Job interview

Are they still doing competence based interviewing now? My last employer was in to this. They had a list of different competences; staff management, initiative, thinking on your feet etc and would tell you the key ones for any particular jobs. You then had a chance to sieve through your career to find occasions where you did things that showed your skill in this particular competence.

Even if this is not being done formally it is always worth reading through the advert/job description and looking for the specific requirements the employer is asking for and then make sure that for each requirement you can think of an occasion when you have demonstarted those skills. Write them down and put them in that document folder Phoenix suggests you take.

there are few suggestions that i would also like to give while giving an interview. first is that never become nervous or tense during an interview. just listen the question first and then answer it in the most appropriate way. it will be better if you have a little smile on your face during the whole interview. be specific to your answers. www.mindmappingsite.com/sw-tool-reviews/software-reviews

crimson yes, indeed they are! But it generally seems to be the younger ones. (NB, define "younger", I once received a request for a quote from a titled potential client that wasn't exactly clear, googled, looked at Facebook, found a photo entitled "me in the garden smoking an enormous spliff" we did eventually do some work for him, but that ^^ stuck in my mind!

Crikey; are people really daft enough to put that on Facebook? Mind you, as someone that has to use a computer a lot at work my employer would probably be impressed if I could use Facebook .

I would also like to use this thread to point out something that I have mentioned before on other threads. It will no doubt not apply to other members, but you may want to share with your children or grandchildren.

Warning, I am about to put this in bold, shouty capitals!

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PUT ON FACEBOOK OR OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA SITES!

When a member of staff at my last work place was given the task of going through the applicants for a position, she would first look at their Facebook page, if they had one. You would be surprised at how many people will put things like "Got totally wasted last night" or "Fancied a day off so I threw a sickie". Needless to say, those went straight to the "reject" pile.

Also, unfortunately a lot of CV's are not actually read these days. Many companies (and agencies) have software that scans CV's for key words or phrases, and those that don't hit a certain score are rejected un-read. Sad but true. Just like a good website should be SEO (I think that's the correct terminolgy, I've been out of the loop for too long!) i.e Search Engine Optimised, then the same is now applied to CV's with some companies.

I do think that a job will lead to another and that it's easier to find another job when doing something else. Must admit that my present job was down to fate, strangely enough, but I don't think that's the norm. I do remember watching my ex go through a pile of job applications and throwing half of them in a pile straight away for whatever reason [well, I do know but I don't want to say]. And a friend pointed out that, if you are recruiting and can't find the right person you re advertise, you don't just pick the best of the applicants you had. Someone I know that had just left university found it very advantageous to put on her cv that she'd been doing voluntary work helping the homeless [she didn't do it for selfish reasons, it just happened that way].

Sorry cheelu but I don't think it is fate. I used to be a recruiter and was always impressed with those who had done their preparation. It always showed.

I know it can be very hard not to be nervious,, but I am so fed up of being nervious--I know the process of trying to find a suitable job and I have now grown a thick skin to it all and believe it is mostly down to fate IMHO

Has babydavid1 has been back since the original post?

One piece of advice that I would give is that if you have had a career gap to raise children youneed to make quite sure that you present it as a time of learning and achievement doing an important job rather than a career "gap"- what skills has that period of your life given you and how might these translate into the job you are applying for? - patience/organisational skills/an understanding of human development. Did you help run a pre-school/playgroup as a volunteer? - those sorts of things should not be overlooked.

Above all do not present this period of your life in an apologetic way - be proud of it and use it to your advantage.

babydavid1 I was a Civil Service recruiter for several years and in that time I interviewed hundreds of candidates. My advice, in addition to all the points made above, would be to have a prepared answer in case you are asked what you have been doing whilst unemployed.

The reason I say this is because the candidate I remember most clearly, when asked this question, leaned forward very confidentially and said that he liked watching video nasties and blue movies. He may have been trying to shock us but that failed and he didn't get a job!

Good luck and try to relax!

