For those of you who have interviewed people. What do you look for in a candidate?

This might seem obvious - but put your phone away (not just down in plain sight of the interviewers).

A friend was interviewing 4 separate people for a job recently, and told me that with two of them the fact that they couldn't leave their phones alone, meant that they didn't get the job.

Also, do you ask for feedback after an interview?

Good luck.

This may sound obvious but you have to dress appropriately too and do your homework. You need to know what the job entails and be prepared to show that.

Did anyone see the TV programme called (I think) The Interview?

Jess interviews for teaching posts, especially senior ones, are the worst. Too many in one side of the 'table' and many of them without a clue. My first paragraph could equally apply to them too!

I have a very smart interview outfit and I'm slim and tall. I think first impressions are good. But I look younger than I am and that may be an issue sometimes.

I'd never even touch my phone before or after an interview. What were they thinking!

I do lots of research.

The feedback I get is I was exceptional but there was one stronger candidate.

Or I gave detailed answers but didn't prove my competency.

Or that I was nervous.

Or that I was very confident but someone had a specific experience I didn't have.

Feedback has always been completely contradictory with no patterns for me to work on.

What I do is make a note of all questions I didn't know or could improve on and research them.

I don't shake hands with the interviewers as I come in though. But I do smile. I'm naturally happy anyway. Maybe I need to shake their hand and introduce myself.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Im getting better with each interview I do.

only27 allocating only one person to interview is not a sign that an organisation takes recruitment seriously. Some people spend more time choosing a company car than they do preparing for and conducting interviews.
Good signs: if they have a professional looking job description and person spec, if the arrangements for the interview are good, if the interviewers are professional and respectful.
Are you using agencies to help you get work? If you can find one or two good ones they can be very helpful.

I watched 'The interview'. I found it really helpful. Interesting to see where people went wrong. The best was the woman who kept complimenting the interviewer!! ?

I'm going for permanent jobs. I've found agencies hopeless.

For me there has to be a good fit with the JD and the person specification but I also want to see humour, emotional intelligence and resilience.

Definitely yes to shaking their hand.
And a firm handshake, not a limp one.

Can I ask how long you have been looking for a job?
And how many interviews you have had?
And might you be underqualified or overqualified?

There ought to be at least two people on the interview panel IMO, especially in a professional setting.

Only27 I'm getting the impression you're getting lots of interviews (well done on being short-listed) but have not yet got a full-time offer of work. Don't let this get you down, it happens. Keep on working at it. Yes, shake hands, I always did, unless there are so many on the interview panel that it would be ridiculous, and smile. Don't sit grinning like a Cheshire Cat of course.

We expect candidates to be nervous, in fact an over-confident candidate can be a put-off.

Give yourself time to consider the reply to a question, don't just jump in and hope the answer will come to you. Keep your answers succinct and to the point. Don't waffle on, but give enough information to show you know your stuff and include one or two concrete examples.

Address your answer chiefly to the person who asked the question, but also look,at the other interviewers and watch their reactions. You might see one of them smile or nod if you make a good point. If so, give that persons a small smile of acknowledgement.

You are, I think, looking for your first FT SW job? So emphasise your enthusiasm (don't over do it) and your willingness to learn, and to undertake any further training they wish you to.

There's always that final question such as 'is there anything you wish to ask us about this position' that's a good time to ask if there will any further on-going training opportunities. Believe me, professional organisations like their staff to be up to date and willing to go on courses.

If you're keen enough, and keep on applying, you will get a FT position in the end. But in the meantime use any temporary posts to gain experience and make contacts.

PS ask an honest, older friend to give an opinion on your interview outfit, your hair and your make up.

I've been looking for a job for 10 months. I have had 5 interviews. I have completed 10 application forms.

I've been invited to interview 10 times but annoyingly only 5 were ones I could attend and I have to turn down the others.

First interview should have been perfect for me but I was a lamb to the slaughter. It was awful. I may have been a bit hard on myself as they did take some time afterwards asking additional questions about myself. I got the call saying I'd been unsuccessful and that while my answers were very detailed, others had proved their competency more. I was devastated and had spent way too much mental energy on the job. Not applying for any others while preparing for the interview.

Second interview I made a really big effort to never experience that again and I walked in like I owned the place. They checked references straight after my interview and when the manager rejected me she told me if there had been two jobs I would have certainly got one and that my confidence, enthusiasm and knowledge was exceptional. The only reason I didn't get the job was because another canididate had experience of a specific assessment I didn't have.

Third interview I might as well not have turned up. It wasn't awful but there's were two major questions i just didn't know and it just didn't seem to go anywhere. None of the interviewers seemed remotely interested and my questions at the end were met with little enthusiasm. I got told the next day I hadn't got the job. But to be fair, deep down o wasn't sure on the job. So I think that probably showed.

Fourth interview went really well. I was confident but didn't get the job. Called and told that I was very confident but another candidate had slightly more experience.

Fifth interview I fell to pieces and although I really wanted the job, I just felt like they'd decided as soon as I sat down not to give me that job. I tried to engage in conversation and show my interest but it wasn't going anywhere. Feedback was that I was very nervous. Weirdly I didn't actually think I was that nervous. I'd got a bit more used to interviews and was feeling confident. Although I'm always slightly nervous for interviews.

