Category: Interviews

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Job Interview Questions for Foster Family Supervising Social Worker

How to Pass a Job Interview for Social Worker on the Fostering Team. 

Social workers work with fostered children to support them through difficult times and ensure that vulnerable children are safeguarded from harm.

A social worker will provide support to the child and foster parents often working closely with multiple agencies. While working as part of a multiagency team, a social worker will at all times maintain professional relationships with service users, acting as advocates and referring agents as well as offering advice and support themselves.

Social workers on the fostering team will constantly assess the suitability of the placement and will need to use their professional judgment to make tough decisions that might not always be well-received by all service users.

All social workers follow a framework of legislation and procedures.

The job interveiw questions asked during a social worker job interview will be based on these job duties, with the expectation that the applicant can provide relevant examples that show they have the level of competence and confidence for this demanding job role. 

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Job Interview Questions for Supervising Social Worker: Fostering Team.

 

Job Interview Questions for Supervising Social Worker Fostering 1. Tell me about your experience as a social worker, including your key achievements?

All social workers will have experience as part of the social worker qualification includes work placements. The skill, in the job interview, is making the experience gained from work placement or time served in the industry relevant to the ‘fostering’ team. 

Therefore it is important to understand the barriers facing you people who have been fostered. This awareness needs to be the centerpiece of the interview answer. 

In addition, the applicants ‘passion’ for the job role also increases likeability which influences the employers hiring decision. 

The answer can be split into 3 stages:

  • Industry experience
  • Relevance 
  • Passion

Industry experience. “For the past 20 years, I have worked as…..” Interviewees can also make reference to any qualifications or specialisms in this sector “…holding a qualification in X allowed to specialized in Y…”

Relevance. “…in X position I was responsible for (add social care/foster supervising duties and good practice that was created by yourself)

Passion.  “…I applied for this role because I have always cared for (add the reason you are passionate about this role)

Job Interview Questions for Supervising Social Worker Fostering 2. Do you have any direct experience working in fostering?

In the opening interview question, applicants should have referenced their fostering experience and expertise. 

When asked directly to highlight foster family supervision experience, the interview can give detailed and specific examples. 

Initially, start with a generic opening line;

“While working on X project, I had a caseload of 18 fostering families….”

Before moving on to a specific example that highlights the qualities required for a social worker supering fostering families;

“…while working with one foster parent (state problem) happened, to solve this issue I (add actions and outcome).

Job Interview Questions for Supervising Social Worker Fostering 3. What has been your biggest disappointment?

The ‘disappointment’ questions vary slightly from the ‘what are your weaknesses‘ interview questions, as the disappointment doesn’t need to me about the applicant’s areas of development.

Instead, the ‘disappointment’ can be associated with your passion for the role.

“The biggest disappointment for me is the number of young people needing to be fostered…” this ‘disappointment’ can then be reframed to highlight an applicants sector knowledge and experience: “…one way to solve this issue would be to (add solution)”

Job Interview Questions for Supervising Social Worker Fostering 4. How would you manage a large casseroled?

All social workers have large caseloads. Therefore a key skill is caseload management. 

Caseload management is, in reality, time management and organisational skills. Employers, don’t prefer one strategy over another, what they are keen to learn is if the interviewee is organised enough to stay on top of their workload. 

In the interveiw answer, applicants can discuss:

  • diary management
  • to-do list
  • completing easy/quick task first
  • prioritization 
  • delegation 
  • cooperation

The list is endless. What will win you extra points on the interview scorecard is explaining the ‘time management matrix’ The time management matrix, in short, is a management tool that puts tasks into 1 of 4 boxes based on the level of urgency vs their level of importance. 

Interviewers always score applicants high who can discuss a model and give an example of using the model in a work-related situation. 

Job Interview Questions for Supervising Social Worker Fostering 5. How do you put professional boundaries in place?

As an experienced social worker, the ‘boundaries‘ question should be second nature. Still, employers ask this question as safeguarding the young people is a priority. 

