To consider seeing an interview coach - £200

[fia101]

Anyone have any experience of seeing one please?

I have a public sector job interview soon and I've built the job up in my mind so much it now seems completely out of reach!

I can't really afford £200 so it has to be worth it.

I wouldn't spend that. Do you have any friends/family members who regularly interview people in their jobs? That way you can ask them to do a mock interview with you.

I used to interview people (NHS - so I imagine similar to most public sector based jobs type questions). They have a set of questions that they ask each candidate .you could probably Google the list but it's stuff like how would you deal with an upset patient, tell us about a time you worked well as part of a team, give us an example of how you resolved a problem., Etc.

I’ve done a lot of interview coaching with friends. I’m an experienced recruiter and they all said it made a massive difference to them. I could see huge improvements in their answers between the start and end of the sessions I had with them - generally one session lasting about two hours at about the time they applied for the role or immediately after being told they had an interview. I’d strongly recommend going for it but would suggest you look amongst friends who do recruitment first to see if any of them will offer services free of charge. If you can’t find someone then I’d recommend paying - think of the increase in pay between the new job and your current job and how quickly it would cover the cost. In my experience most people who’ve had interview coaching go on to secure the role. Being good at interview is a very different skill to being good at a job and unfortunately interviews aren’t good at telling the difference.

Many thanks - unfortunately I don't have any friends or family who have interviewed. From
past unsuccessful interviews I have some knowledge of the type of questions I may be asked .

Last interview I had I was asked competency based questions about an area I have no knowledge or experience of - too random to prepare for them and I was woeful. I need to be able to attempt to answer questions I don't know the exact answer too - the job I'm going for is very broad.

My husband had some interview coaching as part of his redundancy package for a job about 10 years ago. It was very worthwhile and the feedback about how he came across and how he might best present himself still helps him now.

Thanks so much for the feedback. The service I'm looking at isn't based near me - it would be telephone or FaceTime coaching with online assistance.

There aren't many coaches near me at all unfortunately for a face to face session

Any recommendations please? There seem so many online that I've
no idea who is good or genuine

I had interview coaching for my medical school interview - I was a mature student and for various reasons had one chance to secure a place. This cost ~£150 almost a decade ago! It was worth every penny -and it was via Skype as I couldn't meet the coach face-to-face.

The coaching was worth every penny - I left the interview feeling certain I'd be offered a place. I will be approaching the same coaching company for specialist training and consultant-level interviews. Think of the £ as an investment in your future!

Lots of councils offer free interview skills training via their economic development teams. You tube is also a great source.

I developed a competency based interview training skills session for staff. I’m happy to send it to you if you PM me your email address. Might do what you need without having to spend £200?

Are you a recent graduate? If so you may still be able to access the careers support from your university.

What level role is it? Less senior public sector interviews tend to be competency based, there's nothing a £200 coach can show you that you can't find out online. If it is a less senior role, have you looked at the STARR competency framework for how to answer questions?

I'll save you £200 and direct you to The Apprentice (BBC iPlayer) just don't do anything those idiots do.

I've been considering this. For me it's not a problem of preparing for certain questions, so knowing what they are likely to ask wouldn't necessarily help. It's more, how do I present my answer in the best way/avoid waffling or falling silent. Also as someone said, how to answer the question that you weren't expecting in the best way.
I think it's hard because they don't tend you give you any idea of whether what you are saying is right, so I end up feeling less and less confident as the interview goes on until I just want to to be over and can't be bothered to listen to what they are saying or answer any more questions. Where as in a normal conversation you would get some feedback from the other party and could adjust what you are saying accordingly.

Thanks everyone. It's a senior role and apologies I think the questions will be predominantly situational.

Last similar interview I had I panicked when faced with a scenario based question I didn't know the answer to. It was a question I couldn't have prepared for. I was terrible!

If I'd sat back and thought about it I would've realised that although I didn't know the exact answer the scenario was similar to others I'd been in.

I want to learn how to deal with situation based questions I don't know the exact answer to.

I want to learn how to present answers to such questions in the best possible way.

How to logically think about them in the moment and not panic.

I can do this role. For once I'm absolutely qualified for it. I don't want to muck it up as they never come up.

Totally agree eightoclock!

Poutysprout thanks for the offer - I don't know how to pm!

I think it's a good investment.

DS did an equally expensive course, which has helped him through the interview process throughout these early stages of his career. Gave him confidence, and was worth the investment for that alone!

DD was coached by a friend who was experienced in Police recruitment, and they really helped her.

I know it's a lot of money, but could make you stand out at interview.

Good luck!

Would it be an expert in that field? DH attended an interview coaching course from an experienced recruiter in particular field he was looking to enter and found it worth every penny.

Click on the 3 dots at the bottom right of my post and it will give you the option to PM me. :)

My training covers what you’re talking about.

With competency interviews there should be no surprises - the person spec and JD tell you what they are looking for and you can usually build up a portfolio of 6/8/10 scenarios that cover most of that. Effectively you know the answers before you walk in!

I'd get some beta blockers from the GP. They calm your nerves right down. They aren't opiates though so no worries about not being 'present'