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Posts Tagged ‘interview tips’

When you go into an interview, you need to leave your nerves at the door. The best way to prepare is to develop beforehand, your own story (or stories).  This is especially great for the “behavioral” or “competency”-based interview being used more today.

A behavioral interviewer will spend about half the interview on your job skills, and about half on your behavioral competencies. He or she will be looking for evidence of how you have acted in real situations in the past. So having your stories ready to go plays very well for this type of interview.

What is a Behavioral Interview?

Also known as ”competency-based” interviews, these go further than the traditional skills-based interview. You can expect additional questions about your character and personal attributes that can better determine whether you fit their corporate culture. These are called “behavioral competencies”.

Specifically, this is simply an interviewing technique used to determine whether you are a good fit for the job by asking questions about your past behavior. Your answers are then used as a predictor of your future success. For example, if you’ve done it in the past, you probably will do it again.

How is this different than other questions you might encounter?

A behavioral question will be very specific. For instance, when asked, “Tell me about a time when you overcame a crisis, solved a problem, dealt with failure, etc.”, the focus is on a specific “time” in your past when you __________. Here your answer must elucidate a particular action that you took at some point in your past.

In contrast, a traditional interview question would be “what if” type questions. For example, “What would you do if such and such a situation were to occur?” The difference here is there are no past experiences to call upon. You merely put yourself in the situation and use your imagination for the answer. The interviewer is looking for your thought process and how you might think through a problem.

How do you prepare for behavioral interviews?

The best way to prepare is to take the initiative by preparing several 30 to 90-second personal stories.

Consider developing your stories around these areas:

1. A crisis in your life or job and how you responded or recovered from it.

2.   A time when you functioned as part of a team and what your contribution was.

3.   A time in your career or job when you had to overcome stress.

4.   A time in your job when you provided successful leadership or a sense of direction.

5.   A failure that occurred in your job and how you successfully overcame it.

Preparation is especially important for success in the behavioral interview. A word of warning: you must have stories to back up anything you claimed on your resume.

All stories have three parts and yours should be no different.  They include:

1. A beginning (set the stage – describe the situation, the time)

2.   A middle or process (this is the process you took or the action that you took to solve the problem)

3.   A resolution (How was the problem solved, overcome or resolved)

A good story should be interesting and full of action. Give them something memorable about you that make you stand out. Since these are your stories, it shouldn’t be hard. Let your personality and your core character shine through. Make sure you let them hear the steps you took to solve the problem. The more details and skills you can add, the better.

Summary

Spend some time well before your first interview to craft and polish several “short stories” about your past using some of the above examples. Take the best examples you can and hone them to a fine edge. Practice them out loud in front of a mirror, and often. These are your successes. Done right, they’ll give your interviewer a clear picture of who you are enabling him or her to determine whether you’re the right person for the job. Click here for more Interview Help.

Authors Bio

As a recruiter, Joe Turner has spent the past 15 years finding and placing top candidates in some of the best jobs of their careers.  Author of “Job Search Secrets Unlocked” and “Paycheck 911,” Joe has interviewed on radio talk shows and offers free insider job search secrets at: http://www.jobchangesecrets.com.

Mary Berman, from Farmington Hills, Michigan, had been looking for work since February 2009 before starting a “Guerrilla” job search, in late September.

Up to that point, 20 weeks of job hunting had produced zero job interviews.

Just 7 weeks later, she accepted a job on Thursday, November 12, as a marketing executive assistant.

How did she use Guerrilla job hunting tactics to find work 65% faster?

“I saw a job advertised online and applied by mail. I sent a box with a paper Starbucks coffee cup, my cover letter, and resume inside. On the side of the cup, where it has boxes for the type of coffee, I made my own box that said, ‘Hire Mary’ and checked it with a black marker. I heard back a couple days later to get my first interview,” says Berman.

After her first job interview, which went well, Berman followed up with panache.

“It was Halloween time, so I decided to send them a chocolate covered apple with my hand-written thank-you note in a bag. I had a friend of mine, who was off work that day, take it over and deliver it to [the employer]. That was a big hit — they were thrilled — and I got the second interview out of it.”

Berman’s second job interview was with the executive vice president. Afterwards, she followed up diligently. “When I came home, I wrote a 30-60-90 day plan. I had taken copious notes during the interview and used that information to create suggestions for what I would do in my first 30, 60, and 90 days. I sent that to them via FedEx with another thank-you note. And I got a job offer.”

Now. Let’s break this successful Guerrilla Job Search down …

1. Start smart

The Coffee Cup Caper — a paper Starbucks cup, full-color Guerrilla Resume, and a cover letter (asking to meet for coffee), shipped in a box — gets extraordinary results. By contrast, ordinary resumes and cover letters, sent by email, get ordinary results.

2. Follow up with style

Delivering a Halloween treat with her thank-you note was correct seasonally, if not politically. Use good judgment before sending items that might be perceived as bribes by employers sensitive to such things, such as universities or public-sector organizations.

In Berman’s case, however, it worked like a (chocolate-covered) charm.

And, leaving out the gift, think of the impact a hand-delivered thank-you note can have on an employer, versus standard U.S. Mail or email. Could you arrange to have your thank-you note delivered by a courier, or a friend acting as one? Of course you could!

3. Give employers another reason to hire you

Mary did this in spades after her second interview, when she sent a written plan of action that outlined her first three months on the job.

A 30-60-90 day plan is a way of proving you can do the work — before you’re even on the payroll — by describing how you would learn the job, build rapport with employees/customers, and contribute to the bottom line.

Mary’s plan was 8 pages long and took the better part of a Friday night to prepare. (Before you balk at spending an entire evening at home researching and writing a 30-60-90 day plan, ask yourself if you wouldn’t trade a night out for getting a steady paycheck again.)

4. Score style points with your delivery

Mary’s first follow-up, the chocolate-apple-thank-you note, was delivered by a courier, not by email. Her 30-60-90 day plan was delivered by FedEx, not by email.

Do you not see a pattern? Email should NOT be the delivery method for your career documents. Because you can’t delete a courier, and a FedEx envelope can’t get caught in a spam filter.

Bottom line: This smart Guerrilla had failed to get even one job interview in 20 weeks of job hunting with conventional tactics.

After adopting unconventional Guerrilla tactics, she found work in only 7 weeks.

If Guerrilla job search methods can work in Michigan, where the unemployment rate tops 15%, they can work where you live. The only thing stopping you from thinking and acting like a Guerrilla is you. Why wait another minute? To get started with your own Guerilla search plans here’s where to start!

Important Skills to Have in this Economy

In a brittle economy, job losses and underemployment are common. A sudden layoff might drive you to look for employment outside of your area of expertise leaving you wondering what skills are needed by the employers who are hiring. Outside of the work experience that employers need for their industries, there are skills that everyone should possess in this economy. Effective communication, marketing, LinkedIn, and social media aren’t just buzzwords in the employment arena. They are skills that you can strengthen to boost your marketability among potential employers.

Getting By and Doing Well Without a College Degree

Although many employers require a college degree, there are hundreds more that do not. When you find yourself in the job market, it is important to focus on your expertise and specifically target the position by accentuating experience and/or training that parallels what the company or organization is advertising for. Searching for a new position without a degree can be difficult, therefore, a strong resume is imperative and a pointed cover letter can give you the visibility you need.

Update your Skills for the Current Job Market

If unemployment or underemployment has given you more free time than you would normally have, take advantage of that time to make yourself more marketable in the current job scene.

Ref. ResumeEdge