Interview Awareness: Pre-Interview - Essay Example

Interview Awareness: Pre-Interview AREAS TO CONSIDER 5 4 3 2 Planning and Preparation (Do you know where you’re going? Have you planned the route? Do you know whether you need to take any documentation? Do you have a contact number in case you’re running late/need to cancel? Do you have a pen and piece of paper if necessary) X Presentation (Are you presentable? Professional and smart? Dressing for the job and not for university? Do you have a smart suit/shirt/tie/skirt/ blouse/ shoes etc? Have you removed excessive/extravagant jewellery? Have you covered up any outstanding piercings/tattoos?) X Ice-breakers (How confident are you in meeting someone for the first time? Be prepared for questions aimed at putting you at ease i.e. How was your journey, finding the location etc?) X Understanding the question (Do you find it easy answering questions? How accurate are you in terms of actually answering the question and not digressing to something else?) X Answering questions (How structured are your answers normally? Do you know when to stop talking? Have you enough confidence to answer a question without any rehearsal before an interview?) X Competency-based questions (Do you know what you said on your application form? Have you prepared a list of examples to demonstrate competency in case you’re asked? Do your competency answers have structure – is there a beginning, middle and an end? Is the emphasis on you and not the team/group/others etc?) X Research (How much effort have you actually put in to finding out what the company does? What sector they are in? What their mission statement is? What their policies are? How are they performing? What are their main/most successful products/services?) X Knowing the job (Have you understood the job description/role? Do you know what it involves and the skills required? Do you meet the person spec or are there areas which you know you need to develop/work on?) X Academic (Are you able to explain your current programme/options/best pieces of work so far to a stranger with passion and academic confidence? Do you know your first year average and second year projected grades at an instant?) X Miscellaneous (Do you have a solid answer on why you want the job – especially with the company you’re being interviewed by? Do you know how the job will fit in with your career plans? Do you have passion and conviction about your choices?) X Asking questions (Have you prepared any questions to ask the interviewer in case you are given the opportunity? Will they enhance your interview or damage it? Are the questions an indication of your commitment and drive, or your greed and self-needs?) X Interview Awareness: post-interview (5 = Very high; 4 = Good; 3 = Average/Fair; 2 = Room for Improvement; 1 = Very Poor) AREAS TO CONSIDER 5 4 3 2 1 Planning and Preparation (Do you know where you’re going? Have you planned the route? Do you know whether you need to take any documentation? Do you have a contact number in case you’re running late/need to cancel? Do you have a pen and piece of paper if necessary) X Presentation (Are you presentable? Professional and smart? Dressing for the job and not for university? Do you have a smart suit/shirt/tie/skirt/ blouse/ shoes etc? Have you removed excessive/extravagant jewellery? Have you covered up any outstanding piercings/tattoos?) X Ice-breakers (How confident are you in meeting someone for the first time? Be prepared for questions aimed at putting you at ease i.e. How was your journey, finding the location etc?) X Understanding the question (Do you find it easy answering questions? How accurate are you in terms of actually answering the question and not digressing to something else?) X Answering questions (How structured are your answers normally? Do you know when to stop talking? Have you enough confidence to answer a question without any rehearsal before an interview?) X Competency-based questions (Do you know what you said on your application form? Have you prepared a list of examples to demonstrate competency in case you’re asked? Do your competency answers have structure – is there a beginning, middle and an end? Is the emphasis on you and not the team/group/others etc?) X Research (How much effort have you actually put in to finding out what the company does? What sector they are in? What their mission statement is? What their policies are? How are they performing? What are their main/most successful products/services?) X Knowing the job (Have you understood the job description/role? Do you know what it involves and the skills required? Do you meet the person spec or are there areas which you know you need to develop/work on?) X Academic (Are you able to explain your current programme/options/best pieces of work so far to a stranger with passion and academic confidence? Do you know your first year average and second year projected grades at an instant?) X Miscellaneous (Do you have a solid answer on why you want the job – especially with the company you’re being interviewed by? Do you know how the job will fit in with your career plans? Do you have passion and conviction about your choices?) X Asking questions (Have you prepared any questions to ask the interviewer in case you are given the opportunity? Will they enhance your interview or damage it? Are the questions an indication of your commitment and drive, or your greed and self-needs?) X Job Applicant While preparing to be a job applicant, I prepared myself by understanding more about the company and requirements. I made sure that I looked over all of the requirements for the HR description as well as what this would imply. I also went through two mock interviews that weren’t recorded, specifically so there was the ability to understand what could be asked and how to be prepared. By using my mental capacities and vision about what may happen, I was able to build my confidence level and feel prepared for the interview. More important, it felt as though I would be in charge of the interview, as opposed to having difficulties with the way in which the interview was conducted. When going to the interview, I focused on my presentation. Knowing that it was a mock interview didn’t allow me to be completely focused or to have a high confidence level. Since I knew the interviewer and observer, I believed it may have changed my mentality. However, I made sure to dress prepared and to be confident in my abilities as a job applicant so there was a sense of preparation. I prepared with material goods, such as a piece of paper and a list of questions, which helped in getting the right alternatives for the interview. I noticed that being prepared mentally and physically helped the interview to go faster and allowed me to feel confident through the different questions. While answering the questions, some of the confidence was lost. After answering some of the questions, there was a sense of incapacities in my mind that began to create a loss of confidence. There were some answers that I didn’t feel I answered right and some parts of the job description which I found that I was not clear about, specifically because it was in the field of HR. However, I tried to maintain the same level of confidence, despite how I answered the interview questions, so there wouldn’t be any question