Gulp got an interview, for a proper council job.. ADVICE please!

[Skribble]

I have an interview for for a full time decent wage senior job, How I don't know must have been all the rubbish I put on the form .

I wonder if that means they think I am a promising candidate able to do the job or if they just have to make the numbers up .

Its with the local council, what are their interviews like these days? I hope it won't be a huge panel of serious people in suits, ready to fire lots of akward questions at me.

Congratulations on your interview It means that, on paper, you fill all their criteria.
The interview questions should all be around the job spec and the skills and abilities linked to it. they should have told you who will be on the panel - if not you can phone and get this information.

Our council will usually have a panel of three or at most four, one of whom will be from HR and mainly ask about your awareness of equal ops etc (and not much on that unless the job is IN HR, or strongly connected to Council Equal Ops policy).
Line manager will usually be on the panel (interesting if not), and third and fourth will usually be Head of Department and independent person either from an allied organisation, or from another Council Dept.
Councils do not shortlist also-rans Skribble. Despite the rush, you clearly did a good job :)
My top tip would be PLEASE check their website carefully and take time over it. Amazing how many otherwise excellent interviewees have not bothered to do this IME

I do some interviewing at the authority where i work and we tend to focus the questions around the person spec/JD requirements so try and see if you can think of something you could say on each of the requiremsnts , Always have an equal opps question too. generally have 3 on the panel including one form HR.
good luck !

I think you nearly always get a question on Equal Opportunities Skribble, so have a look at their policy on this. They often include it by asking how the job is related to issues surrounding EO's and what you can do to assist.
Agree with Puddle - have a good look at the job spec and if it mentions something, read up on it.

x-posted
Person spec - yes, I had forgotten about that (years since I had anything to do with Council job interviews!)

Good top tip Marina re: website - and if you can relate back to it in your answers 'I saw in your website that you were doing x and my experience of yy would be relevant there' that would be even better.

My top interview tip is examples. Don't just say 'I can do xx' make it real by giving an example of when you showed you could do xx and what the outcome was.

always have examples of how you did X or have useful characteristic Y up you're sleeve - they often grill you!
check the departmental website to see what they're up to currently also google for any national strategies/policies you should be aware of in this area of work.
Good luck

ooh, there you go - great minds and all that!

also, of course, have a couple of qus to ask them (even if fairly inane, looks bad if you have nothing)

Thanks great advice, but what do you mean by equal opportunities questions??? Sorry that sounds like a stupid question .

I have already had a good look at the departments specific website and I have worked in the place on a few occasions a while back as a subcontractor. I have loads of examples as I have done such varied work, I just hope my mind doesn't go blank when I try to think of them.

I spoke to the person from personnel that will be interveiwong me and she seems easy enough to talk to, on the phone anyway. It was really weird as she asked me when would suit me to come in, rather than the, we are interveiwing everyone on a certain day type thing. She had to phone the line manager to see if when he was availible it made it seem like I was the only candidate, I am used to bulk interveiws not being one of the selected few.

Ah Skribble - well it all depends on the number and quality of applicants, and in my experience that can be very varied. If you have loads it's all about fitting them in, if only a few, it's about making sure they come! The last time we interviewed (I'm PCT, but quite a few of our posts are joint with SS) quite a few people hadn't done their homework at all, so do do the research, know what's current - what are the big challenges for (area of work) at the moment/in the next few years is very standard. Also have a good answer for why do you want the job (amazing when you find people who don't give that a good answer!) it's always nice to hear that someone has something nice to say about your organisation!. Equal ops questions will be focused around the job, and usually come up if there is an HR person there. We do "how would you deal with a difficult person" type questions, and confidentiality too, Generally they are just to suss out if you are aware of rights and responsibilities, and if you are aware of the sort of population (where I work in inner London this is important) and what their needs or issues might be. Hope it goes well for you!

Thanks nooka, I was wondering how equal opportunities would come in to it, it is a job in a theatre. I am used to supervising all sorts of staff from 18yr old law students to 50+ ex bin men. I love that aspect of the work as well as the variety of patrons I am likely to encounter.

I will have to sit and write out a answers to the standard questions to help them stick in my mind better. I turn into a complete wreck when they say "So tell me why do you want this job?" It akes me all my effort not to say "well the wages are good and the hours suit me" .

Hiya Skribble - I remember you posting about applying for this - well done for getting an interview. Pleased for you!

