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

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

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.

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)

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

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?'

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 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.

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.

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

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.

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?

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.

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

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!! ?

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 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.

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!

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.

If an interviewer looks at their watch mid way, I would say they are bored.

In some interviews, the interviewer can already have decided which person they are interviewing is their preferred candidate. The rest is about going through the motions.

This happens often in my opinion.

Over my working life I sat on a variety of selection panels and believe the most important attribute for an interviewee is that they are genuine. Nothing is more off-putting than someone who is trying to be something they are not and giving what they believe are the answers we want to hear. The hardest part, from an interviewers point of view, is when you have two or more excellent candidates and only one job available.

As to 'tick the box' interviewing, I was twice involved in interviews where none of the panel took to the highest scoring candidate. In both cases this was because they presented as overbearing know it alls. The first time we were only using a template borrowed from another organisation as an experiment, so we were able to add an additional 'Like-ability' category to the scoring which enabled us to appoint the previously second placed candidate who turned out to be perfect for the job. On the second occasion we were interviewing for a Local Authority funded post and had therefore no choice but to appoint the highest scoring candidate. This was for a 3 year Project Co-ordinator Post - she did remain for the whole three years but failed to engage meaningfully with the other agencies, or complete the work within the time scale. However representatives of the various agencies involved banded together and completed the Project successfully (and quickly) on an unpaid basis such that the time and public money was not entirely wasted.

They may need someone who has the ability to act calmly and instantly to unusual situations so questions could be unusual and not the type of routine questions often asked at interviews - they could be watching to see if you get flustered.

On the other hand, if you need someone to stick very strictly to the rules and not deviate from a prescribed course of action then a couple of questions which would tell you how they would carry out a certain task would indicate whether they would adhere to the rules or take chances (which could be a disaster in certain jobs).

Thanks JessM.

I think how friendly the interviewers are has a massive impact on me. If they're warm and friendly I will do well as I will feel at ease quickly.

But most have been very cold and rude, even looking at their watch mid way! And that makes me very nervous and affects my performance.

Where I'm only interviewed by one person I've NEVER not got the job/course place/internship.

Only27 I've interviewed alongside a large number of managers. Some of them are good at interviewing. They Know how to set a candidate at ease, they know what questions help candidates to do their best and they treat everyone equally.
Unfortunately there are lots of hopeless, clueless, inept people out there who do just the opposite. It's not you. They are useless interviewers.
I think my particular favourite is the guy who veered off our list of carefully planned questions by chirping up, at the start of the interview "You say on your application that you have good attention to detail, but there are grammatical and spelling mistakes in your application. What have you got to say about that?"
Sometimes they are prejudiced. I once had a boss who was prejudiced against women who did not wear makeup - and people who did not polish their shoes And sometimes they have a favourite candidate lined up.
I remember years ago, when I was working in the health service a friend/colleague went for an interview as head of HR in a hospital. She was the best candidate but she didn't get the job. She felt she'd 'done a bad interview" The woman who did had a background in catering and my friend felt better when it transpired that the successful applicant had been having an affair with the boss of the hospital.
IT'S NOT YOU!
However some people are skilled at being interviewed if you are going to lots of interviews, treat each one as practice at improving your skills at being interviewed.
Look at the Person Specification and think of an example of how you meet each of the criteria
e.g. If one said "able to work on own initiative" think of an example (or make one up) and find an opportunity to talk about it during the interview.
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.
Finally, remember that you don't want to work for an organisation that does not take the trouble to recruit carefully and respectfully. They've got to like you, and you've got to like them. So if they are useless interviewers shrug off the experience because you didn't want to work for them anyway, did you.
Good luck

When I talk of cultural fit I don't mean ethnicity I mean tge culture of the organisation.

For instance financial institutions culture is very different from a high tech organisation or even a not for profit.

Would you refuse to interview someone if they had a foreign sounding name? People can be arrested for that.