8/13/2019 Interview Last Minute Handbook

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TTHHEELLAASSTTMMIINNUUTTEE

IINNTTEERRVVIIEEWWHHAANNDDBBOOOOKK

SocialScienceCareerServiceswww.ssc.uwo.ca/careers

Room2040SSC

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TTTaaabbbllleeeooofffCCCooonnnttteeennntttsssRefresh.... Page3

Practice.... Page3

InterviewQuestions

STARStrategy

SampleInterviewQuestion. Pages4&5

TraditionalQuestions

BehaviouralQuestions

EmployerQuestions

Prepare. Pages5&6

Resume

References

Directions

InterviewClothing

TelephoneInterviews

AftertheInterview... Pages6&7

FollowUp

Feedback

Reminder. Page7

Remembertobring

Do

Dont

References.. Page7

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RRReeefffrrreeessshhhFamiliarizeyourselfwiththecompanyandposition.Thisprovidesyouwithbackgroundinformationfor

answeringinterviewquestions.Itwillshowthatyouhavespentthetimetolearnmoreaboutthecompany

becauseyouwanttheposition.

Usethe

Website

to

find

company:

Use

the

JobPostingtofindspecific:

Goals Skills

Direction Experiences

Environment Duties

Thisinformationallowsyoutoidentifyhowyourexperiences,skills,etc.alignwiththecompanyandwhatthey

arelookingfor;whatyoucandoforthem/bringtothecompany.

PPPrrraaaccctttiiiccceee

Thisisthemostimportantandbestwaytopreparefortheinterview.

MockInterviewsallowyoutopracticeyourinterviewskillsinasimulatedenvironment.

Interviewstream(http://uwo.interviewstream.com/)isanonlineprogramthatisfreeforUWOstudents.Ifyou

haveamicrophoneandwebcamyoucaneasilyconductamockinterviewfromhome247.

InterviewQuestionsManyemployersareusingtraditionalinterviewquestionscombinedwithbehaviouralquestions.Behavioural

questionsaresituationalquestions,i.e.Tellmeaboutasituationinwhichyouwere

TheSTARMethodisgoodstrategytouseinansweringbehaviouralquestions.

Situation:Giveanexampleofasituationyouwereinvolvedinthatresultedinapositiveoutcome.

Task:Describethetasksinvolvedinthatsituation.

Action:Talkaboutthevariousactionsinvolvedinthetask.

Result:Whatresultsdirectlyfollowedbecauseofyouractions?

STARExample:

Situation:Duringmyjoblastsummer,Iwasresponsibleforplanningstaffing schedulesforasummercamp.

Task:WhenIstarted,Inoticedthatthecurrentschedulewasdifficulttoreadandunderstand.Wewerealso

unexpectedlyunderstaffedandunabletomaintainproperstafftochildratios.Ineededtodosomethingto

improvethisquickly.

Action:Iredesignedthescheduletakingintoconsiderationstaffingregulationsandchildtostaffratios.I

collectedfeedbackfromstaffandsupervisors.

Results:AsaresultIutilizedsomeofthewonderfulideasIreceivedandmadeourschedulingsystemmore

understandable,ensuringthatwealwaysmaintainedproperratios.

http://uwo.interviewstream.com/http://uwo.interviewstream.com/

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TraditionalInterviewQuestions Tellmeaboutyourself. Whatare3strengthsofyours? Whydoyouwanttoworkforus? Whatareyoulongtermcareergoals? Whatareyourshorttermgoals? Whatthreeadjectivesbestdescribeyou? Whatare23weaknessesyouneedtoimprove? Howwouldyoudescribeyouridealjob? Whattwoorthreethingsaremostimportanttoyouinyourjob? Whatisyourgreatestachievementandwhy? Whatdidyoulearnfromyourpastparttimejob? Whydoyouwanttoworkforus? Howwouldyoudefinesuccess? Whydoyouwanttoworkforus/workhere? Whatwouldyoubringtothisposition/thiscompany? Howwouldyourateyourcommunicationskills? Whatwouldyourcolleaguessayaboutyourworkingstyle? Whydoyouwanttoworkabroad/overseas?(InternationalInterview)

BehaviouralInterviewQuestions Tellmeaboutasituationwhereyouwerechallenged. Howhaveyoumotivatedyourselftocompleteanassignmentortaskthatyoudidnotwanttodo? Tellmeabouttheriskiestdecisionyouhavemade. Tellmeaboutatimeonanyjobwhenyoufacedastressfulsituationorproblem. Giveanexampleofatimewhenyouhadaconflictwithsomeoneandhowyouhandledthesituation. Tellmeaboutaproblemyoufacedandhowyoudealtwiththeproblem/developedasolution. Canyoutellmeaboutatimewhenyouneededtoworkwithagrouptogetajobdone? Tellmeaboutaproblemthatyouhadtoanalyzeandwhatyourrecommendationwas? Givemeanexamplewhenyouwereworkinginagroupandtherewasaconflictbetweenmembers.