I would put money on there being an equal opportunities question - in my experience its usually something quite vague/open-ended- such what does equal opps mean to you/how do you think it applies to this job? I definitely messed up on this one last time I was interviewed and shouldn't have.

I'd also be expecting a what was the last good bit of theatre/what do you like type question - perhaps looking for a bit of interest/passion that will motivate you in the job.

BTW I've found that people who work in artsy bits of local authorities are generally really, really nice, especially in interviews, so don't get too nervous.

Re equal ops - it does vary. You could get asked a question along the lines of "within this post, give examples of how you have / would you expect to meet our equal opportunities policies"

Or "How would you implement our EO policies"

That kind of thing... depends on the position you are going for. In a theatre, the issues I can think of are mostly access based for the public or staffing position based. Perhaps there are some induction loop thing that is available (just stabbing in the dark here).

Obviously EOs are a minor part of any interview, if they crop up. Look at the EO policy and consider hte options people have given, but concentrate on researching the person/job spec as that is where most of the points are.

Have to say I would never ask such a basic EO question - I expect to put some thought into my interview questions, and that is fairly poor (IMO!). I would, if it was me, ask something like "how can we make our productions accessible to everyone" or what "challenges might you consider in appealing to hard to reach audiences" or something vaguely relevant! The only thing I would say is don't over prepare. In my experience that will make you even more nervous, and less likely to be yourself. I would recommend thinking about what what you would like to do if you got the job, what do you have to offer the theatre, and what is special about this theatre that makes you want to work there. There is nothing wrong with saying the hours and pay are good and suit you personally (that's always good to know about a candidate) but you need to flatter your interview panel a bit too! I would find out the sort of productions they usually have on, if any were particularly successful and why, and what drives them. So if their web-site/promotional stuff says they are dynamic and experimental, think of how you too can be dynamic and experimental, and make sure you say something positive about that approach. Interviews are generally about "will this person fit in here" and "do we like them" at least as much as "can this person do the job" - technically they shouldn't be interviewing you if they don't think you are competent, but sometimes the field isn't that great, and a few maybes are included, so you get some more probing can you do the job type questions thrown in. I don't expect it will be too much of an ordeal - they sound nice already. Good luck with it, and don't stress out too much!

Thanks again, this kind of advise really helps. I will have to prepare a bit as I can come up with lots of great replies to likely questions now but once I am in an interview I go a bit quite and it doesn't flow. I am not really that nervous once I am there I just get stuck with what to say. Then I get nervous .

I hadn't really thought about things like disabled access, which is quite relevant to this venue. I will read up on the latest legal obligations and what is mentioned on their site. I know what they have in place at the moment. Its a reallly traditional place so not particularly cutting edge, lots of touring productions and there own summer shows.

I never really go to plays or concerts as a punter I work at so many, but I do enjoy a good gig even if I am working. I feel quite confident about the amount of relevent experiance and the variety of work I have done, hopefully I can get this accross.

That was I go quiet not quite .

I'm sure you will be fine Skribble! I don't expect the interview will be too much of an ordeal, and once you get into your stride I expect you will say the right stuff - most people aren't quite themselves at interview, so the panel should make allowances so long as you don't say anything really stupid (have to say some people do say really daft things sometimes - I interviewed with two nurses once and one of our interviewees said some really derogatory things about "non-doctors" - needless to say he didn't get the job!)

Thanks Nooka, I hope i do get into my stride.

I am starting to worry now that if they offer me the job what to do if I get an interview for the other one too. Mind you it would be nice to be in the position of having 2 job offers to consider. I will certainly be back to consult MN on that one .

Well I had my interview today.

I think it went quite well, not to many silly answers. I managed to get accross that I knew what I was talking about, I had done research, I was interested, that I had looked at the web site, quoted a few of the latest productions etc. After a couple of initial stilted answers (and their questions) it started to flow better and got positivly chatty when the main man asked a few questions as he put it out is own personal curiosity about things I have done previously.

I managed to ask a few questions that again had the main man chatting away like a budgie. I would say 2 of the 3 definalty took to me the 3rd was very quiet and it was hard to tell what he thought (he had a cold aw!).

I think I was a late entry as the insider word was that they were interviewing last week and the informant thought they were all done, as I only got the call on Friday I think they hadn't found what they were looking for and turned to the "arrived a bit late as they had to post it from Spain on their holiday" pile.

Better get some management techniques books from the library in case I get the job .

Argh I now have a second interview to go through.

What is it all about what will they ask?

Can't they just put me out of my misery?