Interviews Archives - Page 2 of 32 - Job Interview Coaching

April 12, 2023April 12, 2023

Can you use ChatGPT to help pass a job interview?

ChatGPT is an open AI source that communicates with users in a conversational way while answering questions and helping people with various tasks from essay writing to creating code, and of course, helping job hunters to gain job offers.

The question career professionals are asking is: Can ChatGPT help me land a job? and If so, what do I need to do?

I asked ChatGPT to help me to answer commonly asked job interview questions and here is the advice I gained:

Sure, here are some sample answers to the job interview questions you provided:

“Tell me about yourself?”

I am an AI-powered language model trained to assist and answer various queries. My purpose is to provide useful and accurate information to help people in their daily lives. I am constantly learning and updating my knowledge to ensure that I can provide the best possible assistance to my users.

“Why do you want to work here?”

As an AI language model, I don’t have personal motivations or desires, but I can explain some reasons why someone might want to work for a particular company, such as:

I am impressed by the company’s mission and values, and I believe that the work the company does is important and meaningful.
The company has a great reputation in the industry, and I would like to be part of a team that is recognized for its excellence.
The company offers great opportunities for growth and development, and I am excited to learn new skills and advance my career.

“What are your weaknesses?”

As an AI language model, I don’t have weaknesses or strengths in the traditional sense. However, some general advice for answering this question is, to be honest about areas where you may need improvement and demonstrate how you are working to overcome those weaknesses.

“What are your strengths?”

As an AI language model, some of my strengths include being able to provide accurate and helpful information quickly, learning from past interactions to improve future responses, and being available 24/7 to assist users with their queries.

“Do you have an example of working in a team?”

As an AI language model, I work with a team of developers and data scientists who are responsible for training and improving my capabilities. Together, we work to ensure that I am providing the best possible assistance to users and addressing any issues or challenges that arise.

“Do you have any questions for us?”

As an AI language model, I don’t have questions in the traditional sense, but some suggestions for questions you might ask the interviewer include:

What qualities do you look for in successful employees in this role?
What are the biggest challenges facing the company right now, and how do you plan to address them?
Can you tell me more about the company culture and what it’s like to work here?

With the first set of answers, I wasn’t overly impressed being told over again that ‘As an AI model….’ Was it something I was doing wrong?

The answers given by ChatGPT do state good ideas – questions that can be asked at the interview end, but in the main, a quick search on Google would help a prospective candidate find better interview answers and more in-depth interview advice.

Business Insider also tested ChatGPT for its ability to write a cover letter. The AI-written cover letter was sent to real recruiters who, overall, liked the cover letter saying that they would invite the applicant to a follow-up screening call – the goal of a cover letter, but they also stated that ‘letters lacked personality and research about the companies’.

Indeed also looked into the generic interview answer problem, saying, ‘You can ask ChatGPT, “What are some tips for preparing for a job interview?” It will respond by telling you to research the company, review the job description and prepare to answer common questions.‘

They found that asking more specific questions would create more specific (potential) answers. As an example, instead of asking ChatGPT ‘What are common interview questions?’ ask ‘What interview questions would a (job role) be asked?’

Career tuners requested a mock interview with ChatGPT, asking for very specific information: ‘

‘I have an interview with (company name) for (job title) and the name of my interviewer is (name). Can you give me the following:
1. Information on the company, the industry, and its competitors
2. The culture of the company
3. How I need to speak to the company’s culture in my interview answers
4. Questions I can ask (interviewer’s name) at the end of the interview
5. Any mistakes I can potentially be making that would specifically affect my candidacy for a (job title) position with (company name)‘

The answers weren’t as impressive as hoped for, with some information being irrelevant and outdated.

Career Flow also found that asking specific questions is key: ‘While asking questions to ChatGPT, think of it as a very smart but very stupid machine. Despite being smart enough to know everything, it won’t give you an accurate answer unless you tell it exactly what you need.’

Is ChatGPT better than an AI-powered mock interview?

A secondary barrier to ChatGPT in helping to prepare for a job interview is not being able to read non-verbal communications; facial expressions, gestures, and even the candidate’s appearance, all, research has shown, has an impact on the interview outcome.

Google and Linkedin are helping job seekers by offering a free interactive AI-delivered mock interview. The post-interview feedback includes a review of the candidate’s interview answer, a filler-word counter, and additional interview tips – all advice that is missing when using ChatGPT to help land a job.