So this will be my sixth one. I will always get interviews. My experience is exceptional for a newly qualified and I have two excellent references.

I just need to be the best out of those interviewing. I have no doubts that I'm an excellent social worker. I just can't seem to show that in interview.

Prior to looking for work as a social worker, I had never been to a job interview and not got the job. Or interviewed for anything. I applied for 10
Different universities in my time and got offers from every single one after interview.

It's competency ones I can't do.

I once interviewed youth workers for my team. One women came in sat down in my tiny office, lent back and knocked the pot plant out of the open window, she jumped up and looked down into the street and said 'no, didn't hit anyone' and I just knew she had the job. She had speed of thinking and dealing with something that would, and did, come in handy. She was fabulous.

Another candidate when asked why she was leaving her current job said 'my boss is always in the pub'........our team had just come back from the pub and we thought she'd be a misery guts.

Somehow in that line of work it was the vibe of the person I suppose, they chimed with the rest of the team or not. Back then we generally found that the highest qulified were the least use in front line youth services, probably still the same I would think.

Many jobs are, more about who you are as person, than what you learn in Uni, especially now that universities want bums on seats and eduction is just another consumerable, those that can afford it, buy it. I know several young people with degress who could not 'cut the mustard' in their chosen professions just because of who they are.

Someone who has done some homework on the company and is ready with answers for standard questions has a head start. Interesting hobbies, if genuine, also good.

I always used to go through their CV with a fine toothcomb to see if dates tied up, and no unexplained gaps in their history. Finding any would not exclude them from interview but they would be discussed in detail at the time.

Someone who would fit in with current team most important.

I always enjoyed good eye contact. How a candidate's hands 'behaved' . The answer to my question 'what do you consider to be your weaknesses?'

I was a children's services manager for a long time so have lost count of the number of social workers that I've interviewed. Most LAs will interview every applicant who's got the qualification. This can mean days of interviewing at a time and so can be quite dispiriting for the interviewers too. The range of candidates experience can be wide but most teams want a balance. Personally I always quite liked getting newly qualified workers because I enjoyed seeing them learn and develop. However, I know some managers were less keen and always tried to go for more experienced workers. Most LAs will use set questions and a scoring system. To score highly, I suggest you need to know the information but also need to show in your answers how you've put that into practice, and what your transferable skills are for areas where you may have less direct experience. If you're not already working, then doing some agency work would probably be helpful. Good luck

Well that is quite a mixture Only27 but be kind to yourself and keep going. I don't know where you live and how many vacancies there are in your chosen area. Could you apply for a job in a charity and do that for a year to gain experience?
(And I guess agencies may not be great for your field but are essential for office work)

Blimey Only27, how many interviews do you attend? Sounds like you're always going to one.
Hope you get a job at the end of it all.

Sorry Only27, just seen your very detailed post about all of your interviews. Good luck.

I'm going to introduce a slightly lighter touch - when interviewing for new assistants in my business where we worked mostly in my home office, I always had my cocker spaniel in with us. If he stayed under my table I knew that, if everything else was OK, then that candidate was a possibility. But if he got up and went to the other side of the office until they left then they had no chance. And he was always right! I ignored his indicating at first and she didn't last long as she soon started telling me how to do the work!
But I did also give all candidates written work to do and their attitude to people was very important which I guess is what some of you refer to as the culture of the busindss/company.

It's a shame because I'm great at the job. Very competent. I know people who always excel at interviews but are horrendous at the job. I also know many people who are dreadful at interviews and great at the job. I don't think it has much reflection who actually competency.

I also have much better grammar and spelling than I show on here. I'm writing from a tiny,broken iPhone!

Many years ago I applied for a head of music position. At my interview, a governor of the school asked me if I could read music. I had to ask her whether she read CVs. No, I didn't get the job!

During my time as a Practice Manager, I was responsible for hiring numbers of admin and secretarial staff. I would also sit in with the partners when they were interviewing more senior staff. My main criteria was always to find a candidate who could hit the ground running in terms of relevant experience, but who, like others have said, would fit into the existing team. I agree with JessM "^Also try to manage your body language. Turn up looking suitable for the role your applying for. Clean and shiny from top to toe. Shake hands firmly Sit up straight, smile at the interviewers and try to appear energetic and cheerful^". Eye contact was always very important with me. It surprised me how many people stared at their laps or looked elsewhere while we were talking. Try to know something about the company you are working for before you go to the interview. We were a niche market company, so it was usually very little apart from the basics, but at least you knew they'd taken the trouble to look us up! I only made one error of judgement - a lady I interviewed twice, who seemed very pleasant and was obviously competent to the role. I took up references with her current employer - a bank- and they were fulsome in their praise of her. She was offered the job and from the word go, turned out to be a complete nightmare but none of us could have seen it coming. I think the bank, too, were anxious to get rid of her! You live and learn.

I havent got time to read your post properly right now.

But one thing that stands out to me is 5 interviews that you did not attend out of 10.

That seems awfully high?

I always think that if a person keeps getting to interview, there is not much wrong with their cv and qualifications. Else you wouldnt be shortlisted in the first place.

Most LAs will interview every applicant who's got the qualification.
That seems rather time-consuming.
We always did a sift first because there could be 200 candidates, all qualified and some over-qualified, for a couple of jobs.