Job Interviews: Ways and Mechanisms to Interview for Success

Posted on | October 29, 2009 | Author: | jont | No Comments

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Interviews are the make or break of the job search; No matter how good your CV and career record is to date, the face-to-face (or telephone) interview remains the most important step towards achieving your objective. The old adage that “people buy people” is as true today as it has ever been, so what can you do to maximise the opportunity?

Sii Preparato! Or in English, be prepared! Such a simple statement, on which many hundreds of thousands of words have been committed to print, but one that is quite often overlooked! As project professionals we spend our lives planning, managing risks and reacting to situations in front of “clients” be they internal or external. This skill should put us at an advantage when it comes to performing at interviews, but we should also recognise that it may also raise the bar in terms of what the interviewer expects!

As part of the preparation, I have the following three elements which I believe are a fundamental to a good interview.

Think STAR: This is a favourite amongst the team at Arras People – Situation or Task; Action you took; Results you delivered. Applying the STAR Technique to key achievements and successes in your career to date, you will have a bank of clear stories ready for use at an appropriate time during an interview; sometimes regardless of the question! The STAR Technique again should help emphasise what you have achieved in a context that is appropriate to the role you are interviewing for.

By looking again at the job specification – the first few bullet points on the spec are normally the most important aspects to the role. You can take each point in turn and think STAR again. Pinpoint in your CV and career an example that could be used to highlight your understanding, experience, skills, competency and training against a requirement in the job specification.

You not the team! Whilst working in team environments we are constantly reminded that “there is no I in team” which in its place is fine. However, I see this mindset far too often when talking to candidates in interview situations. It is worth remembering that in an interview situation you are the subject matter, you have been offered an interview and the interviewer is interested in how your skills and experiences would be applied to the role. This is your opportunity to build your credibility and suitability; focus on “I”, the use of “we” should be kept to a minimum.

Strengths and Weaknesses: We all have them and many interviewers use this questioning angle to get a feel for the “real you”. I am continually amazed how many people expect this question in an interview, yet after a short nervous chuckle, remain unprepared to give a suitable response. The strengths seem easy, reign in your ego and try to align a response with the requirements of the role; possibly referencing what you have learned during the interview.

Weaknesses tend to be harder; we all have them (even the interviewer) but worry that we will expose ourselves in a negative light if they are shared. However, recognition of weaknesses highlights self awareness and thus it is possible to frame a weakness in a positive light by explaining how you recognise and address them. On both counts, whilst being prepared, do not over work your answers so they sound rehearsed.

And finally, when you arrive, be yourself! Personally I am not convinced that an interview is the right time to re-invent yourself. Changing jobs can be pretty stressful at the best of times without the added pressure of remembering that you sold a whole new you to a prospective employer!

This article has been reprinted from the October issue of Project Management Tipoffs, the project management issues newsletter from Arras People. To go to the original printing of this article, click here. To see the entire issue, go here. To subscribe to Tipoffs, click here.