When answering technical interview questions don’t fall into the ‘competency’ trap and give an overriding answer. Instead breakdown the process you use to ensure the interviewer knows your level of expertise. 

Explain:

  • how you separate your work and professional life
  • that you never give out personal contact details or accept of a young person as a friend on social media
  • when you would report a young person behavior to a line manager
  • the process you use to maintain confidentiality 
  • how you would handle a situation if a young person wanted to give you a hug, as an example

Job Interview Questions for Supervising Social Worker Fostering 6. Explain your understanding of safeguarding?

As part of the interview answer, it’s important to discuss some of the safeguarding policies, processes and procedures.

  • Protecting children from abuse and maltreatment
  • Preventing harm to children’s health or development
  • Ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
  • Taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes.
  • Protecting children from abuse and harm.
  • Early help
  • Child in need 

Don’t just list safeguarding related topics, instead list a few and then give a real-life safeguarding example

Explain

  • The situation – what gave you concern over a child’s welfare?
  • Actions – what step did you take, who did you report the issue to?
  • Outcome – what was the positive outcome of your intervention? 

Job Interview Questions for Supervising Social Worker Fostering 7. How do you go about matching service users to foster families?

This question is the crux of the job. When answering a question about matching young people with families, give a detailed explanation, but, to make it easy for the interviewer to follow break this down into three steps

Step 1 – getting to know the young person. Do they have siblings that they need to stay with? Does where they study impact on the placement? Do their cultural beliefs impact on a suitable placement?

Step 2 – meeting the foster family. Does the young person feel comfortable? Is there any safeguarding issues? Is the family home an approved foster placement? Does the foster parent have the right skills to support the young person? 

Step 3 – does the young person like the placement? Young people don’t always get a say when being put in a placement, but as part of the process, the social worker must check the young person’s thoughts about the placement. 

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Job Interview Questions for Supervising Social Worker Fostering 8. How do you work with clients you dislike?

A social worker will meet people they don’t like. An example of this is working with a family where an adult is abusive. 

The opening answer can quantify the applicants ‘professionalism’ “I don’t view people in terms of I like or dislike them, I am there to help families and to safeguard the young person…” before giving an example of working with someone who has disclosed an act that is viewed as negative “…when working with a family who had a violent adult (give more detail)…I would meet with the adult remaining professional (give additional details)..”

It is also good to mention ‘unconscious bias‘ and how this affects personal opinions. 

Job Interview Questions for Supervising Social Worker Fostering 9. You are often working in this role without supervision, how would you handle this way of working?

Self-management is a key skill of a social worker. 

Interveiwers, here, are looking for an applicant’ss process to complete all social work duties without needing mico-management. 

Initially explain the common duties required to be completed each week, follow this up by explaining diary management techniques. More importantly, though, is explaining yoru motivational strategy. What makes you get up in the morning? Why do you need to ensure that all tasks are completed? How you meet your deadlines? 

Job Interview Questions for Supervising Social Worker Fostering 10. What do you think of recent government legislation that affects social care processes?

Government legislation can change the way social workers can support families. As new governments come into power, new legislation can emerge. From a management point of view, employers are wanting to hire social workers that can if needed, adapt their working practice to mee the new way of working, without personal opinions distracting them from their daily tasks. 

When answering the question, state a new piece of government legislation  (as this shows the applicant’s level of knowledge) and explain how you had to adapt business-as-usual tasks and duties to comply with the regulations.

First state the regulation and potential barrier:

“when ‘early help’ came in to play, we knew that the additional collaborative meetings would eat into the time required to be with the young people…”

Second, referenced how you adapted:

“…to make time for these additional meetings I…..”

Thirdly, give the outcome mentioning what you personally did to make the legislation work;

“…the meetings actually saved time. Instead of having to attend multiple meetings throughout the week all the professionals could discuss numerous cases in one meeting…”

Interview Test

 

Job Interview Questions for Supervising Social Worker Fostering 11. How would you handle a situation when a client fancied you?

