Back to the office after 15 years... Advice please :)

[Emsy999]

Hello all,

I have an interview tomorrow for a finance role which is PT. I haven't worked in the office for over 15 years so I'd imagine it has changed quite a bit.

The lady who is leaving is retiring and she currently works Monday - Wednesday. Most of the finance team work from home and the job that I'm going for is listed as can either work in the office or fully from home. The role is 30 minutes drive from my house so of course I would prefer to work from home to cut out traveling time and costs. Seeing as the current lady is working in the office do you think this would go against me? The job is offered as a work from home option.

Any advice for the interview please? What sort of questions do interviewers ask these days? Still strengths/weaknesses etc or is that all old hat?
Any advice as to what they would like to hear would be a great help!
Starting to get nervous now :)

If they are offering it as being able to wfh then I don't see how they can hold it against you if this is what you want. Presumably you would be able to work in the office occasionally too or is it all or nothing?

I recently had some what I thought was good advice for an interview. You need think of 3 scenarios - one where you solved a problem - what the problem was and how you solved it; one where you didn't know what to do and how you reacted (presumably pick something where you ended up solving the problem but needed some help, to show you can do teamwork and all that, and one where something went badly (I know!) but what you did to rectify it or make sure it didn't happen again.
You might not need any of them but it is useful to have them in your mind.

Also, at the end of the interview you should ask something like 'Are there any reasons why you think I might not be suitable for this job, and could I address them before I go?' which takes some nerve, but, if they say yes, it gives you the chance to expand on something you said previously or refer to some experience that addresses the reason. If they say no, then they should be offering you the job!

Don't forget that you are interviewing them too. I've had interviews where I've realised the job is not for me.

Good luck!

If you haven't worked for 15 years, I would suggest that you plan to be in the office a lot to begin with as you will be able to pick more stuff up by osmosis than working remotely (though not as much from before).

Show some awareness and understanding of things that have changed since you were last in work and the need for a learning plan when you start in role to get up to speed.

There will be some things you can brush up on yourself- eg how to use MS teams or slack or whatever messaging software the company uses. Good practices for building and managing relationships remotely.

Other things you will need your employer's help with.

What do you know about the company and its values and strategy? You will want to demonstrate how you are a candidate that aligns well with that.

Thank you for your reply and advice.

Yes, I understand that I will have to carry out various tasks within the office and go in for meetings possibly once a week/a couple of times a month which is not a problem at all.

I will have a think about the 3 scenarios :)

And the last point about asking them if you're suitable for the role in interesting as well. Never thought of that before!

Thank you for your reply!

I have been working during the past 15 years but it's been in private household (housekeeper/nanny for rich, demanding families) 😆 so completely different to a finance role in an office.

My sister has worked for the company for over 30 years so I know quite a bit about it and I did work experience there back in 99. I'm going these help me but of course I realise I need to be able to do the job as well (which I know I can).

Its just I think accounts has changed so much in the last 15 years.

You need to get up to speed on tech as so much has changed in the last few years - Microsoft, Teams etc and it’s easier doing this by working in the office so I would go in as much as you can.

We ask questions on the following:

How do you handle conflicts/queries/problems
How do you handle your workload/deadlines/(prioritisation)
What do you do to prevent, detect and correct errors (working accurately)
Examples of working through a process or improving or designing a process
Depending on the role, technical questions about VAT, management accounts, analysis, tax, budgets, cashflow, audit or systems/IT/spreadsheet questions.
Questions about working with colleagues/outsourced providers/customers/suppliers
Building relationships
Ways of working
Communication skills (editing to add this one)

Obviously the exact mix depends on the level of the role.

If you can say what kind of finance role, it might help with tips. I'd think of examples of attention to detail, being methodical, how you have persuaded someone, accuracy, ability to follow instructions, willingness to learn, ability to pick up different computer systems, efficiency. Excel is used a lot where I work. We test for that. Also ability to take percentages (it's surprising how many can't).

We were recently recruiting finance roles.

We test either excel or analysis skills or both. We have seen one or two candidates fail to apply basic maths (addiction, subtraction and percentages). I thought we were just unlucky but maybe we weren't!

The question I always end on, which always goes down well, is ‘what is your ideal candidate for this role?’… And when they describe that person, summarise briefly how that is you because x,y,z etc recapping your attributes that make you the best person for the role..

Good luck with the interview 🤞

You should attend the office at first i’d say, as you don’t learn a lot sitting in a bedroom at home. When you’re established in the role, either wfh or do one day per week in the office. Personally I am so over wfh so happy to attend the office, much better for my mental health / physical health (moving more etc).