I like the file/ folder idea too. It fits with one piece of advice I was given a long time ago, and that is to remember that an interview is also your opportunity to interview them. After all, you may find out things that surprise you and make you either more or less keen on the job. It comes back to phoenix's advice to have some questions prepared. It hasn't helped me much because I still struggle with interviews, although I have recently been for a couple and have been successful; sadly I think it was because I didn't really care whether I got the jobs. It's very different if it's important to you. Good luck.

I particularly like Phoenix's file/folder recommendation. It also gives you something to hold if your hands are shaking (and looks a lot better than a comfort blanket!)
Final words of wisdom "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail" - this I know only too well!

babydavid I echo the good advice given above. Present yourself to the best of your ability. Remember to smile and look the interviewer in the eye. Clean fingernails and shoes are important. My father's advice - if you don't know the answer to a question, say so, and don't waffle.
I wish you well. We're rooting for you.

So true phoenix many of the job interviews I went to in the building industry when I knew the job inside out where the most nerve racking of my career.

cheelu it can sometimes be impossible not to be nervous when there may be a lot at stake!

Good luck from me too. You have some good advice here and we'd love to know more and how you get on.

hello babyydavid . I think that at our age we should just enjoy things not be nervious. So my advise is Just enjoy the experience, try your best and hopefully you will get a job out of it, if you dont then it was not meant to be and there is something better waiting round the corner, that has actually happened to me Best wishes...

Oooh, just thought of a couple more! Take a copy of your CV/Covering letter/email/application form with you, so that if they refer to it or ask a question about something you have put in it, you can look at the relevant section.

Also, I have a slimline leather document folder that I take with me, it has a section for my CV etc, plus a notepad holder and a thing for a pen. You could use an ordinary wallet folder just as easily. When you sit down open the folder and have your notepad and pen ready. This makes you look well prepared and efficient, plus gives you something to do with you hands!

Hello babydavid1 and thanks for the nice words GA

You have already been given some very good advice, especially about researching the company.

I would advise you to think of a couple of questions to ask them! I have found in quite a few interviews recently (yes, being made redundant back in March 2012 does mean I've had one or two!) that often you will be asked if you have any questions.

If nothing else pertinent comes to mind (sometimes the question you may have been thinking of might have been covered by them telling you a bit more about the company etc) then ask why or how the position has become vacant, has the previous person been promoted etc. If this too has been covered, for example the post is to cover maternity leave, long term sickness or whatever, then ask what their staff retention is like.

This can serve 2 functions, first it can give you a bit more of an insight as to how the company really operates with regard to how their staff are treated, but also it gives them the impression that you are a "stayer" and are not the sort of person to change jobs willy nilly.

The very best of luck to you!

I would say wear something smart regardless of the job you have applied for and try to find out as much as possible about the job before the interview.
I worked most of my life in a bank and wore suits most of the time.
After I was retired early I got a job with 16+ careleaver service part of Social Services.
The first thing the interviewer told me was suits were banned in the office. He was wearing a jumper and torn jeans.
I got the job and never wore a suit again. I did enjoy that job and I did wear jumpers or things like polar neck shirts.
I did wear jeans some of the time but never torn.

Frank

Hi babydavid1 and welcome to GN; our lovely friend Phoenix has recently been on a job interview and may have a few tips. If we're to be helpful we probably need to know a little more about you, your working background and the job you're applying for.

Wear something smart but also something that you like and feel comfortable in, and that fits you well. Once during an interview, I was asked a question by one of the panel members and couldn't think of an answer (there were 3 people in the panel) so it was sort of left hanging. Later on during the same interview, I did think of a response. So I said "If I may just go back to XX who asked me YY ..." and I said my piece. I got that job! So I guess the message is don't let anything flummox you good luck!

Good luck with your interview, babydavid1 - what type of job is it?

Research the Company who are going to interview you and learn about their products it will come across that you have an interest in what they are doing,remember to do eye contact and good morning etc make sure you can cover any missing periods in your CV with good reasons as to why there are gaps in your employment details.Best of luck.