There will be many variations to this question ‘what would you do if a young person asked to be your friend on Facebook?’ 

If the stated situation has previously happened, using a story to explain the station and the actions that were taken, is by far the best way to answer this tricky interview question. 

What employers are looking to hear is that you follow protocol; Did you report the situation? How did you say no, while being professional, to the young person? What did you add to the case notes? 

Job Interview Questions for Supervising Social Worker Fostering 12. Do you have any questions for me?

There are many types of questions that applicants can ask the interviewer, but for a social work position, the questions you ask can be job-related to help, you the applicant, decide if you want to take the offered position?

  • What is the size of the average caseload? 
  • What is the biggest barrier in the area in terms of placing young people with foster families? 
  • Which agencies do you collaborate with?
  • Is funding likely to increase or decrease over the next few years?
  • What development opportunities do you have for a new member of staff?
  • What is the average week like for a social worker in the fostering team? 

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Over 10 Job Interview Questions for Sainsbury’s

Sainsburys, as one of the most famous supermarket brands, have designed a recruitment process to ensure they hire the most suitable candidates for the advertised role.

As an employer who recruit full-time and part-time employees, including students and career professionals, the Sainsburys interview is designed to  check an employees work ethic as well as their experience and skillset.

Sainsburys want staff to enjoy working within their stores and with this in mind the job interview will focus on the culture of the organisation. Interviewee’s will need to read and understand the company values of Sainsburys.

Job interview questions will cover company culture, retail skills, customer service experience and teamwork. Sainsburys have made the job interview process – no curveball interview questions, and have even provided job interview tips. 
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Sainsbury’s Job Interview Questions

Below is a list of commonly asked retail job interview questions and some tips on how to answer each question. Make each answer relevant by using your won examples and by making your strengths and skills stand out.

Sainsbury’s Job Interview Questions 1. Tell me a little about you and your retail/customer service experience?

  • For experienced applicants give a summary of your duration in  retail, giving specific examples of how you have supported customers, met sales targets and how you are a valued member of a team.
  • For schools leavers and students, or people with little retail experience, focus on any customer service experience, your skill set and work ethic (which is very important in Sainsburys).
  • Also discuss any relevant qualifications or awards that you have achieved.

Sainsbury’s Job Interview Questions 2. Why do you want to work for Sainsbury’s?

Here, you must reference Sainsburys values and mission – see link above. Also discuss how you want to work for a retailer who have the customer at the heart of all their decisions.

Sainsburys put a lot of time and effort into their community work. Research this and reference  and new projects Sainsburys have been involved in.

Sainsbury’s Job Interview Questions 3. What do you know about our competitors? 

Retail is a competitive business.

Discuss what other retailers are in the same area. Compare, positively, Sainsburys to the other supermarket chains, and explain why customer will shop at Sainsburys. It is also good to slip in, how you shop at Sainsburys.

Sainsbury’s Job Interview Questions 4. From a customer’s perspective, what does Sainsbury’s offer that other supermarkets don’t? 

On the Sainsburys website they have written:

Since we set up shop in 1869, we’ve always had a strong sense of social, environmental and economic responsibility and an understanding that our success depends on society’s success

This is what make Sainsburys stand out, they want to be the number one customer choice by becoming the trusted retailer in the UK.

Explain how people trust Sainsburys. Make this about you – explain why you shop at Sainsburys.

Sainsbury’s Job Interview Questions 5. What is more important profit or customer service?

A bit of a tricky interview question, as customer service and profit are both important to a retailer.

But, bad customer service reduces customer loyalty and therefore affects share prices.

Explain, especially because Sainsburys value customers, how the customer comes first. If a customer trust a supermarket they will retune for their weekly ship increasing profits.

Sainsbury’s Job Interview Questions 6. How would you remember where all Sainsbury’s stock is stored in the supermarket?

