Job Interview (Please help me!)

[lifesteeth]

This morning I recieved a letter inviting me to an interview for a job I applied for around 3 weeks ago. When I sent in the application I didn't think I had a chance in hell of getting the job or an interview so it came as a suprise...

Anyway I am totally pooing myself over it, I havn't had a job interview for over 10 years and the only work I have done has been voluntary at the place where I am going for my interview but because of confidentialty, sensitive info etc etc I've not really been allowed to do much "work" at all so although I have been "working" there I have no real "work experience" either so my confidence is really rock bottom! And on top of all this I gave up the voluntary placement a few weeks ago and didn't fully explain why to the women I worked for and she's one of the women doing my interview and I'm sure I probably p*ssed her off something rotten!

And on top of all this the interview is in front of a "panel" of 3 people, I've never been in front of a "Panel" before!! The only jobs I've gone for in the past have been minimum wage 'no skills required' jobs, nothing important enough for a "panel" . I suffer from social anxiety and so the idea of being the centre of attention in front of 3 women in suits fills me with dread...

How do I get over all this and just go for the interview feeling like I can do the job? Any interview tips?

I've just bought a suit and I love it.. that's lifted my spirits a bit...

Any help appreciated.

You wouldn't have got an interview unless they thought you were capable. It's a HUGE plus that you have done all that voluntary work for them - you will know a lot about the organisation even though you haven't been able to do much. They will also already know how well you fit into the environment and you have shown commitment.

Is there anyone (obviously not someone who'll be on the panel) who can coach you? I'm sure someone would be happy to talk you through the kind of things they might ask and practice.

The main thing is just to be yourself. Make sure you practice talking about your good points beforehand and read the job description a few times to remind yourself what it is they're looking for.

They usually like it if you have questions so you could write some down in case you get a mental block. Depending on the job perhaps ask about any training you might get, chance for promotion in the future, how much of the job will be dedicated to (eg) office tasks, face to face with clients.

And besides - you have a new suit!!
Good luck!

You must start believing you can do the job so that you show confidence. You must be confident.

And if you doubt yourself, just remember nearly everyone else will be blowing their tooter so don't sell yourself short. You'll only regret it immediately afterwards.

Hi - a panel's good - means you've got more than one person to look at and hopefully at least one of them will look friendly and smile at you!

Remember to look at them all, lots of nodding and smiling even though you'll be feeling like you want to run away.

The voluntary work's really good - think through all the things you've learned from it and what transfers to the job you've applied for - even if you only did something once or twice, you did it and it counts!

Think of some standard interview question responses so you've got things to mind when you're feeling nervous. I'd prepare the following:

What made you apply for the post/why are you interested in the post?

What are your key strengths and skills that would apply to this position?

What challenges do you think you would face (any question like this, try to turn it around so that you put a positive spin on it! So if the challenge is that you've not worked in this field before, the positive is that you have however gained experience through your voluntary work and you're confident the skills/experience you've gained in doing this are transferable!).

Where do you see your career/ambitions going in the next 5 years?

GOOD LUCK!!!! I'd be happy to help if you need it

Thanks for the help.

The job is involving mental health and so I was wondering do I tell them about the time I wanted to do psychology at college but wasn't able to due to lack of support from parents at the time or the time I signed up to distance learning again for psychology a few years later but had to drop out again as the tutor messed it all up? I want to show them that my interest in psychology has been there from an early age but at the same time I'm not sure that 2 "failed" attempts at psychology courses will sound too good!?

lifesteeth

I am in the same situation as you. I have a panel interview on Monday and its 7 years since I last went for an interview. Mine is 3 informal panels in the morning including one where I have to give a presentation and there is a formal panel interview in the afternoon.

I have just looked out my suit and am now thinking about putting some prep work in to it. That is if I can drag myself off here

Do you fancy supporting each other?

teeth, I wouldn't go on about all that, no. Everything you say should be positive and significant. If you completed a psychology module or course, say that. If not, leave it.

Spend most time talking about the related stuff that you have done, not what you almost did.

slalomsuki - your's sounds more nerve wrecking than mine! My interview is next monday (30th) so I have a week to prepare...I think what's making it worse is that I know one of the panel interviewers and my paranoia has always told me that she doesn't like me but saying that she has signed the letter that was sent yesterday so she must be "in on it" so to speak?

I'm also worried that she will ask my I gave up the voluntary job, the reason is that the company that organised it were messing me around making me go for interviews with their inspectors and more or less asking me to lie for them and so when I gave that up the voluntary placement had to go with it apart from that, due to it only being voluntary I had no clearance to do anything involved with patients and since it's all patient based most of my time was sat doing nothing and I was starting to find it all a bit pointless. Not sure if that's a good enough reason though...

