The First Interview

First interviews are normally conversational with the majority of questions based on your CV and experience to date.

The interviewer will be looking to get a general feeling for your personality and skills, plus any relevant work experience.

Be clear and concise when answering factual questions and if you have any gaps on your CV be ready to explain what you were up to during these periods.

As with every interview you should be able to clearly and concisely explain:

• what the company does
• what the job involves
• why you want the job
• why you are the best candidate
• what your specific strengths are that suit you to the position
• what past experience demonstrates your ability/suitability

Common Fact-Based Interview Questions

Why do you want this job?
Why do you want to join our organisation?
What do you expect to be doing in 5 years time?
What are your strengths/how would a friend describe you?
What are your weaknesses/how would your worst enemy describe you?
Who else have you applied to/got interviews with?
Why did you choose your particular university/course?
What has been your greatest achievement?
Tell me about yourself (prepare for this one and don’t waffle on!)
Describe yourself (in 1/5/20 words)
What other careers have you considered/applied for?
What are your hobbies?
What was your biggest setback?
What computing skills do you have?
What is your usual role in a team?

Heating up – the behavioural questions!

Depending on how many hoops your potential employer wants you to jump through that might be the end of the first interview. It might however move into what is traditionally second interview territory, and this means the questions are about to get a bit more difficult.

The next category of interview style is called the “Behavioural” or “Situation-based” interview.

Perhaps the easiest way to explain this style is to look at it from the interviewers perspective, and many adopt the SOAR approach.

Situation  -  Tell me about a time when you were under pressure
Objectives  -  What were you trying to achieve?
Action  -  What steps did you take to get the desired outcome?
Results  -  Was it successful?

Bear this in mind when you hear a situation question as it will probably be followed up by some more probing questions to reveal more detail on your past experience and specifically what role you played in any professional achievements.

Be careful using the word “we” to describe your achievements. If you have seen The Apprentice you’ll know that you can avoid the wrath of Sir Alan if you are on the winning team, but to actually get the job you need to demonstrate what you personally contributed to the team’s success.

• Describe a confrontational situation you had to deal with
• Can you tell me about a time when you have taken responsibility for an unpopular decision?
• Give me an example of an innovative approach you have taken that made a difference in the workplace
• When was the last time you were late with a project?

Behavioural questions attempt to find out if you can cope with a range of situations that might arise if you get the job.

They might be based on your past experience as above, or in other cases could be completely hypothetical. Either way your interviewer hopes to find out more about your thought process, your approach and your results.

Uncomfortably warm…

Less popular nowadays - but damn good fun if you enjoy a challenge - are stress interviews. As you have probably guessed this approach is designed to see how you handle stress and perform under pressure.

If you’re feeling hot under the collar and wondering why you’re on the receiving end of any of the following don’t worry – they’re probably trying to get you to lose your cool on purpose.

• The interviewer appears uninterested or bored
• They become increasingly hostile
• They disagree strongly with you or openly doubt your abilities
• They give you 10 minutes to complete a task and show surprise when you haven’t finished in 3
• They call into question the honesty of achievements on your CV - “It’s been proven that 98% of a CV is just lies but in your case I think this is on the low side…”

Examples of stress questions include:

Direct pressure - "How do you feel this interview is going?"
Integrity  -  "If you caught a colleague cheating on his expenses, what would you do?"
Bursting your bubble -  "I doubt that’s true but I suppose we’ll find out..."
Just plain rude or difficult -  "I don't feel like we're getting to the heart of the matter here. Start again - tell me what really makes you tick."
Random  -  "What’s your favourite season…" followed up with a disappointed, "Oh really…? Hmmm…"

The only way to deal with this is to keep your cool, smile, empathise with their point of view but continue to make your case clearly and positively.