  • Give examples of how you have previously had to remember a large amount of stock in a previous role.
  • Explain how you first focus on the common asked for products
  • Give detail on how you use a ‘system’ to remember large amounts of information IE the memory palace technique.

Sainsbury’s Job Interview Questions 7. Give an example of going above and beyond for a customer? 

  • Start by explaining a customer related problem.
  • Explain how you listened to the customer, though about the situation for their perspective and took steps to resolve the issue.
  • Summarize how the customer, positively, reacted to your support and help.

Sainsbury’s Job Interview Questions 8. What would you bring to the Sainsbury’s team?

Here, you need to talk about your ‘teamwork’ skills, communication style and work ethic.

Focus on your unique selling point – always being first to arrive, excellent customer service skills, strong work ethic.

Finally, discuss your friendly and professional personality.

Interview Test

Sainsbury’s Job Interview Questions 9. What would you do if you suspected a colleague of stealing?

  • Explain how any incidents would be reported to a manager.
  • If needed, you can go on to detail how even a small value theft if undertaken by member staff members can effect profits or lead to large value thefts.

Sainsbury’s Job Interview Questions 10. How do you develop yourself? 

  • Detail skills you, previously, wanted to develop.
  • Explain what actions you took – attending courses, virtual training or asking for a mentor.
  • Discuss how this development has resulted in a new skill or knowledge.

Sainsbury’s Job Interview Questions 11. What is your approach to working hours?

  • Show flexibility – willing to work weekends, late shifts etc.
  • Be realistic- if you are studying at University every Monday , you can explain this.

Sainsbury’s Job Interview Questions 12. Do you have questions you would like to ask us?

  • What is a typical day at Sainsburys like?
  • How do you develop your staff?
  • What is the management style of the store?
  • How is the company culture imbedded into every day tasks.
  • What made you choose Sainsburys as your employer?

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How to Tell If An Interviewer Is Lying

How To Spot a Lying Interviewer

Most job hunters see the interview as a one way process – the employer deciding if they want to hire you!

But in truth the interviewer is already interested in you, which is why out of, on average, 300 applicants you are one of six candidates the interviewer has invited to interview.

In the job interview, you do need to sell yourself, build rapport and make a lasting impression, but also the interview is about you deciding whether or not you want to work for this particular employer.

Employers know that if they recruit the best candidate it can make a real difference to their profits. This is why at the job interview start, the interviewer will give an overview of the organisation highlighting the key selling points from an employees point of view, as well as giving a future forecast of key goals, to  create the positive impression that this is the company you should work for.

Throughout the job interview you will ask the interviewer questions, keeping a flow to the job interview. It is these answers that will help you decide, once you have been offered job positions with several competitive organisations, which company you want to work for.

When listening to the employers answers you need to be sure that the interviewer is being truthful, rather then spinning a lie just to ensure you will accept the job offer. If you accept a position only to find that the employer has lied, you will need to restart that time consuming and stressful process of job searching, it is far better to learn how to read the interviewer and spot liars.

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Below you find some telltale giveaways that will help you spot which interviewer is lying to you.

When reading interviewers you need to look for clusters of telltale giveaways, rather then making a judgement on just one expressions or body movement.

Spotting Liars – The Basics

  • Body language – when being truthful people will use a wide range of hand expressions and movements as people often talk with their hands. Liars will subconsciously limit their arm movements looking more stiff then natural
  • Touching Lips – when lying we unconsciously try and stop the lie from coming out by covering our mouths, watch for the lying interviewer touching their nose, lips or ears when lying.
  • Red Faced – liars tend to get hot “hot under the collar.” The deceitful interviewer can become red-faced or may pull on their collar to cool down, others will scratch their neck when lying
  • Moving Away – liars will often feel uncomfortable lying to your face and will subconsciously turn their body away from yours wanting to get away quickly