Howdid

you

handle

this

situation?

What

was

the

outcome?

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EmployerQuestionsItsimportantforyoutoprepare23questionstoasktheinterviewerabouttheposition/company.Thisshows

yourgenuineinterestintheposition.

SampleEmployerQuestions Whatarethemostchallengingaspectsofthisjob? Whattypeofinitialtrainingdoyouoffer? Couldyoudescribeatypicaldayonthejob? Howareemployeesevaluatedinthisposition? Whatarethenextstepsintheinterviewprocess?

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PPPrrreeepppaaarrreee

ResumePrint

34copies

of

your

resume

in

case

there

are

multiple

interviewers.

Keep

in

aclean

and

professional

lookingfoldersotheydonotgetbent.

ReferencesPrintyourreferencelist.

Ifyouhavenotcontactedyourreferencesdosobeforetheinterview.Youneedtheirconsentbeforethe

potentialemployercontactsthem;youdonotwanttocatchthemoffguard/unpreparedoryoudowantto

provideareferencewhoisnotcomfortablegivingyouareference.

DirectionsMake

sure

you

know

how

to

get

to

the

interview.

If

time

permits

take

atest

run

to

the

interview

location;

if

not,leaveextratimefortraffic,weather,andconstruction.

InterviewClothingDressastepabovenormalworkattireforthepositionyouareseeking.

Clothesandshoesshouldbecleanandneat,pressedifnecessary.

Accessoriesshouldbelimited

Yourappearanceshouldbewellgroomed

Avoidfragrances

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TelephoneInterviewsTelephoneinterviewsprovideadifferentandchallengingenvironment.Withthelackofvisualcontactyour

voiceandwordsareevenmoreimportant.

Practiceandbeprepared. Havenotesandyourresumeinfrontofyou;thesearejustpoints,skills,andexperiencesyouwantto

touchon.Youdontwanttojustreadfromthepapersbecausetheemployerwillbeabletoclearly

knowyou

are.

Dontshufflepaperswhileinyourinterview.Havenotes,pen,paper,andtelephoneallsetupbefore

theinterview.

Writedownanyquestionsthatariseduringtheinterview. Planforthecallandbeready10minutesbeforethecallcomesin. Answerquestionsinshortsentencesnotramblingparagraphs. Speakclearlyandatanormaltalkingspeed.Mostpeoplespeeduptheirsentenceswhennervous. Keeptheinterviewlivelyandinterestingbycheckinginwiththeemployer.Ex.wouldyoulikemeto

expandonthat?

Givetheintervieweryourundividedattention;becourteous,professionalandconcise.

Treat

telephone

interviews

as

face

to

face

interviews

by

dressing

up,

sitting

at

a

table

or

desk,

and

eliminatinganydistractions.

Avoidusingacellphoneorportablephonesincetheconnectioncanbepoor. Smileduringtheinterviewasitshowsinyourvoice. Remembertothanktheinterviewerandwelcomethemtocallyouiftheyhaveanyotherquestions.

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AAAfffttteeerrrttthhheeeIIInnnttteeerrrvvviiieeewwwFollowUpSendathankyoucard,email,orphonemessageaftertheinterview.

TheSuggestedformatis:1stParagraph:Expressyourappreciationfortheopportunityandyourgratitudefortheirtime.Alsomentionthedate

ofyourinterview.

2ndParagraph:Personalizetheletterbymentioningastrongpointofyourintervieworyoucansummarizeyourmain

credentials,

skill

or

experience

that

you

were

not

able

to

expand

upon

during

your

contact,

but

remembertobebriefandconcise.

3rdParagraph:Reiterateyourinterestinthepositionandthanktheinterviewerfortheirtime.

Signature:Signyourname,printyourname,andincludeyourcontactinformation.

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FeedbackIfyouarenotofferedtheposition,usethisopportunitytoaskforfeedbackonhowyoucouldhaveimproved

yourinterviewskills.

Thebesttimetoaskforfeedbackiswhentheinterviewercallstoinformyouoftheirdecision.

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RRReeemmmiiinnndddeeerrr!!!

RemembertoBring: Directions Resume References Portfolio/foldertowriteon Pen

DDDooo::: Arrive10minutesearly(knowyourroute).

Useafirmhandshake.

Beawareofyourbodylanguageandmaintaingoodeyecontact.

Showenthusiasmandgoodmanners.

Keepapositiveattitude.

Remembertothanktheinterviewer(s).

Alwaysfollowupwithathankyouemail,phonemessageorwrittennote.

DDDooonnnttt::: Giveramblinganswers.

Choosetopassonaquestion.

Interrupttheinterviewer.

Discussyourpersonalproblems.

Criticizeyourselforformeremployers.

Arrivelate.

ReferencesTheStudentSuccessCentre,www.success.uwo.ca LaurierInterviewSalaryGuidebook,

www.lauriercc.ca/content/documents/fileItemController/interviewbook%20salary%20excerpt%2020080.pdf

InterviewStream,uwo.interviewstream.com/