Interview

PREP
Guide.
Prepare | Review | Evaluate | Perfect
Your better
tomorrow
starts today.
Before the
interview.

Recruitment Solutions
Research.

● Know the job description and day-to-day duties of the role

● Do you have examples of your skills and experience that align to the
requirements of the role?
● Research the skills and experience that the company values
● Research the company website, their products and services, key
players in the organisation, their mission, culture and values
● Make yourself aware of the company's key competitors
● Research news or recent events about the company
● Research the person interviewing you
● Utilise the knowledge of your Recruitment Consultant

Recruitment Solutions
Your motivations
for a new role.

Revisit your motivations for looking for a new job:

● Bigger or smaller company
● Better long-term prospect
● Relocating
● Better work/life balance
● Dissatisfied with your current role
● A new challenge or more opportunity

Recruitment Solutions
Practical
preparation.

Always make sure you:

● Are punctual
● Know the date, time and exact location of your interview
● Know who you are meeting and their job title
● Have directions and your journey planned
● Plan your outfit - dress appropriately as advised
● Switch off your mobile phone
● Greet the interviewer with confidence and maintain eye contact

Recruitment Solutions
Virtual
interviews.

Recruitment Solutions
Top tips for
remote interviews.

● Do your research as you would do for a face-to-face interview

● Test your software and hardware in advance
● Dress as if you were attending the interview in person
● Create a comfortable, quiet environment - no distractions and ensure
your interview space is decluttered
● Turn off your phone and email
● Speak slowly and clearly, be sure to smile and let your personality
come across
● Listen first, then talk, be aware of body language
● Create a positive ending - have a few questions prepared to ask
the interviewer

Recruitment Solutions
At the
interview.

Recruitment Solutions
Go through
your CV.

This won’t always be the first stage in your interview, but often interviewers
want to hear you speak about your experience before they move on to the
more structured competency-based questions.

You need to be sensible about how you run through your CV - focus on:
● Aspects that are relevant to the role you are interviewing for
● Spend most of the time of this segment discussing your most recent role
● Which of your past tasks would bring benefits to this role

Recruitment Solutions
Common interview
questions to expect.

● Tell me about yourself?

● What have been your major achievements?
● Tell me about a difficult situation at work and how you dealt with it?
● What about this role interests you?
● What do you like/dislike about your current role?
● What are your strengths/weaknesses/development areas?
● What are the reasons behind your decision to leave your current employer?
● Are you interviewing at other companies?
● What are your long term career goals?

Recruitment Solutions
The STAR
technique.
The STAR technique is a universally recognised
communication approach, designed to enable you to
provide a meaningful and complete answer to
questions asking for examples. At the same time,
it has the advantage of being simple enough to be
applied easily.

Recruitment Solutions
 S T A R
Situation Task Action Results
Set the scene Describe your Explain the Share the
role in the specific actions outcome
situation you took

Many interviewers use the STAR structure. Even if they do not, they will recognise its value
when they see it. The information will be given to them in a structured manner and, as a
result, they will become more receptive to the messages you are trying to communicate.

Recruitment Solutions
 “ Can you tell me about a time you went above and
beyond your expected duties?

A presentation to a client was almost cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances,

I stepped in and presented at the last minute.

”
Using the STAR technique you will be prepared to give a fuller answer, outlining the
situation, your role in it, the actions you took and the result from the actions.

Recruitment Solutions
“ I was a part of a team working on a presentation to help us secure a major
new client. Due to personal circumstances, my supervisor
was unable to make it. It looked like we were going to have to
cancel the meeting and potentially lose the client.

I had been looking for ways to take on more responsibility, so I volunteered

to finish up the presentation.

I worked with my supervisor via the phone and between the two of us,
we were able to go ahead with the scheduled meeting.

As a result of my initiative, we not only landed the client, but I was also
recommended for a promotion.

” Recruitment Solutions
The STAR technique.

Can you see how this answer allows the interviewers to understand what drove your
actions?

It also reinforces the feeling that you are calculating the consequences of your actions,
thus retaining full control of the situation.

Learn the job's requirements then write STARs that provide specifics about times
you met similar requirements.

Writing your STARs in advance of your interview plants them firmly in your mind
and prevents you from failing to mention an experience because you've forgotten it
or its significance.

Recruitment Solutions
Competency
interview questions.

Recruitment Solutions
Flexibility.

● Tell me about a time when you changed your priorities to meet others’
expectations.
● Describe a time when you altered your own behaviour to fit the situation.
● Tell me about a time when you had to change your point of view or your
plans to take into account new information or changing priorities.

Time management.

