Interview questions

[CaffeinateMeQuick]

Has anyone had an interview for a PA role recently? Could you give me a flavour of the type of questions asked?

Why have you applied for the role?
What experience do you have that makes you suitable for the job? What relevant skills and personal qualities do you have that will benefit the job? What do you know about our company/organisation? What strengths and weaknesses in relation to the role do you have? What are your development needs relevant to the role? How do you prioritise - what factors do you take into account / how do you deal with competing demands / conflicting deadlines? Why did you apply for the job?

Thank you.

Hi @LadyLolaRuben. All of the above plus, “How would you deal with a difficult colleague or client?” “Is there anything that you have accomplished within your working role or outside work, that you are particularly proud of?” I’ve had those two during my last two interviews during the last three months. The good news is, I was offered both roles! Also, be prepared for the possibility that your second interview could consist of of some kind of skills test which could be as simple as typing/formatting, spelling and grammar or something more demanding including Excel (not my particular forte but they usually keep it simple) and/or advanced Outlook processes (that one absolutely floored me during one interview and I’ve used Outlook for decades but clearly not to its full potential! 😳). Good luck, OP! 😊

Thanks @NewbiePoster I was expecting all of the above so it's good see things haven't changed much over the years. This'll be my first interview since 2011 and it's been almost 20 years since my last PA role so I'm feeling a bit rusty.

You’re very welcome @CaffeinateMeQuick and please accept my apologies for the incorrect tag in my response! You’ll be absolutely fine. You’ve already anticipated correctly so you’ll know exactly what to expect. If it helps, I left a role in 2018 that I’d been in for almost 27 years. I’d not had an interview in all that time and landed the first role I interviewed for and that was a three interview process! Turned out to be hell on earth and I ran screaming for the hills but it got me out of a stagnant situation, proved I was still viable and not “institutionalised” after all those decades and proved that I absolutely could change sectors and learn new things. Go for it, @CaffeinateMeQuick and I’m wishing you the very best of luck. You can do it!