Employment Interview Kit
Should you be nervous about an upcoming job interview? Of course! Everyone is uneasy about being scrutinized, judged, and possibly rejected. But think of how much more nervous you would be if you had no idea what to expect in the interview and if you were unprepared.
This interview kit helps you get ready for an interview by introducing the two most common kinds of interviews and showing you how to learn about the employer. It will help you reduce your nervousness by teaching you how to practise for the interview, check your body language, and fight fear. You’ll be given tips on how to respond to recruiters’ favourite questions and how to cope with illegal questions and salary matters. Moreover, you’ll receive suggestions for questions you can ask.
Yes, you can expect to be nervous. But you can also expect to ace an interview when you know what’s coming and when you prepare thoroughly.
Succeeding in Two Kinds of Employment Interviews
Job applicants generally face two interviews: (1) screening interviews and (2) hiring/placement interviews. You must succeed in the first to proceed to the second.
Screening interviews. Screening interviews do just that—they screen candidates to eliminate those who fail to meet minimum requirements. Telephone conversations, sometimes lasting as little as five minutes, are often used for screening interviews. The thing to remember about screening interviews is be prepared! Some of the ways you can ready yourself are:
• Keep a list near the telephone of positions for which you have applied.
• Have your résumé, references, a calendar, and a notepad handy.
• If caught off guard, make an excuse: “I was just going out the door,” or “We just sat down to dinner. May I call you back in ten minutes from the telephone in my office?”
• Sell your qualifications and sound enthusiastic.
Hiring/placement interviews. These interviews are the real thing. Though in-depth, hiring/placement interviews may take many forms, one-to-one interviews are most common. In them, you can expect to sit down with a company representative and talk about the job and your qualifications for it. If the representative is the hiring manager, questions will be specific and job-related. If the representative is from human resources, the questions will probably be more general.
Two other forms of hiring/placement interviews are sequential and group interviews, common with companies that rule by consensus. In sequential interviews, you may face many interviewers in sequence, each of whom you must listen to carefully and respond to positively. In group interviews, the employer may be looking for signs of leadership. Strive to stay focused, summarize important points, and ask good questions.
Another hiring/placement form is the stress interview, which is meant to test your reactions. If questions are asked in a rapid-fire manner and come from many directions, try to slow things down. For example, say “I would be happy to answer your question, Ms. X, but first I must finish responding to Mr. Z.” If the interview’s initial exchange of introductions and greetings is followed by silence—another stress technique—you might say, “Would you like me to begin the interview?” or “Let me tell you about myself.” Or you might ask a question such as “Can you give me more information about the position?”
Investigating the Target
The more you know about a prospective employer, the better you’ll be able to tailor your responses to the organization’s needs. Interviewers, moreover, are impressed by candidates who have done their homework. For companies that are publicly held, you can generally learn a great deal from annual and financial disclosure reports. The Internet can also be a valuable tool; company homepages can provide excellent information. Consult The 1998 Canadian Internet Directory by Jim Carroll and Rick Broadhead for company Web sites. The Canadian Student Employment Guide published by the Student Employment Network (SEN) and your province’s Scott’s Directories offer company profiles. City and regional business directories also have helpful information. Another way to get information is to call the receptionist or the interviewer directly. Ask what you can read to prepare you for the interview. Here are some specifics to look for in your research:
• Find out all you can about organization leaders. Their goals, ambitions, and values often are adopted by all members of the organization—including your interviewer.
• Investigate the business philosophy of the leaders, including their priorities, strategies, and managerial approach. Are you and your target employer a good match? If so, be sure to let the employer know about the correlation between their needs and your qualifications.
• Learn about the organization’s accomplishments and setbacks. This information should help you determine where you might make your best contribution.
• Study the organization’s finances. Are they shaky? Is a takeover imminent?
• Check out the competition. What are its products, strengths, and weaknesses?
• Examine the organization’s products and customers, and ask yourself what excites you about this company.
For smaller organizations and those that are not publicly owned, you’ll probably have to do a little more footwork.
• Start with the local library. Ask the reference librarian to help you locate information.
• Read newspapers, since they might contain stories or press releases with news of an organization.
• Visit the Better Business Bureau to discover if the organization has had any difficulties with other companies or consumers.
• Check out the competition. What are its products, strengths, and weaknesses?
• Investigate the organization through the Chamber of Commerce.
For both large and small organizations, go beyond written sources and consider the following:
• Analyze the organization’s advertising. How does it promote its products or services?
• Talk with the organization’s employees. They are probably the best source of inside information. Try to get introduced to someone who is currently an employee, but who does not work in the immediate area where you wish to be hired. Seek someone who is discreet.
Finally, don’t forget the international market. The Canadian Guide to Working and Living Overseas by Jean-Marc Hachey is a valuable tool for the international job search.
Preparing and Practising
After you have learned about the target organization:
• Study the job description. The job description not only helps you write a focused résumé but also enables you to match your education, experience, and interests with the employer’s position. Awareness of the duties and responsibilities of the position will lead you to practise your best response strategies.
• Itemize your (1) most relevant skills, (2) greatest areas of knowledge,
(3) strongest personality traits, and (4) key accomplishments. Be ready to relate these items to the kinds of questions frequently asked in interviews.