of my capabilities by the individual interviewing me. After the interview, there were several points that I began to look into with how I answered the question. There was the wish to go back and re-work some of the questions to answer it in a friendlier and more conducive manner. There was also the desire to re-work some of the questions that I asked in return. While I had prepared for some of these, there was a feeling of anxiety with not asking the right questions or not having a complete grasp on what was expected when working for the company. While there is some certainty with what was asked and answered, there is also an implication that some of the answers and questions could have been asked with more confidence and in a way that would be more communicative. A question that I used when I was going through the interview was related to my dissertation, which questioned the ethics about Nike. I felt as though this was important in demonstrating my own ethical considerations while believing that the business I work for should have this sense of responsibility. The questions I asked in relation to this were based on how this topic would fit into the general job description given. Since the job was for an HR manager, I felt that this would be even more important as the individual is responsible as a liason between employees and higher managers. However, after relating to this topic, there was a question of whether I demonstrated the information correctly and whether it may have been offensive to those that were looking at my mannerisms or ideas with this specific question, specifically because it related to ethics. Interviewer As the interviewer, I made sure that there was a continuous flow through the questions which were asked. Before starting the interview, I went over the job description and prepared a set of questions that would be asked to the individual which was interviewed. I revised these so they flowed in the correct manner and so the individual being interviewed would be able to answer them in a simplistic manner while making the correct connections between questions. When going through the interview, these sets of questions and the approach which I used made it easier to ask the questions and instead to focus on how the interviewee was responding to the questions. While interviewing the individual, I noticed that there wasn’t a focus on what I believed would be the main points. When being interviewed, I was focused on the wording, how I asked the questions and what I expected as a response. However, when interviewing the other individual, I found that it wasn’t the answer to the questions that was the most important. The language that was used and the presentation of the persons resume were important; however, it wasn’t what I found myself paying the most attention to. Instead, there was a focus on body language and confidence levels among the individual. The understanding of the job description created an understanding that these concepts would provide a better role for the individual taking the job. When interviewing the individual, I expected the answers to be applied in a way that showed confidence that the individual had. This would imply that they were capable of carrying through with duties. I also looked at body language and interactions as well as the way in which the individual related to me. The observation that I used from this standpoint was specifically because of my knowledge that the individual would have to work as a leader and work within a team. These basic concepts were more important than the amount of experience or education that the individual had. Since I was already aware of where the interviewee was from and what their goals were, this wasn’t a concern. The presentation and the way in which it was communicated from different viewpoints was more of my interest as it would lead to the right fit for the job. When looking at elements of the speech, it was not specific answers that I focused on. If there were any gaps, such as saying “um” or creating a feeling that the interviewee wasn’t sure, than I noted this in my mind. I then was able to formulate an understanding that either the interviewee wasn’t going to pay attention or wouldn’t fit in a specific area of the job. The confidence level with each of the questions and the way in which this was communicated became the most important element of the interview, as opposed to having knowledge related to what one believed about their communication skills, education and other personal and professional characteristics. Observer When observing the interview, there was the same understanding that the confidence level made the complete difference in how one was able to create the right connection to the individual that was interviewing both. I found during my observation that the information that was asked and responded to was based on the ability for each of the individuals to communicate with each other correctly and with the option of creating a relationship. If either the individual interviewing or the interviewee didn’t have the right connection or ability to respond to the relationship, then there was an ineffective response. The first way in which this was observed was through the interviewer. The body language, eye contact, tone of the voice and interest in the job description became important. It allowed the interviewee to respond in a specific manner and to work with the interviewer in understanding the job description while building confidence. If the information wasn’t communicated through the several levels, then the interviewee didn’t have the capability of responding in the right manner. The confidence level would go down or the response given would seem incomplete. The body language and presentation from the interviewer then made a difference on how the interviewee responded. The interviewer was not only important with communication but also general preparation. Having the information written down before the interview, writing down notes during the process and being aware of how the interviewee responded showed whether the individual had confidence in what they were interested in. If the notes were written and the body language changed with the interviewee, then it could be suspected that the questions or the information weren’t guided by confidence or the belief that the interviewee could do the job. The same relationship building was noted with the interviewee. If the interaction occurring between the two had a sense of miscommunication, then it changed the responses. From this perspective, there was a set of reactions that were based on acting and reacting between the two individuals. This began with the interviewer, which set the tone, and set a response by the interviewee. While this was a response, the interviewee also set the tone for the next question. If the confidence level was low with one question, for instance, then the interviewee would respond with slight disinterest or wouldn’t take note of the communication. The interview became a play on relationships, communication and the way in which each of the individuals responded to each other. The questions which were asked became secondary and the interaction, confidence levels and interest in the relationship became the primary objective between the two individuals. Read More