3D Juggling 532: What They Don’t Tell You

June 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Claire writes: ‘It must be the season for job applications because we have been doing plenty of interview coaching lately. You may have seen the article in last week’s Church Times about just one of the courses we ran this month.

By the time you get to interview, all the candidates will meet the person profile, more or less.  The job of the application form/ CV is to give enough evidence of how you meet the job spec, why you want to work for them and why they want to appoint you – so that you get on the short list.  I am looking over a form this morning which gives great data about ‘why I would like to do a job like that in any organisation’ but fails to address the question – why I want THIS job with YOU.

What the interviewers want to know on the day is whether their hunch that you fit the profile is correct and then what else you bring? What will you bring to the role that the other candidates don’t?  You need to know your added value and to be able to clearly communicate it – even if – or especially when – you are an internal candidate.  What’s your added value? Think about it…’

© 2011 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely.  Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Top Interview Tips

1 Give evidence
2 Give evidence
3 Give evidence

Eg This is how I do that. Here is an example and this was the outcome…

Evidence means there is no spin.  And it can be easier to talk about something that has happened than simply to talk about yourself.  Being interviewed well has no spin.  But it means that the interviewers will know why you are the right person to appoint.  Or why not!

You only get one chance at an interview.  Talk to us about interview coaching if you would value some good preparation.

Filed Under: Career Change, Interview Preparation Tagged With: ,

3D Juggling 485: Change the question

September 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Jane writes: “What are the most useful questions that you can ask when interviewing somebody for a role in your organisation?  Recruitment interviewing – for paid staff or volunteers – is a huge responsibility. The chances are that a fair chunk of money has been invested in the recruitment process, including this day of interviewing, and you’re under pressure to select the right person.

We ran a Career Makeover Masterclass a few weeks ago and were thinking about what it was like to be the job applicant at an interview. Someone commented that years ago she found that interviewers would ask hypothetical questions. Questions that started with ‘What would you do if …?’ and ‘How would you …?’ Now, she said, they were more likely to ask her to talk about things she had actually done rather than how she might do them. This makes lots of sense.

What do you really need to find out when you’re interviewing somebody for a role in your organisation? Is it about what they would like you to think they would do, or what they can do? Your organisation may provide you with extensive guidelines around recruitment, and there is a risk that you may end up asking each candidate the same carefully prepared questions.

Instead of focusing on the questions, try focusing on the competencies that you need the role holder to demonstrate. Then ask each candidate questions that provide them with an invitation to tell you about situations they have been in where they would have needed to demonstrate these competencies.  Then ask them what they did. For example, if you need them to be able to communicate confidently and effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, ask them to give you an example of when they have had to do this. Then be prepared to ask follow-up questions, such as ‘What resistance did you meet?’, ‘How did you deal with that?’ and ‘What happened?’

By asking a candidate to talk about something that they’ve actually done you begin to gather evidence about their competence, how they apply their skills and knowledge. This also gives you clues about their behaviour, how they work with others and the impact this has. If they are unaware about the impact of their behaviour this is also likely to be apparent. Hearing about one significant thing a candidate has done can provide you with lots of evidence.  You may only need to have a few ‘prepared’ questions to get them started, allowing yourself time to ask follow-up questions that help the candidate to tell you what you really need to know.

The candidate should do most of the talking at an interview; your role is to ask a few incisive questions to ensure that what they say is relevant and useful.

What do you really need to find out? How could you change your questions?”

Love this? If you need some help in your organisation to change your approach to recruitment interviewing, come out for a cup of coffee with us to talk about how we can help you.  We’ll pay!

© 2010 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely.  Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Filed Under: recruitment and selection Tagged With: , , ,

3D Juggling 478: Finding the right story

May 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Jane writes: “Imagine that you’ve done all the hard work needed to present a winning job application, and you’re getting ready for that all important interview. What are you thinking about? Maybe what to wear, how to get there on time, what they might ask, and what your answers could be.

Maybe you could think about the stories you will tell. Not lies, or exaggerated truths, but stories about real things you have done. When we talk about things that have meaning for us and that we own we are authentic, and this is visible to others. And as it will be the real you that goes to work for them, it makes sense to offer this to them from the start. When you offer them something else, maybe what you think they are looking for, you may end up in a job that you can’t do or a place where you don’t fit very comfortably, and either of these things can make you unhappy, or even ill.

So, how do you find your stories?

Start by looking at the information you have about the job – the job description, person specification, competency framework. Look at what you have found out about the organisation – its values, activities, contribution. What do these tell you that they are looking for? Make a list of the five or six most critical things you find. If you’re not sure what these are ask someone else to help you to identify them, or put all the information to one side and listen to yourself – you probably know.

Then ask yourself ‘What is my best evidence for each of these?’ The answers will be your stories, the things you have done that demonstrate that you have the skills and experience that they are looking for.

One of my clients identified that her interviewers would be looking for evidence that she could deal with conflict. At first she didn’t think she had a story, so we explored what conflict might look like and times when she had witnessed or experienced something that looked like this and done something about it. Start your story with a brief description of the situation. What was happening?

Then we explored what she could have done in that situation – her options. The next step was to describe what she actually did – the action she took. We followed this up by clarifying what happened next, and what the final outcome was. And that provides the structure for your stories: situation, options, action, response and result. And use lots of ‘I’, not ‘we’. This will happen comfortably when you are telling your own story.

Through this approach my client found a powerful story that she hadn’t realised she had. You may need to find several stories before you’re happy that you have one that is relevant, safe and powerful for each critical thing the interviewer may be looking for. Choose your best one for each, then practice telling them until you can tell each one with confidence in a few minutes. You don’t want to tell stories so long that the interviewer falls asleep.

And don’t forget that a job interview works both ways – you are assessing them as well. What are you going to ask them?

We’d be happy to help you find your stories, and your questions.”

Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who has an interview coming up.

© 2010 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Filed Under: Interview Preparation Tagged With: , ,