Good morning, everybody. Welcome back to Food
for Thought, Thoughts If It Were You, by Neogentrics.
Now, it's around 4 a .m. and, uh... We're still
on the topic of communication, but we're going
to take a turn for a second. Let's assume something.
Let's assume you received an invitation to interview
for a new job. Congratulations. And you want
to make a good impression. Well, if you're going
to make a good impression, you need to prepare
thoroughly. Okay? Give you some pointers about
how to behave and react in the interview and
what you might expect. These two are also key
components to communication. The most important
thing to remember about any interview is that
it is a two -way process. It is as much about
you finding out whether you want to work for
the company as them finding out whether they
want you at all. This means it is important to
present yourself as you really are, not pretend
to be something you're not. So first things first.
Preparing for the interview. Your preparation
before the day of the interview needs to be on
two main fronts. First things first. Research
the organization. Find out as much as you can
about the company. Look at their website. Any
information that they have. sent you and and
see if you find their mission objectives any
value statements and you know things of that
nature it's helpful to be familiar with the organization's
guiding principles also try to find out how the
job that you have applied for fits into the organization
as well it's important to at least know what
you're going to be doing Next, make a list of
questions about the organization, ideally around
work, such as the team you'll be working with
or the work that you will be doing on a daily
basis. It's okay to ask about the on -site gym
and the holiday allowance, but don't sound as
if you're only interested in getting away from
work, okay? It's probably not a good idea to
ask whether you'll be able to work part -time
at this stage, okay? Either you should already
have done that before applying, or you need to
be prepared to work the hours stated. Next, the
About You section. You need to sit down with
the person's specification and your application
and develop some new examples of how you meet
at least a few of the requirements. It's fine
to talk about the examples on your application
form or CV or cover letter if you have one of
those. But it's useful to have a few new ones
to Describe the situation in one sentence or
less and focus on your actions the results that
you achieved and how you knew you were successful
it's also helpful to prepare answers for some
of the standard icebreakers such as tell me a
bit about your current job or Tell me why you
applied for this one. Okay, your answers should
focus on your skills and How you can use them
in the new job again? based around the person's
specifications that are there. Don't learn them
off by heart. It's not ideal. Plus, it makes
you sound like a robot. But have a good idea
of what you want to say. I'm not saying go in
there with a predetermined script. Because, like
I said, you just sound like a drone. but have
enough of it known to where you can basically
come up with something on the fly that actually
makes sense, that is at least believable, but
fits into what they may or may not ask you. With
that, some test and preparations are in order.
Some interviews require you to make a short presentation
or take a test. The details will always be included
in the letter inviting you to the interview,
so you'll have time to prepare. If you've been
asked to make a presentation, don't assume that
there will be a PowerPoint or that you'll be
standing in front of a group. Chances are it
could be just one person. You may be invited
to bring a handout. We're spending a bit of time
making a one -page handout that fully summarizes
your presentation, whether it's a mind map, a
picture of some sort, or your five key take -home
messages. Have a look. Add a lot of different
creative variety of ideas and see which ones
work well for you. And think about what you want
them to remember from your presentation and make
sure that that's clear from your handout. Okay?
Okay, okay. We're back. Let me see here. Now
that you've prepared for your interview, let's
talk about attending the interview. There's some
do's and don'ts. Here's what you do. First things
first. Arrive in a good time. The interview panel
may be interviewing a lot of candidates, so don't
keep them waiting. It's best to show up at least
30 minutes early. Dress appropriately. Some organizations,
especially tech companies, have a very casual
dress code, but for most, a suit will be appropriate
interview wear. Remember that you are being judged
on the experience that you present. Act appropriately,
which usually means following the interviewer's
lead. If you are offered a hand to shake, then
shake it, but don't offer your own hand if nobody
else seems interested. A lot of people make this
mistake and end up... chasing off the person
that they're interviewing before they ever actually
interview them. Engage with the interviewers.
Smile. Make eye contact. Again, another key communication
point. And build rapport. Answer the questions
that are asked. Nothing more. Using relevant
examples where it's all possible. Here's what
you don't do. Be afraid to blow your own trumpet
a bit. They want to hear about you. They want
to know about you. Okay? After all, nobody else
is going to blow it for you, and... Well... Let
me back up here a second. For those who do blow
their own horn, don't lie or exaggerate anything.
If you want the job, be enthusiastic and positive,
but definitely don't... Make yourself seem like
something you're not. Going back to what I was
saying before, be yourself. Don't be who you're
not. Don't be over -familiar or share way too
much information. A lot of people tend to do
this at first. It's probably because they're
nervous. Now, some interviewers and employers
will understand if you do this by accident, and
they can tell if you're uncomfortable. but many
of them won't care, okay? For example, the interviewers
don't want to know how you're going to manage
your childcare. I've had to work as an interviewer
for a company once before, and honestly, I can
say right now, there's some things you just don't
bring up or talk about, okay? I don't need to
know. If you have children, great. If I ask you
how many children you have, that's fine. I don't
need to know you have 10 kids and you're trying
to take care of them because your husband died
in a car accident. Now, while that is relevant,
and I do feel for you, I didn't want to know
that. I'm just trying to fill a position. You
want the job. I want to see why you want it.
Okay? That's all I want to know. Just keep that
in mind when actually being there. Okay? Okay,
well. Okay, so that's a good question. Thank
you for asking. What to expect in the interview?
All right, well. How many interviewers are there?
Okay. The letter inviting you to interview will
probably state who will be interviewing you.
It's often three to five people because that
removes any individual bias. Not all companies
do this, but a good some do. Some don't be surprised
to walk in and find a room full of people. One
will probably take the lead and explain who will
be asking questions as well as the role of the
others. Or worse yet, it could be a group interview.