● Tell me about how you usually cope with a large volume of work.
● Describe the last time you failed to meet a deadline.
● How do you manage pressure/conflicting priorities on your time?

Recruitment Solutions
Client focus.

● Give an example of how you provided service to a client/stakeholder

beyond their expectations.
● Tell me about the most difficult client you have had to deal with.
● Describe a situation in which you acted as an advocate for stakeholders’
needs, where there was some organisational resistance to be overcome.

Communication.

● Describe a situation you were involved in that required a multi-

dimensional communication strategy.
● Give an example of a difficult or sensitive situation that required extensive
communication.
● Tell me about a time when you really had to pay attention to what
someone else was saying, actively seeking to understand their message.

Recruitment Solutions
Organisational awareness.

● Describe the culture of your organisation and give an example of how

you work within this culture to achieve a goal.
● Describe the things you consider and the steps you take in assessing the
viability of a new idea or initiative.
● Tell me about a time when you used your knowledge of the organisation
to get what you needed.

Problem solving.

● Describe a time when you had to analyse a problem and generate a

solution.
● Describe the most difficult problem you faced at work in the last six
months.
● Tell me about a situation where you had to solve a problem or make a
decision that required careful thought. What did you do?

Recruitment Solutions
Result orientated.

● Tell me about a time when you set and achieved a goal.

● Tell me about a time when you improved the way things were typically
done on the job.
● Describe something you have done to maximise or improve the use of
resources beyond your own work unit to achieve improved results.

Teamwork.

● Tell me about a time when you worked successfully as a member of a

team.
● Describe a situation where you were successful in getting people to work
together effectively.
● Describe a situation in which you were a member (not a leader) of a
team, and a conflict arose within the team. What did you do?

Recruitment Solutions
Developing others.

● Tell me about a time you coached someone to help them improve their
skills or job performance.
● Describe a time when you provided feedback to someone about their
performance.
● Give me an example of a time you recognised that a member of your
team had a performance difficulty.

Impact and influence.

● Describe a recent situation in which you convinced an individual or a

group to do something.
● Describe a time when you influenced an individual or a group on an
important issue.
● Describe a situation where you influenced different stakeholders with
differing perspectives.

Recruitment Solutions
Leadership.

● Tell me about a time when you had to lead a group to achieve an

objective.
● Describe a situation where you had to ensure that your “actions spoke
louder than your words” to a team.
● Describe a situation where you inspired others to meet a common goal.

Relationship building.

● Describe a situation in which you developed an effective win/win

relationship with a stakeholder or client. How did you go about building
the relationship?
● Tell me about a time when you relied on a contact in your network to help
you with a work related task or problem.

Recruitment Solutions
Self management.

● Describe the level of stress in your job and what you do to manage it.
● Describe a time when you were in a high pressure situation.
● Describe a time when things didn’t turn out as you had planned and you
had to analyse the situation to address the issue.

Strategic thinking.

● Describe a challenge or opportunity you identified based on your industry

knowledge and how you developed a strategy to respond to it.
● Describe a time you created a strategy to achieve a longer term business
objective.
● Describe a time when you used your business knowledge to understand a
specific business situation

Recruitment Solutions
The perfect close.

Recruitment Solutions
Questions for the interviewer.

An interview is a two-way process, it's not just about the company assessing whether you
are right for the role, it’s also an opportunity for you to find out information about the
company that will help you to decide if the role is right for you.

Don't ask a question that has already been covered in the interview.

Don't query salary or benefits package unless they ask you.

Recruitment Solutions
Questions for the interviewer.

● What do you (the interviewer) think gives this company an edge over its
competitors?
● What is the work environment like?
● Why do you (the interviewer) enjoy working for this company?
● What professional opportunities are available to employees in the organisation?
● How has the company developed over the past few years?
● If I was offered this position, what kind of training would be provided?
● If I were successful and assuming I proved myself in the position, what would be
the progression opportunities for me in a few years time?
● What is the next stage of the interview process?

Recruitment Solutions
Closing the interview.

If the interviewer offers you the job on the spot and you want it, accept it there and then.

If you require further time to think it over, be tactful in saying so and qualify your
reasons - try to provide them with a definite date as to when you can provide them with
an answer.

If this isn’t the job for you, still leave the interviewer with a positive impression.

Lastly, THANK the interviewer for their time.

After the interview, call your consultant to provide feedback on the interview.

Recruitment Solutions
An interview is your
time to shine; don’t be
shy about discussing
your positive points
and back them up with
examples.

Recruitment Solutions
It’s time to go further than ever before.
Let us help you Go Beyond.

morganmckinley.com