• Practise responding to questions in a mock interview with a friend. Remember to be concise. You might wish to videotape or tape record a practice session to see and hear how you really come across.
• Expect to be asked to explain problem areas on your résumé. For example, if you have little or no experience, you might emphasize your recent training and updated skills. If you have gaps in your résumé, be prepared to answer questions about them positively and truthfully.
• Try to build interviewing experience with less important jobs first. You will become more confident and better able to sell your strengths with repeated interviewing exposure.
Sending Positive Nonverbal Messages
What comes out of your mouth and what’s written on your résumé are not the only messages an interviewer receives about you. Nonverbal messages also create powerful impressions on people. Here are suggestions that will help you send the right nonverbal messages during interviews.
• Arrive on time or a little early. If necessary, find the location on a trial run a few days before the interview so that you know where to park and how much time the drive takes or what transit routes to take. Remember, though, to take your trial run at the same time of day as your interview in order to judge traffic patterns.
• Be courteous and congenial to everyone. Remember that you are being judged not only by the interviewer but by the receptionist and anyone else who sees you before and after the interview. They will notice how you sit, what you read, how you look, and how you behave. Introduce yourself to the receptionist and wait to be invited to sit.
• Dress professionally. Even if some employees in the organization dress casually, you should look qualified, competent, and successful. Dress the part!
• Greet the interviewer confidently. Extend your hand, look him or her directly in the eye, and say, “I’m pleased to meet you, Mr. X. I am Z.” In this culture a firm, not crushing, handshake sends a nonverbal message of poise and assurance.
• Wait for the interviewer to offer you a chair. Make small talk with upbeat comments, such as “These are beautiful headquarters. How many employees work here?” Don’t immediately begin rummaging in your briefcase for your résumé. Being at ease and unrushed suggests you are self-confident.
• Control your body. Keep your hands, arms, and elbows to yourself. Don’t lean on a desk. Sit erect, leaning forward slightly. Keep your feet on the floor.
• Make eye contact frequently but don’t get into a staring contest. In this culture a direct eye gaze suggests interest and trustworthiness.
• Smile enough to convey a positive attitude. Have a friend give you honest feedback on whether you generally smile too much or not enough.
• Sound enthusiastic and interested—but sincere.
Fighting Fear
Being nervous is natural. Other than public speaking, employment interviews are the most dreaded events in people’s lives. You can, however, reduce your fears by following a few suggestions.
• Practise interviewing as much as you can—especially with real companies. The more interviews you experience, the less nervous you will be. Many colleges and universities offer practice interview sessions through their placement offices.
• Prepare 110 percent! Know how you will answer the most frequently asked questions. Be ready with success stories. Rehearse your closing statement. One of the best ways to reduce butterflies is to know you have done all you can to be ready for the interview.
• Take deep breaths, particularly if you feel anxious while waiting for the interviewer. Deep breathing makes you concentrate on something other than the interview and also provides much-needed oxygen.
• Remember that the interviewer isn’t the only one who is gleaning information. You have come to learn about the job and the organization. In fact, during some parts of the interview, you will be in charge. This should give you courage.
Answering Questions
The way you answer questions can be almost as important as what you say. The following tips will help you make the best impression.
• Use the interviewer’s name and courtesy title from time to time when you answer. “Ms. Lyon, I would be pleased to tell you about …” People like to hear their own names. But be sure you are pronouncing the name correctly. Listen carefully when introductions are made.
• Clarify vague questions. Some interviewers are inexperienced and ill at ease in the role. Occasionally, you may have to ask your own question to understand what was asked. “By ______do you mean ______?”
• Make your answers demonstrate the key characteristics interviewers seek: expertise and competence, motivation, interpersonal skills, decision-making skills, communication skills, enthusiasm for the job, and a pleasing personality.
• In your answers, focus on your strengths. Don’t reveal weaknesses, even if you think they make you look human. You won’t be hired for your weaknesses, only for your strengths.
• Use good English and enunciate clearly. Remember, you will be judged by how you communicate. Avoid slurred words like “gonna” and “dint,” and slangy expressions like “yeah.” Also don’t overuse “like” and “eh.”
• Eliminate verbal static (“ah,” “and ah,” “uhm”). Make a tape recording as you practise answering expected interview questions. Is it filled with verbal static?
• Consider closing out some of your responses with “Does that answer your question?” or “Would you like me to elaborate on any particular experience?”
All-Time Favourite Questions with Selected Answers
The following interview questions are the ones most frequently asked of recent graduates and other job seekers. You’ll also find a section of questions for you to ask when it is your turn. The interview questions are divided into groups. In each group the first question is answered. As you read the remaining questions, think about how you could respond most effectively.
Questions to Get Acquainted
1. Tell me about yourself.
Experts agree that you must keep this answer short (one to two minutes tops) but on target. Try practising using this formula:
“My name is ______. I have completed ______degree/diploma with a major in ______. Recently I worked for ______as a ______. Before that I worked for ______as a ______. My strengths are ______(interpersonal) and ______(technical).”
Try rehearsing your response in 30-second segments devoted to your education, your work experience, and your qualifications/skills. Some candidates end with, “Now that I’ve told you about myself, can you tell me a little more about the position?”