Face-to-face or Zoom interview – which is better?
Q: Now that COVID-19 restrictions are fast vanishing, what would your preference be for interviews in the long If you were called for one tomorrow, would you prefer to go face-to-face in a room or take the Zoom option, if offered? I have seen some cases lately where both options were made available. As I […]
Unexpected promotion opportunity may just be too soon
Q: This might strike you as an unusual scenario. An unexpected promotional opportunity has certainly taken me by surprise. Just two months ago I started a new role and I’m only finding my feet. However, the company is expanding rapidly, and our department comprises an experienced manager and five of us who have joined the […]
Interview panel really put me through my paces
Q: I did the second interview for a company last week. The interview panel asked me to deliver a presentation on my ideas for the role. It was tricky because I don’t work in the company and the sector is complex. I gave it my best shot but was taken aback when they cross examined […]
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 […]
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 […]