Spotting Liars – Reading the Interviewer

  • Timing – often a liar will say something and then follow this up with an emotion or gesture, while truthful people will say something and make the gesture at the same time. Gestures are often off pace when lying, emotional displays are delayed and then suddenly stop
  • Defensive – a guilty person will often get defensive in conversation, where as innocent people often become offensive. When questioning an interviewers answer, to collect more details, listen for defensive words
  • Building Barriers – Liars will often want to hide away from you, protecting them and will build barriers between you and them; an interviewer may hold a folder/collection of papers in front of themselves, creating a “barrier” between them and the interviewee

Spotting a Liar – Hearing Lies

  • Copy Cat – liars will often copy the exact words you use to answer a question “are you likely to gain a continuation in the contract” Liar: “Yes, we are likely to gain a continuation in the contract” A truthful interviewer is more likely to answer with more details “Yes we have good change, the contract manager is really happy with our results to date, they had to put the tender out to contract due to the duration of contract…”
  • Sticking to the Facts – truthful people will often tell a story and as the story is progressing will naturally go off on a tangent, liars will tell a “well planned story” in a more factual way without any additional “add-ons” example “Yes, we do invest in staff development”
  • Not Answering the Question – many people don’t like to lie, and instead of lying will answer a different question or just imply an answer
  • Distancing Language – liars will often use distancing language, with Bill Clinton famously saying “I did not have sex with that women” rather than saying her name, he distanced himself using the word “that” to avoid thinking about the person/situation.

Spotting Liars – Watch the Interviewers Eyes

When asking  a question you can watch the interviewers eye movements to detect if the person is remembering or constructing a thought. When questioning a liar, you can ask the person several truths to gain a baseline and then ask them a question to see if they are lying (accessing constructed images, rather then creating a believable answer)

*This technique needs to be used in context, as some of your questions will need a “constructed” answer, also be aware that some people will accessing memories/creative thoughts opposit to the image above

  • Looking Up and to the right-Visual Remembered
  • Looking up and to the left-Visual Constructed
  • Looking to the Right (towards ears) -Auditory Remembered
  • Looking to the Left (towards ears) – Auditory Constructed
  • Looking down to the Right – Auditory Digital
  • Looking Down to the Left-Kinaesthetic

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What You Should Expect From The Job Interview

What You Should Expect in a Job Interview

To pass the job interview you need preparation.

The only way to prepare for a job interview is to know what to expect in the job interview, as well as being able to deal with the unexpected.

Often interviewees worry about the forthcoming job interview, which creates anxiety, as they don’t know how to predict the interview process or interview questions.

This article will teach you what you should expect from the job interview, helping you to prepare. With preparation, you can practice, practice and practice – which is the key to your job interview success.

The Interview Structure

This article will concentrate on the traditional face to face job interview. Many companies are now delivering a two-part job interview; the traditional interview as we will discuss today and then an assessment type interview. This could be a presentation, group work assignment or examination.

In the traditional job interview, you will be interviewed by 1-3 interviewers. When interviewed by more than one interviewer, the interveiwers will take it, in turn, to ask questions, while all the interviewers will record your answers.

Interviewers will score each answer on a scale of 1-10 the scores are then totaled and the interviewee with the most points will be offered the position.

Interview Beginning

At the interview start, you will first be introduced to the interview panel.

The lead interviewer will go on to explain the position, why the role is being advertised and the benefits of working for their organisation.

You will then be asked some generic interview questions, designed to get you talking more openly and confidently. The interview questions will then progress into skill and experienced-based interview questions where you will have to give examples of your skills and experiences.

Interview End

Finally, at the interview end, you have the opportunity to ask your own questions before the lead interviewer explains when they will contact you with the outcome from all the interviews.

Interview Questions

There are several generic interview questions that are asked in one form or another at all job interviews.

Interview Start Questions

  • Tell me a bit about yourself?
  • Why have you applied for this position?
  • What is your experience in this sector?

