How to flesh out your initial answers in a job interview
Q: I did a job interview last week and one of the things that surprised me was the extent to which they cross-examined me after my answers. Every time I gave an answer, they had at least one follow up question – e.g., how I felt I did in the scenario, what I learned from […]
Bring ‘them’ into your interview answers – ‘they’ will value it
We now come to the fifth and final article in our series on the START method. To recap, START is a storytelling method you can use in competency-based job interviews. It stands for Situation, Task, Action(s), Result(s) and Them. STAR has been an industry standard for years. The Them part at the end is our […]
Show results of your workplace contribution in job interviews
Continuing our series on the START method used in job interviews, this week we come to Results. As you will know from the previous columns, START stands for Situation, Task, Action(s), Result(s) and Them. The START method is a storytelling format to allow you perform better in competency-based job interviews. In Situation, you let the […]
Actions you took are at the heart of the START method
This is the third in our series of five columns explaining the START answering method that candidates find useful in competency-based job interviews. Typical competency-based questions start with ‘tell me about a time when you [were asked to lead an under-performing team / established a new process, etc.] …’ or ‘outline when you made a […]
How to let the interview panel see the significance of your career stories
In this column, we continue our series breaking down the START answering method that will stand to you in one of the most common type of interviews, namely the competency-based interview. In the first column in the series, we explained how START stands for the five key steps of an answer – Situation, Task, Action, […]
How to break down competency-based interviews into manageable steps
Q: Of late I’ve been hearing a lot about competency-based interviews. Indeed, you have referred to them on a few occasions. I hadn’t done gone for a new job for years until this summer and the whole interview world has changed. All tips would be appreciated. (FG, email). A: Yes, there has been a huge […]
Why hand movements can be your interview friend
Q: Every time I go to an interview, I am conscious of the fact that I move my hands far too much when speaking. Face to face it doesn’t appear too bad, but in online interviews it looks crazy. I can see myself in the screen gesticulating and waving like a mad thing, going like […]
How to deal with a rapid-fire job interview
This week, we go over and back by email with a reader who submitted a query – you may find the exchange useful if you have a job interview in the offing. Hopefully you won’t run into a similar scenario. ER (by email): The interview I did last week felt more like a rapid-fire quiz […]
How to get the best results in a job interview
Q: It was a very unusual job interview, I felt. Every time I told a story in response to a question, they pushed me to elaborate more on the result of the story. I didn’t really know what to say. A story is a story. I told them what I did and gave a general […]
Why does our voice sound different when it is recorded?
What makes a recording of our voice sound so different… and awful? It’s because when you speak you hear your own voice in two different ways. Greg Foot of the BBC explains all.