INTERVIEWING

JOB INTERVIEWS

• Interviewing can be uncomfortable but,

• You can control your preparation and reactions.
• Interviewers generally know their decision in the first 5 minutes.
• What is your role as the interviewee?
• Build credibility and sell yourself
• Have a clear understanding of your strengths and accomplishments- use the most relevant
to particular interview/company.
BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW

• Most common and is based on the premise that past behavior is the best
predictor of future performance.
• Common questions:
• Tell me about a time you were a member of a team. What was your role? What did the
team accomplish?
• Give me an example of a situation where you had conflict with another employee in a
work situation. How did you handle it?
• Describe a situation where you managed people to accomplish a task.
HOW DO I ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
• STAR method
• S: stands for Situation
• Explain the background and the situation you found yourself in.
• T: stands for Task
• Explain, specifically, what you had to accomplish, overcome, or solve.
• A: stands for Actions
• Explain what you did and why you did what you did to accomplish what you accomplished.
• R: stands for Results
• Explain the results of your actions. Did you solve it? Did it save or make money? Did it improve
a process, a relationship, etc.?
• What was the value you added??
EXAMPLE:

• Q: Tell me about a time that you were a member of a team. What was
your role? What did the team accomplish?
• S: In my Business Communications class we were put into teams to work on
improving a companies ranking on “Best Companies to Work for” list.
• T: My role in this team was organizing who completed what research,
reviewing all completed work to ensure proper grammar and punctuation was
used and I also had the role of communicating with the professor.
• A: I met with my professor during her office hours every week to ensure
everyone’s work was adequate and our format was good. Additionally, I led
meetings with my group to make sure everyone was on the same page.
• R: Our finalized project resulted in an A and we received the highest grade in
the class. Our professor also mentioned that our presentation was the best
she’s ever seen.
INTERVIEWING TIPS

DO’S DON’TS
• Business attire • Turn off your phone, put it away.
• Maintain eye contact • Don’t interrupt the interviewer.
• Firm handshake • Arrive late
• Practice good listening skills- take time to • Fidget with pens, clothes, or hair.
make sure you understand the question.
• Ask the interviewer questions- write down their
responses.
• Be thorough but concise.
TELEPHONE SCREENING:
• You may get a phone or skype
interview before a face-to-face
interview.
• Good because you can have
questions/answers to look at.
• Purpose is to screen out applicants.
UNCOMFY INTERVIEWS :
• If the interviewer has lost interest, ask a
question.
• “What do you look for in ideal
candidates?”
• What if I don’t have an answer to a
question?
• If you truly do not have an experience
related to the question, talk about what
you would do if such a thing happened.
• Stumped?
• Ask interviewer to repeat the question. If
you still don’t know just tell the
interviewer you don’t have an answer.
PREPARING

• Practice with a mock interview

• Do your research on the company/position you’re applying for
• Have questions ready for the interviewer
QUESTIONS?

MUNSON, F., STERN, J., AND WILLIS, J. (2016). GETTING THE RIGHT JOB. SOUTHLAKE, TX.