Good luck for your interview! is it this monday coming? (tomorow?)

Another thing, I need to phone the woman that I'm sure doesn't like me tomorow to confirm that I will be attending the interview so maybe I will sense in her voice what she thinks of me?

Oh... and I have the email and phone number of the woman who organised the voluntary placement in the first place, she also works for the NHS, is well in with the people interviewing me and said when I left that if she could help in any way in the future I should contact her...should I email her and tell her I have an interview and see if she can give me some pointers? she helped me write the application form to start with...

Mine is tomorrow and I have the problem that the big boss who I will be working for and who is on the final pannel in the afternoon I nearly took for sex discrimination two years ago when on maternity leave.

However saying that he emailed me to see if I could specifically come to the interview and also has tried to accomodate me re leaving my kids in France....see other thread....to do so.

I have the advantage of having worked in the organisation for the last 7 years give or take maternity leaves and the reason I have applied for the job is that some people have given me a nudge in that direction and made me confident that I could do it. I would hate to work for one of the other candidates

I wouldn't worry too much about this person. They are supposed to be impartial and if it is a pannel interview then your interview will have to be discussed by all of them and taken against the other candidates.

Good luck

Make sure you research the role thoroughly so you can be really confident in your answers.
Confidence is definitely the key to a successful interview.
(For my current job, I was asked a really technical question about how I would deal with a particular scenario. I had no idea how to answer it so I just said 'To be honest, I'm not sure, but I assume you have procedures that I'll be able to apply'.
They were ok with that answer.)

Anyway, here are some tips I found (sorry if they don't all apply to your role). Good luck!

1.Research as much as you can about the company - products, services, markets, competitors, trends, current activities, priorities.

2.Prepare your answers for the type of questions you'll be asked, especially, be able to say why you want the job, what your strengths are, how you'd do the job, what your best achievements are.

3.Prepare good questions to ask at the interview.

4.Get hold of: company 'in-house' magazines or newsletters, competitor leaflets, local or national newspaper articles featuring the company.

5.Review your personal goals and be able to speak openly and honestly about them and how you plan to achieve them.

6.Adopt an enthusiastic, alert, positive mind-set.

Whenever I'm interviewing somebody I look for indications that the person has already succeeded at something similar to the role that I'm employing for.

People who impress me in this regard are people who can tell me of instances in their pasts where they successfully did what it is that I need them to do.

A good trick for this is to think about a couple of anecdotes that you can tell them around the skills that you know they're looking for. For example, what you did to deal with stress, how you reorganised something complicated and made it more efficient, how you dealt with somebody difficult.

And if they ask you (as people tend to), "Do you have any experience with X?", you can tell them yes, and give a good example.

Second TheHerdNerd! Try to think through what the 'ideal' candidate for the position would be like and then work out how you can demonstrate that you are that person. You know your history much better than they do so select the bits that show you in the best possible light. You don't have to limit yourself to examples from paid/voluntary work - use any experience where you've gained skills that would be useful in the role you're applying for.

You're right to consider how to explain why you gave up the voluntary post with them but use what you said in your post: you were finding it frustrating not being able to help patients which is why you want this job.

They obviously already consider you a strong contender for the job or they wouldn't be interviewing you. If the woman you think doesn't like you really didn't want you to get it (or had the power to stop you getting it) she'd surely have prevented you even being interviewed.

It's really normal to be nervous - and I think the adrenaline actually helps your mind work faster when you need it to! No matter how hard it is, try to make eye contact regularly with all the members of the panel, or if that's too hard look at their forehead just above their nose. That'll make you seem confident even if you're not.

And definitely go back to the lady who helped you with the application form and ask for pointers - that shows how keen you are to get it and she may mention it to the people making the decision which couldn't be a bad thing.

I have experience of interviewing people as part of a panel. My advice would be to make sure to make eye contact with the person who is asking you the question but try to look at each member of the panel as you give your answer. Be honest if you do not know the answer to something. No one is expected to know everything. Do as much research as you can. An interviewer needs to know you are genuinely interested in the job they are interviewing you for and not get the impression you just need any job. Don't worry about coming across as being nervous. A lot of people find the interview process daunting. Just try to handle it as best you can and if you stumble on an answer or make a mistake just apologise and try again. A good interviewer can see beyond the nerves to your true potential. Best of luck.

slalomsuki, how did your interview go?

I know this is 'a bit late' but there are 2 books that will get you the job of your desires...they are called 'The Perfect Interview' and 'the Perfect CV' - they are both slim red books so can be read quickly (& available in any bookshop) - can't remember the author. They cover all eventualities, eg. if you haven't had an interview for a while, how to sell yourself etc.
Invaluable!!
Good luck