When you're asked a question, reply to the person
who asked the question. Others may intervene.
either during or after your answer, in which
case you'll also need to reply to the interventions.
Again, reply to that person and not to the entire
group generally. Okay? Let me go back to presentations
for a second, since you brought this up. If you've
been invited to give a presentation, you will
probably be asked to give it immediately after
introductions. I will cover presentation skills
a little bit later, but keep this in mind, okay?
There is a difference between presentation skills
and presentations in interviews. Right now, that's
not part of the communication segment that I'm
covering, but I will cover it later. Anyway,
if there's a time limit for your presentation,
then keep to it. If you can't see the clock in
the room, then put your watch on the table in
front of you to make sure that you're keeping
to time. If you're running short, cut your presentation
and move to the conclusion. Okay? Now let's talk
about the types of questions. Okay. Interviewers
often like to start with an easy icebreaker question,
such as, what do you do at your current job?
Or, tell us why you applied for this job. If
you've done your presentation, you'll be ready
for this. Okay. Modern interviews tend to be
competence -based. That means you have to have
a brain, for one. Which means that they focus
on your skills and how you can demonstrate them.
So questions will often be in the form of...
Tell us about the time when you da -da -da -da
-da. Can you give us an example of a time when
you did whatever? Or, from your previous experience,
how would you deal with a situation like, and
then give you an example. If you don't have much
work experience, don't worry. Be prepared to
say, well, I haven't actually had to do that
yet, but this is what I would do in said situation.
If you're being interviewed for a job and you
don't have much experience in the field, the
interviewers will usually try to help you by
giving you a hypothetical question asking you
how you would approach a problem. Then, no, you
don't have much experience. They already know
this. But what they're trying to give you a chance
to do is show what you can do if you were put
in that position. Okay? The interviewers are
not trying to trip you up as a general rule.
So, if you... Get a question that you don't understand.
Just say so. And ask them to explain it a bit.
They will be happy to do so just so they can
see what kind of person you are so they can move
to the next chat. Okay? There are still interviewers
who believe in the benefits of asking off -the
-wall questions. I have to admit that this is
true. Like, if you were in a car, what type would
you be? Uh -oh. Sorry. If you were a car, what
type would you be? Honestly, if I had to answer
that question, I would say a Maserati, but that's
not the point here. One of the ones I've heard
before, and I've done a lot of interviews, what
are your best and worst traits? Actually, to
be fair, I hate this question. What you do in
situations like this, you just humor them. have
a fairly bland and generic reply prepared such
as well I'm not sure what type of animal, car,
bird or whatever I'd be but I do know that I
set my standards high and I'm not happy unless
I'm working hard okay and with the car example
if they're dedicated to finding out exactly what
car you would be aim high but not too high okay
The reason I say aim high but not too high is
because they want to know if you're confident.
That's basically the point of the question. But
they don't want to see a person who's overconfident.
You want to be fast and powerful? Great. You're
a Lamborghini. But don't just jump out there
and say, I want to be a Bentley. Okay, great.
You think high of yourself, but... It's possible
you think a little too high of yourself. Now,
if your question is, I wanted to be a Bentley
because I've always wanted to own one, okay,
fine. But consider how you respond. Okay? Okay,
okay. So, I've covered all of that. Great. So,
you've finally made it through the interview.
You're at the end. Now what? Okay, well, at the
end of the interview, you will probably be asked
if you have any questions. This is a typical
question. They always ask you this. Alright?
It is usually a good idea to ask a few questions
about the organization or a role at this point.
You're free to ask just about anything. And I
say just about because there's some questions
you just don't ask. However, if you really don't
have any questions, perhaps because you spoke
to someone from the organization before the interview
and they basically answered all of your questions,
then it's fine to say so. Do explain that it's
because you spoke to whoever and they were able
to answer all your questions ahead of time. It's
also acceptable to ask when the organization
will be expected to let people know the outcome
of their application. This is actually a really
good question you want to ask. It may also be
worth asking if there's anything that they feel
that you didn't address as well as you could
have done or that you weren't entirely clear
on. The reason for doing this is so that even
if you don't get the job, you know what you can
improve on. It gives you a second chance if you
were a bit nervous and didn't answer as well
as you could have done early on. Think of it
as... A way to force the interviewer to give
you a second fighting chance at clarifying so
that you still have a chance even if you weren't
going to get the job anyway. Finally, before
you leave, thank the interview panel for the
chance to attend the interview and say that it
was nice to meet them. Smile, gain eye contact,
again, shake hands only if appropriate, and always
leave a good final impression. You will find
it due course if you were successful, okay? If
you were not, then it would be a good idea to
ask for feedback, like I mentioned before. You
may gain some useful tips, advice to improve
your chances at your next interview. Or it could
just be that the person thinks that you're overqualified
and will usually tell you so, and they'll tell
you you deserve better. Or, if they say that
you're just not suited for this job, they'll
explain to you why, okay? These are some of the
most important things to keep in mind about interviews,
mostly to help improve your skills in that particular
field. Okay? So with that, again, guys, I thank
you guys for listening. Thank you for always
being there with me on my podcast. If you enjoy
what you hear, you like what I'm talking about,
or you have any suggestions, hit that like or
subscribe button. Support me on the anchor .fm
website by showing some love. If you have any
topics or suggestions, just let me know. And
enjoy the rest of your day. Again, this has been
Food for Thought. Thoughts if it were you. I'm
Neogentrix. And next time we'll be talking about
telephone interviews. Enjoy the rest of your
day.