Skill and Experience Questions 

  • Give me an example of X?
  • How would you deal with Y?
  • What is your approach to X?

Interview End Questions

  • How do you see yourself fitting in with our team?
  • What can you bring to our organisation ?
  • Do you have any questions for us?

Access over 50 interview questions and answers.

You can predict other interview questions by reading the job specification.

Often each essential criterion on the job spec will be re-worded into an interview question. To answer these questions think about a time you have successfully complete the criteria and use this example as part of your interview answer.

When answering the interview questions you should always start by stating confidently how you have “criteria” before backing this up with a real-life work-related example.

When required explain how this experience/skill can be used to benefit the company for who you are being interviewed.

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The James Bond Interview Strategy

Be James Bond In the Job Interview

With the imminent release of the latest James Bond film “Spectre” we ask, how would James Bond use his secret service skills to influence the job interview and can you replicate the James Bond strategy in your next job interview?

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Bond has psychological tendencies, he is manipulative, persuasive and charismatic. Bond will do whatever it takes to achieve his mission and wouldn’t think twice about using these same tactics in the job interview.

Turn Your Emotions Off

Bond to get what he wants takes advantage of others, sleeping with women for information, using his charm and influence to create likability with others, getting them to do what he wants them to do.

Manipulation is only achieved by turning your emotions off. Emotional people will feel sorry for the person they are manipulating and won’t follow through with the persuasion. To persuade effectively your focus is on the end game, not the persons feelings.

In the job interview, Bond wouldn’t see the interviewer as anything more then  a target. His mission would be to charm the interviewer, creating deep rapport and likability. James would persuade the interviewer with charm, wit and by telling the employer whatever they wanted to hear.

Bond would go as far as charming the interviewer with a winning smile or when called for, outlandish flirting. Confidence is the key to manipulation, and Bond oozes confidence and charisma – a winning formula. As an under cover agent, Bond would even play the spy game, creating a “cover” who has the experience and skills the employer desires.

Ask, Don’t Answer

In all the Bond films, Bond at one stage or another is caught by the bad guys. Before killing Bond, the baddies ask Bond questions, designed to reveal his secrets. Rather than simply answering questions, Bond asks his own questions, often uncovering the unsuspecting baddies’ plan to take over the world.

The same tactic adopted for the job interview works well. When asked questions relating to an experience or skill you don’t possess, you can simply deflect the question by answering a different unasked question, or even as Bond would do, you can simply exaggerate the truth or at the extreme, lie.

When answering questions, turn this on its head and expand your answer by questioning the interviewer, make them talk, create a flow in the interview as this allows the interviewer to open up, giving you secret insights into criteria the employer wants you to possess. Once these snippets of information have gleamed you can then add these to your next interview answer, impressing the employer.

Create Visual Influence

Bond doesn’t simply use words, a secret identity or cleverly answered interview answers to influence and manipulate the job interview, Bond also uses visual stimulus. Bond, dressed in his tuxedo, polished black shoes and double cuffed shirts, looks like a well-groomed model.

His every gesture, facial expression, stance, walk and eye contact ooze charm, confidence and charisma. Women and baddies both, on seeing James for the first time are influenced by the way he holds himself, the tone of voice he chooses and his perfect eye contact.

Employers meeting you for the first time immediately make an impression about you within milliseconds of meeting you. Visually you need to look the part as this is the set up for the following manipulation of the job interviewer. Get this part right, the rest of the interview manipulation will come with ease, just as Bond always gets his man and wins the day.

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Why Did You Leave Your Last Position?

When any negative put interview questions including “why did you leave your last position?” you need to re-frame your answer to a positive, focusing on your career prospects and your skill base.

Interview Q&A Tutorial – why did you leave your last position?

Interview Question “Why did you leave your last position?”

Be positive with this answer and smile – employers like to hear that you left for a good opportunity or reason, a chance to do something special or for a good career move.

