Yikes! I've got an interview! Any last minute tips?

[buggerthebotox]

I haven't had a "proper" interview for yonks. I'm surprised to have made the shortlist for this job tbh but....cripes.

Panicking! Any last minute tips? I've got my outfit sorted at least, so practical stuff ok: what kind of questions should I expect?

What's it for?

Good luck!

It's a project officer-type job. I think I'm easily capable of doing it and I have experience in this type of role. But I'm ancient, and I've had a career break. I don't know what to expect, and I'm nervous.

Take the job spec and build your questions from that. E.g. Good communicator = "Can you tell us about a time you communicated well to achieve an outcome?"

Thanks. That's the kind of thing I was thinking.

Write down the questions you'd ask if you were interviewing. Think about your answers. If they don't get asked sone of these questions could be ones you ask the interviewers. Brain storm the experience you've got and examples you'd like to share. Good luck!

List the competencies required in the job spec, and try to come up with at least two examples where you've displayed each competency. Frame them in the STAR model (situation, task, action, result) and this should give you a pool of solid answers to possible questions.

Great advice! Thanks.

And best of luck - let us know how you get on!

Very important to ask questions at the end of the interview, when the interviewers ask "do you have any questions for us?". This is so even if they had already answered all your questions in the course of the interview. Therefore, keep some up your sleeve.

Possible questions: what are the qualities you are looking for in a person that would be successful in the role. What tasks should this person focus on when they start in order to hit the ground running.

You say you had a career break and are ancient. If the people interviewing are junior-ish and they might possibly think you are over-qualified, I would downplay the ambition or seniority thing. If they ask where you see yourself in 5 years or what career progression you expect, just say you are ambitious to do a good job in the role and to fit into the team. You see growth not in terms of promotions (vertical) but more importantly, gaining more experience in the role and sector (horizontal). If there is any issue that you are over-qualified, you will need to build into the interview why you really want this job and will want to stay (i.e. not skip off the minute something better comes along that is more to your level).

Prep for the question, could you walk me through your CV? It will almost invariably be one of the first questions, so if you have rehearsed it, it gives you a chance to calm your nerves and get into the flow of the interview.

Keep it short, to 5 mins. You would want to mention your career break and quickly explain why you are now ready to gear back up.

As regards giving examples of competencies, try to stay out of domestic-mum-type transferable skills. Since you have experience in this field, focus on that. It does not matter it was years ago.

Brilliant! I think I can handle most of that. I like the questions.

I'm up early, prepping.

Good luck , remember to say I not "we" when asking questions. So things like " I decided it needed to be done" not we decided... you may feel a bit braggy, but this is the time to sing your trumpet a bit!

Good luck.

Must remember 'I'. I find it hard to be braggy .

Be friendly to the receptionist and all the persons you meet at the company before the interview. They can sometimes put in a good word for you. Our receptionists usually do not say anything but occasionally drop that a certain interviewee seems very nice. For some reason, those candidates usually work out if hired.

Also, don't bad mouth any ex-boss/colleagues or any company. I am sure you already know this. It could be the real reason but if possible find something else to say.

Good luck. Wishing you good vibes.

Thanks for all your good advice. It was terrible. I had a task to do on an IT package which I had never used.

I flunked that, but the Panel encouraged me to stay on for the interview.

Doubt very much I'll get it though.

Sorry to hear it didn't go so well with the task. The Panel must have thought it was still worth interviewing you, though, so don't give up hope. To me, that indicates that you must have put in a strong application and CV.

Thanks asmoto. I felt a right chump, though.

Back to the drawing board!

Sorry to hear that the task was very challenging. Just to remind you, that showing someone how to use a particular package is much east than finding people with the right attitude and experience. Glad you stayed on for the interview, hope they recognise your good qualities. All the best

OP, sorry about being thrown by the task. I agree with Finally that attitude and ability to learn and adapt is more important, particularly for senior jobs, than ability to do tasks.

Glad you stayed on. Shows resilience to the panel. Good luck with it. It is not over yet.

Thanks. I feel a bit better now. I'm going to learn from this, and move on!

Ah I had an interview today and flunked the task too! It feeels so shit.
Don't even know what happened- just looked at the sheet and froze!

Aw pepsi.

I've just had confirmation of mine. Needless to say I didn't get it but they said some really nice things, so the interview itself wasn't so bad after all. It's given me confidence.

Fingers crossed for Pepsi. Have a and chiiiiiiillllll.........

I'm glad you got some good feedback, and you can now have confidence in your CV/application information because it got you an interview even though you didn't complete the task. Fingers crossed for next time! Have a lovely weekend

Sorry to hear it didn't go well. But I think it's great practice, and it just means you will be great at your next interview!
Hang in there