Question Time

Originally published in the Safety and Health Practitioner (SHP) magazine and on the SHP website - www.shponline.co.uk in August 2005
Published on HSfB with the kind permission of SHP which remains copyright of SHP

6 September 2005

With the average time spent in each job decreasing and career changes becoming more frequent, making a good impression at interview is not just a skill for those starting out in the world of work. Paul Smith sets out some tips to help make the most of the opportunity that an interview offers.


There are many different styles of job interview, ranging from an informal chat to a full assessment centre held over a number of days. However, there are some basic guidelines that are valid in most situations, and these we ignore at our peril.

Preparation

If you don’t prepare fully for the interview, you might as well not bother going. Take some time to research the organisation and the role. Remember, the more you come across as understanding the job and seeing yourself in it, the more likely you are to be successful. So check out the organisation’s website, read its annual report, get whatever information you can on the role and make sure you understand it, and try to find out in advance what the recruiter will be looking for. A very common interview technique is to ask candidates what they understand the role to be, and then to ask them what they personally bring to it – you really do need to have thought about this beforehand. Read though your CV again and be ready for questions about anything you’ve included.

Presentation

Do your interviewers the courtesy of arriving on time and of being appropriately dressed for the interview. Good interviewers will be on their guard against the "horns or halo" effect – the danger of making snap judgements about people the moment they walk into the room. However, it is a fact of business life that first impressions are very important and once a poor start has been made, it is hard to regain lost ground.

Often, candidates are asked to come to the interview ready to make a short presentation on a topic they have chosen from a number of headings provided by the interviewer. This provides an opportunity to see you "in action", and also says a lot about how you work and your ability to influence people. They key thing here is to see it as an opportunity to show how good you are. Remember, you are in competition with others and being competent is not good enough – you need to shine so you stand out in relation to the others.

If you are using PowerPoint, or similar be careful not to fall into the various traps for the unwary. In particular: * Check out in advance that you will be able to use your chosen medium (CD ROM, memory stick, etc.); * Avoid the use of unconventional backgrounds and don’t overdo the special effects – what is interesting once quickly becomes tedious when used several times; * Be careful with your use of colour – less is more; *Avoid "death by bullet point" by using the many other features that these packages have.

Dealing with questions

A lot has been written about the use of ‘catch’ questions in interviews and again the key to success is to understand why they are used and be prepared for them. An example would be: "What has been your biggest mistake?" The pitfalls here are to lose credibility by denying ever having made any, or at the other extreme, to spend a lot of time saying how terrible you are! The interviewers are just looking for an honest appraisal of what went wrong and evidence that you were resilient enough to learn from what happened and move on. They also want to see how you respond to being put under a bit of pressure.
Conversely, if asked about your achievements, strike a balance between the need to sell yourself and the danger of appearing immodest or arrogant. The key here is to relate your perceived strengths to the job role and to give credit where it is due. This is fundamental as, at the end of the process, the person who most closely matches what is being sought is the one who will be selected. Also, how you talk about successes and achievements will say a great deal about your qualities as a leader and team player.

Like auditors, interviewers will often seek to validate what you are telling them by reference to evidence. Obviously the nature of the interview will limit what can be covered, but it is good practice to have examples to back up what you say. Be ready for the "can you give us an example of how you dealt with a problem issue?" and "xyz has happened, what would you do next?" types of question.

Many interviews will also have an element of technical assessment to them, so don’t just rely on any qualifications you have – be ready to be grilled and to come up with practical solutions. You have got to come over as someone who has both taken the trouble to stay up to date in the field and who can relate theory to practice. It’s no use (for example) regurgitating the DSE Regulations as the complete answer to a threatened strike in a major call centre, where the staff are complaining about their uncomfortable workstations, although having the salient points at your fingertips will obviously help.

Motivation

Part of your preparation should be to think about why you want the job, and indeed this question may be put specifically to you during the interview. You may be unhappy in your present role, or your present role may be due to disappear. However, interviewers, sympathetic as they may be, are mainly interested in why you want to take on their role, and what you bring to it, not why you want to leave the one you’ve got. I have interviewed many people who gave the impression that they wanted a job rather than this job. However understandable this may be, it is not the approach most likely to bring success. If you can’t find anything about the proposed role to be enthusiastic about, why have you gone to the trouble of applying for it?

Bringing things to a close

Most interviews will have some time for you to ask questions, so make sure you have anticipated this in your preparation. The interview will normally end with some statement about what the next step might be, and when you might expect to hear further.

Second interviews

To get a second interview is obviously great, as it shows you have been short-listed and therefore stand a good chance of getting the job. To have got this far, you have survived at least two "culls" – at the CV and first interview stages. Remember that you may well now meet new people who have not been involved so far, so it is important to make a favourable impression on them too. They may well be senior to those who did the first interview, and you may have to go over some of the same ground again.

Whatever you do, beware of complacency – you’re not there yet. Final decisions are rarely made by just one person, and the views of everyone you’ve seen so far could well be canvassed. Often, the emphasis shifts at second interview: anyone reaching this stage is already considered capable of doing the job, so the issue now is "who will fit best with our team?" Personal chemistry is therefore just as important as technical competence. Remember to show your enthusiasm for the role and tactfully restate the benefits of employing you to do it. If the discussion moves on to salary and benefits, it is a strong sign you are close to getting an offer.

Conclusion

Whatever the outcome, do conduct yourself professionally at every stage. The safety world in the UK is comparatively small – word does get around if you claim things that are not true, or if you do things like confirming you are coming for an interview and then don’t turn up. If you are made an offer, that’s great. If not, it hurts but it’s not the end of the world. Many organisations now give feedback on how you did, which may help you next time. If that’s the case, make the most of the opportunity to find out where and how you can improve so that next time you will be the chosen one.

DO:

* Prepare yourself fully;
* Think yourself into the role and be ready to speak persuasively about what you could bring to it;
* Sell the benefits of hiring you;
* Think about likely questions and how you will respond;
* Look the part and make a positive first impression.

DON'T:

* Be late;
* Disparage your current employer;
* Say anything you can’t substantiate;
* Assume that only the interviewers have input into the decision;
* Go into denial when asked about weaknesses.