  • Start the answer with a look back
  • Explain what you enjoyed about your previous role
  • Give a Positive reason for leaving

Example Interview Answer

“I enjoyed working at Company Name and really enjoyed the interaction of working with a wide range of individuals-I feel I gained a lot of transferrable skills from this experience, which I can use in this role. It was a hard choice to leave but I felt that this great opportunity is the next obvious step for me”

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How to Prepare for Your First Job Interview

Many graduates every year make a beeline for the campus placements.

While not all of them end up getting a job, most lose out during the selection process. One of the common causes are lack of preparation for the job interviews. Fresh graduates are not aware of what goes into a successful job interview preparation process and end up either relying too much on academic credentials or their raw intellect.

Let’s break down the elements of the interview preparation step by step.

Learn about the company:

Before anything else you should try to know more about the company you are applying to. Knowing organizational philosophies, details of the work culture and other contributions to the society helps a lot in interviews. It’s likely you will be asked questions like ‘Why should we hire you?’ or ‘Why do you want to work with us?’ You should also understand what company is looking for and what skills and personality you have. If you are those who do not get so well with others but you have strong technical skills and have a strong academic profiles, a software engineering job might be a good fit. Also a product job is better suited for such a profile than IT services job.

Find a practice partner:

Interviews need to be practiced thoroughly and you need to be able to get comfortable with the interview setting. Find someone who is willing to help you and practice with him – be it a friend, teacher or your parents.

The best partners are your friends from your college or university who studies the same course. There are plenty of resources that can point you to questions that are likely to be asked and you should develop answers for them and let your practice partner evaluate your performance.

You should try to improve your answers and iron out the kinks every subsequent practice session. If possible you should record these mock interview sessions and evaluate your own performance yourself as well. If you are not able to find a partner despite your best efforts, practice your answers in front of the mirror. That way you can observe your body language and get comfortable with yourself.

Get appropriate attire:

While we all know we should not judge books by their cover, looks matter nonetheless in interviews. Choosing the right dress for the interview requires you to know about the organization. If the environment of the organization is casual then you can be a bit more casual but if there are strict dress codes in the workplace then you need to dress in formals. Many traditional organizations have color codes as well and you should try to fit in with the dress code as much as possible. Talking to current employees is best way to know about the culture of the company.

Creating the right impression:

You need to be prepared for not only the questions that are likely to be asked at the interview but also the right approach. Get your soft skills polished and speak confidently and clearly. Do remember to greet the interviewer and always maintain eye contact. You should practice these little things in your mock interviews as well.

Other than these courtesies you should also know how to present yourself to the interviewer. Self-confidence is the key to cracking any interview and you need to ensure that you present yourself as a skillful individual with the right mindset that matches the wavelength of the organizational policies.

Most importantly, you need to be yourself. Any experienced HR professional will be able to identify if you are giving a false representation of yourself or not. Ensure that you are honest in your approach and you will be able to sail through the interview.

Mention references:

We often think of references as means of getting an unfair advantage over others in an interview but it’s not so. If you know someone who works in the organization you are applying to, do not shy away from taking their names. If you have taken any degree course recently include your professors or teachers from these courses for references.

Those who have taken part-time courses, can include the reference of their batch-mates if they are from same organization. These courses generally attract experienced candidates and you will find many of them have worked in your target jobs before taking up the course. But do not fake it – it’s more than likely that the interviewer will contact your references and ask about your skills and capabilities.

Mind your body language:

Your body language is as important as your knowledge. You should not be too aggressive or too passive when it comes to communicating. You need to have the right balance in your approach. While being too relaxed during the interview and cozying up in the chair might make the interviewer feel you are being too casual in your approach, being too rigid and uptight will make the interviewer feel you are nervous. Your body language should be friendly and it will allow both you and the interviewer be comfortable while conversing.

