Interview Preparation

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This is aimed at helping you prepare for your interviews and is contained in three parts:

1.What is the Interviewer Looking For?

2.What Type of Questions do Interviewers Use?

3.Major "Do"s and "Don't"s in an Interview

1.What is the Interviewer Looking for?

The interviewer is simply looking for you to show them that you are capable of being their next top performing representative. The question is, "What makes a top representative and how do I display that I have those skills?".

The answer lies in BUILDING BLOCKS (often known as Critical Competencies, Critical Behaviours, Key Skills etc.). Every character has different bulding blocks that makes different people suitable for different jobs e.e. the building blocks required for a Computer Analyst would be very different from the blocks of someone who has to deal with customer complaints every day.

A successful Representative will usually have a well developed range of the following blocks and this is what the interviewer should be looking for:

Key Skills - Defenition

Concern for success - A desire to be successful in everything you do

Organisation - The ability to effectively plan your time so that you are in control and you do not waste time

Customer Service - Adding value to the customer so that the customer appreciates seeing you and they obtain value from working with you

Persuasion and Communication - The key to any sales position, being able to influence people of all different levels

Teamwork - The skill of getting the most from the team you work in

Self Motivation and Enthusiasm - The behaviour of being able to set challenging goals and achieve them with the art of picking yourself up when times aren't so good

Focus - You are able to establish what is important and provide appropriate answers and solutions. The skill of cutting out unimportant issues and waffle

In an interview the best way is to show that you posses these skills is through using past examples that demonstrate the behaviour. It is therefore a very strong suggestion that for every KEY SKILL above, you prepare at least two examples from your experience that demonstrate that you posses that skill. If you can support these examples using hard copy evidence i.e. sales figures, letters of praise from your managers etc. then the better.

2.What questions do interviewers use?

Interviewers will be looking to use questions that elicite whether or not you can demonstrate the key skills required. There are two distinct styles of interview questions:

Evidence Based - i.e. "Can you give me an example of when you have demonstrated..."or "In the past what have you done in this situation...?"

Hypothetical - i.e. "what wouldyou do faced with this situation?"

Modern interviewing techniques tend to favour the evidence based apporach. This is because hypothetical questions will result in hypothetical answers, often based on exaggeration and non-truths.

In both cases though it is important that you are aware of what key skill the interviewer is looking to find and answer using your appropriate prepared examples.

EXAMPLE:

The interviewer needs to know how you go about planning your time and how well organised you are. They will therefore ask a question related to time management and planning skills.

The interviewer has one of the two approaches to use, either EVIDENCE BASED or HYPOTHETICAL, taking the evidence based first:

Q-"I'd like you to think of a major event that you've had to organise in the past, can you take me through how you went about planning for the event to be successful."

For the hypothetical approach:

Q- "If you had to plan a major event, how would you go about doing it?"

As you can imagine, if you have an examply up your sleve for the first question then answering it is much simpler. Take the interviewer through your example in a logical, systematic and focused way.

The second style of question means there are a milolion and one answers, most of which you would never do and run the risk of over exaggeration. The interviewer will pick up on this! The best way to answer this style of question is again to turn the hypothetical question around and use an evidence based answer for your example.

A - "That's an interesting question because only last month I had to plan my brother's wedding. This is how I went about planning and organising my time to ensure it was a success..."

3. The major DOs and DON'Ts

The items listed below are sure to be second nature to you and basic common sense. Unfortunately we all know that when your stomach is full of nerves, common sense can often leave us. Please read the lists below, you may just think of it in time!!

DOs

• Prepare your examples based on key skills, support them by using hard copies in a file if possible
• Know as much about the company, products and your future role as possible
• Have POSITIVE BODY LANGUAGE (i.e. sit uproght, slightly forward in the chair and have unfolded arms). Eighty per cent of our communication is via body language
• Speak POSITIVELY at every opportunity
• Be enthusiastic - many will recruit on enthusiasm over existing skills and experience
• Find out where the interview is and get there early to settle your nerves
• Have a few relevant questions to ask - this shows interest
• Look professional i.e. conservative suit and clean shoes - if you can't be bothered with your own appearance then there is a good chance they will not be bothered with you
• CLOSE the interview at the end, they are sales people and will be waiting for it! Ask them in a nice way for some feedback and if you need to clarify and aspect of the interview

DON'Ts

• WAFFLE - A key skill is the need to be focused, preparation will help with this
• Speak NEGATIVELY - If any negativity comes out, support it straight away with a positive comment
• Give any of your previous bosses/companies a going over - the interviewer will think that they are next in line if they employ you
• Be over friendly and drop your guard too low i.e. answering your mobile phone in an interview does not look good
• Strat negotiating package on a first or second interview. If asked, give a ball park figure but wait for the offer of the job to be made before negotiating exact money

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