To ask you all for a bit of help?

[Itsnotahoover]

I've got a job interview tomorrow, for a team leader job. Although I've been in managerial positions in the past, I've not done anything like this since before ds was born.

The interview is going to contain some "scenario role plays" and I'm panicking! What sort of thing could this be? Help!! Lol

Also, will I absolutely have to wear a suit? It's been arranged at very short notice and the only jacket I have really doesn't fit me very well. I do have smart trousers, heels and blouses - can I get away with that and my smart black coat (well it is getting cold!)?

What does the company do? You could base your role play on something around that.

It's electrical products. I already work for them part time but in a completely different capacity. This will be purely people management.

Ok, think about some work situations that you performed well in - write them down, what you specifically did, what were the benefits and why it was a success.

Keep focusing on all of these and then when you do the scenario "role playing" you can base these on real life events, highlighting this to the interviewer - this is much better as you are substantiating what you say you would do with what you have actually done. Don't worry if the scenario is not exactly the same, you can say, in a similiar situation, I did xyz and this resulted in ...

As for dress, look smart and professional - trousers and a nice blouse will work better alone than with an ill-fitting jacket.

Good luck.

My guess is that they might role play some scenarios you might be expected to deal with in your new job.

For example, they might pretend to be an employee coming to you saying they were being sexually harassed at work, or an employee telling you about a personal issue or an employee telling you a bad thing about another employee. Or they might role play you having to sort out a dispute.

I think its quite hard to do these things without feeling silly, but I think if you use your common sense you will be fine. Luckily you really understand the company culture already as you work there, so know what sort of response they will expect from you.

I'm just so nervous! I really, really want this. It would make a massive difference to my life and actually allow me to spend some time with my son.

I'm listing things I think they might ask; I've already had a telephone interview and got through that but this is scarier!

If this is a team leader post, the scenarios will probably be situations you might need to deal with as a team leader, that are different from front-line sales. I don't work in retail so I might be wrong, but I'd guess...

• Dealing with a complaint (the sort of situation where a customer says "I want to speak to the supervisor")
• Dealing with an under-performing or difficult member of staff (addressing problems; improving their performance; taking capability/disciplinary action if they don't improve)
• Dealing with a conflict in the team

I'd say your trousers and blouse will be fine. :)

Generally in interviews (I'm a manager and I used to train people in interview skills) it's good to be able to be very specific about your skills and experience - give concrete examples of things you have personally done and achieved. A common 'mistake' people make is to be too vague and/or modest... (So if they ask "Can you give us an example of a problem you've dealt with well"... Answer very specifically, saying "I had this problem... I wanted to solve it in this way... I did X, Y and Z... (and maybe - Other people supported me to do C and D)... My specific role was to... And the result was B".) Does that make sense?

Good luck!

You will be fine if you are well prepared as then it will feel like a chat about all the stuff you want to tell them. Good preparation will make all the difference. Also, prepare some questions you want to ask them that are not purely salary, start date, hours etc as that will demonstrate that you are interested in the job.

Good luck today.