
Forget all clichés
Sleep well beforehand
Not too much coffee before the interview…
Take your certificates with you (degree diplomas, testimonials, letters of reference)
Be on time!!
Dress appropriately (smart casual)
Close your mobile phone
Be positive and relax
Remember that the interviewers are nervous too…
Don’t be too modest or too arrogant
Be yourself and trust yourself!
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Remember also…
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Speak positively of former employers and co-workers no matter why you left
even if you were fired.
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When discussing salary, be flexible – avoid naming a specific salary if not
asked. If you're too high, you risk not getting the job. If you're too low, you
undersell yourself. Answer questions on salary requirements with
responses such as "I'm interested in the job as a career opportunity so I'm
negotiable on the starting salary". Negotiate, but don't sell yourself short.
Check salary recommendation and salary level data (unions, interest
groups, graduate surveys etc.)
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Let the employer lead into conversations about benefits. Your focus on
these items can be a "turn off." But, don't be afraid to ask questions about
things that you really need to know.
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There can be different kind of
job interview methods…
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Interview cycle / content
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Warm up: creating trust, contact and the first impression
Introductions (organization, interviewers)
Applicant’s background (and update for application documents)
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To the facts: towards more personal topics
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Education and experience
Professional/substantial knowledge, other skills
Organizational and professional topics
Expectation, motivation and understanding of the position
Self-concept = how you see yourself, and how you would fit to the company/organization,
Team, position etc.
Strengths, potentials, risks
Stress management, collaboration skills, leadership skills etc.
Hobbies, personal life
Applicant’s questions
Conclusion:
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Possible starting date, salary, proceeding of the recruiting process etc.
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Little nervousness is ok!
• Being nervous is ok when it is not
an obstacle for success
– It shows that you are serious
– Adrenaline can improve your
concentration
• Avoid nervousness that becomes
an obstacle
– Prepare for the interview and
concentrate
– Relax and do imaginary exercises
– Check the location before the interview
www.hamk.fi
Example questions for interviews
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How would you describe yourself?
What are your strengths? What is your greatest weakness?
Describe how you work under pressure, deadlines etc.
What two or three things are most important to you in the job?
Do you have plans for continued study? An advanced degree?
What motivates you?
What kind of career plans do you have in short-term and in long-term?
What are your goals in life and work? How have you achieved and are going to
achieve these goals?
Why are you applying for this particular job?
Why have you chosen this profession/field?
What have you learnt in your previous jobs?
Are you able to lead? How creative a problem solver are you?
What is your greatest accomplishment?
What kinds of problems have you faced and how have you solved them?
Give me an example of when you’ve demonstrated your customer service
www.hamk.fi
Example questions for you to ask
in an interview
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
How would you describe the responsibilities of the position?
How would you describe a typical week/day in this position?
Is this a new position? If not, what did the previous employee go on to do?
What is the company's management style?
Who does this position report to? If I am offered the position, can I meet
him/her?
How much travel is expected?
What are the prospects for growth and advancement?
How does one advance in the company?
What do you like about working here?
What don't you like about working here and what would you change?
If I am extended a job offer, how soon would you like me to start?
When can I expect to hear from you?
www.hamk.fi
http://www.prsjobs.com/pre
paring-for-a-job-interview
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Exercise:
application and job interview
• Prepare questions that you would ask as an interviewer
• Prepare to be interviewed for the position (use e.g. your
elevator speech)
• In groups of 3 students: one is interviewing, one is to be
interviewed and one is recording the interview
• Finally, watch the videos of students in your group (3
videos)
• Analyse the process – what was good and what are the
things, that need improvement
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