Arriving for the interview:

Now that you know how to prepare for the interview, it’s time to take care of punctuality. You need to ensure that you arrive at least 15 minutes in advance even if you know the interviewer is someone who tends to be late. You should have sufficient time in hand when leaving your home and on the off chance that you end up getting stuck in major transportation problems you should inform the HR personnel or the organization ahead of the allotted time. If you feel that you will not be able to attend the interview you should let the respective people know and request a reschedule.

Exiting the interview:

Once the interview is complete you should shake hands with the interviewer and also thank everyone who was responsible for conducting the interview. Ideally you want to make a lasting impression without being too aggressive. After you leave the interview you should leave a thank you note via email as well as snail mail. Simply put in a few words of appreciation for the opportunity provided and wait for the interview results!

Author Bio –

Paresh – I have been writing online for last 4 years now and I have written extensively about career options for graduates and experienced professionals. Beyond that I enjoy reading about latest tech advances. I also enjoy building new products using the latest technologies.

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How would your colleagues describe you? Interview Question

Interviewers, ask this job interview question as they want to uncover your skills and strengths.

Employers will often ask you to name your strengths, but they know that many interviewees will exaggerate this answer, but often when ask to describe how others describe, interviewees can often be honest.

In this article we have broke down what the interviewer is looking for in a perfect job interview answer and to help you create the perfect answer we have recorded an example answer.

Job Interview Question: How would your colleagues describe you?

 

Explanation of the Question:

Interviewers enjoy hearing quotes, have a couple of quotes prepared from people at your previous job “David always said I was….” and use statements like: “In my last job I was always known for…” By giving quotes from a named person can be as effective as giving the interviewer a written reference.

Example Job Interview Answer

“In my last company I was always known as the person who got things done. I remember over hearing my Manger Sharon, saying ‘if you need a job doing quickly and efficiently to get me to do it”

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Are you applying for any other jobs? Interview Question

To answer the job interview question “are you applying for any other jobs?” you have to first show your skills and talents to make the employer want you and then use scarcity to increase desire.

Job Interview Question: Are you applying for any other jobs?

 

Explanation of the Job Interview Question:

Of course you are, every interviewer knows you are looking for work and it’s highly unlikely that you only have one interview lined up.

Explain why you are looking for other work and follow this up by telling the interviewer how much you want to work for their company. Employers like to offer jobs to people who will accept them and/or not leave after a couple of weeks for a better job offer. Why? Recruitment can cost companies around 33% of their profits!

Example Interview Answer

“Yes, I am looking at other jobs in this industry as I know this is the type of work I will excel in. I have researched your company and feel this is the type of company I would really fit into”

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6 Questions to Ask the Interviewer in a Job Interview

The average job interview last around 45 minutes, during this period the interviewer will ask you around 10 sector related interview questions to determine if you the applicant have the required skills and experience deemed appropriate for the advertised position.

Most applicants fall into the common trap of simply answering a question before waiting for the next job interview question to be asked. The robotic way of acting in the job interview does you know favours, to influence the job interview you need ask the interviewer questions throughout the job interview

As you answer an interviewers question, finish by asking one of the 6 questions below creating a conversational job interview

Questions should not be randomly asked during the job interview instead wait for the perfect opportunity, asking questions that are relevant to the current topic, as this will create a good relationship between you and the job interviewer.

Questions to ask at the job interview 1. Company Growth

“as a specialist in X sector I was wondering if you have any future plans to develop into other niches?”

Questions to ask at the job interview 2. Check the Company Barriers

“What are the biggest challenges your employees face when working on X?

Questions to ask at the job interview 3. Development Opportunities

“Do you encourage internal promotions and personal development?”

Questions to ask at the job interview 4. Checking Staff Retention

“It is good to hear that as a company you are keen to develop your workforce, does this have a positive effect on staff retention?”

Questions to ask at the job interview 5. Employer Reflection

“If you could go back 12 months what would you do differently?”

Questions to ask at the job interview 6. Employing You

“If you recruited me, how would my skills and experience help you achieve your goals?”