The final barrier for anyone relying on AI to support with their job interview is that it is difficult ChatGPT to predict:

The type of job interview each company will use; formal, or informal, a values interview, behavioral and situational interview questions, a panel or single person interview
The interviewer’s personality; a cold or warm interviewer – this is important as humans interact differently with different temperaments
Accurately predicting interview questions; two employers offering the same position, in the same industry may ask different questions

The benefits of ChatGPT for job interview preparation

Can help predict common interview questions
Answers given can be specific when a distinct demand is asked
Information is taken from various sources
Answers can be used as a template that can be reworded
It’s a great tool when an applicant is struggling to come up with any interview answer
And, it’s currently a free tool

The negative of using ChatGPT for preparing for your next job interview

Information given can be outdated or incorrect
Answers can seem robotic, or dry
Remembering a set of written interview answers is harder than discussing a memory or experience
It is unlikely to give answers for ‘value job interviews’ and questions about company culture
There isn’t a tool for checking non-verbal communication or communication style

February 16, 2023February 16, 2023

Stop Making These Simple Interview Mistakes

Job hunters often fail job interviews due to the small mistakes they are making. These interview errors are often outside the job seekers’ conscious awareness – the applicant keeps failing job interviews without understanding how their years of industry experience and sector-related qualifications aren’t enough to land them a job offer.

Becoming aware of common job interview mistakes allows a career professional to reflect on their interview skills and make necessary changes.

Are you making these common interview errors?

Boxing yourself in.

Confidence, in a job interview, is key to success. And, confidence is portrayed by the communication of competencies.

To show confidence, the savvy interviewee will state specific facts ‘I know all about your company’ or ‘I am an expert in…’

Stating a specific fact can be a powerful affirmation statement. When confidently put, often the affirmation will be taken, without question, by the interviewer. It is a lack of skilled interviewers in the recruitment that allow confident statements to be taken as red. More and more, recruiters are being trained in the art of interviewing. One of the techniques taught to job interviewers is to ask for specific and measurable information, to challenge ambiguous statements, and to gather evidence to project job performance.

As an example, for the ‘I know all about your company..’ interview answer to the question ‘what made you apply for a role with our organisation?’ the trained interviewer may ask a specific follow question: ‘It’s great to hear that you have researched the organisation, what do you know X part of the company?’

This can make some interviewees lose credibility if they have to backtrack on their original assertation: ‘I know all about your company’

Job candidates, instead of making a sweeping statement can use specific information to embed into their interview answers: ‘After reading that your company was involved in X, I wanted to learn more about the organisation, and….’

A lack of flexible opinions

In the main, employees will have a level of flexibility in terms of job duties, ways of working, and their hierarchy of needs.

Employers like a flexible employee, especially as job roles evolve in line with ever-changing business needs. Being seen as inflexible or having a strong opinion that is the opposite of the interviewers can break rapport.

An example interview question is: ‘what type of manager do you best work under?’ can result in a strong opinion: ‘I strongly believe in a manager having X leadership style….’ If the stated leadership style differs from the culture of the company, the interview panel may feel that the applicant won’t fit in well with the current team.

The solution is to give a ‘options’ answer. An options answer gives multiple choices, embedded within the interview answer, which creates the illusion of an opinion where there wasn’t one. To answer the ‘best management style’ interview question, the job candidate could say: ‘different leadership styles suit different tasks and projects, as an example in X situation (sector-related situation) a good leadership style would be Y, but when (industry related example) a better management approach would be to…’

Other common interview questions that need a ‘options’ answer include:

Do you work best within a team or on your own initiative?
Are you a leader or a follower?
How would you deal with X situation?

2 mouth’s, 1 ear

Job hunters are famous for forgetting their GCSE biology. Humans have 2 ears and 1 mouth, not I ear and 2 mouths. In short, job hunters need to listen more than they speak.

During a job interview nerves and anxiety play a large part in the applicant’s job interview identity – how the employer perceives the candidate due to their verbal and non-verbal cues. Being nervous during the recruitment process creates a physical change in the brain resulting in a poor job interview performance.

Failure of the long-term memory
A lack of listening or understanding
Unable to process information
Increase in the use of filler words
Fidgets, sweating, and mumbling

Some interviewees, subconsciously wanting the interview to end, will start answering a question before the interviewer has finished asking it. Others misunderstand the meaning or reason for the interview questions, resulting in the delivery of an irrelevant example. And many will talk to quickly to be understood.

To answer an interview question well, the interviewee must:

Identify the job criteria the interview question references
Give a suitable example relevant to the specific interview question
Deliver a detailed answer, communicating the example confidently

An applicant unsure of the interview question, or those who simply don’t hear the question can:

Ask for the question to be repeated
Ask for specific information, as an example, for a ‘teamwork example’ you can ask ‘do you want an example of teamwork from my current role or from any time?’
Take a sip of water to give additional time (a few seconds) to digest the answer and help form the answer
It is also fine to say ‘that’s a good question, just give me a second to think of a suitable example’

The interview, from the interviewee’s perspective, should also be viewed as a conversation about the applicant’s skills and experiences, not a pressurised job interview. With this in mind, the interviewee should:

Ask more questions through the job interview
Clarify key points
Question the interview panel about their experience and opinions

Never lying

What? I thought you should never lie in a job interview!

Being too honest can be a barrier to employment. Imagine being asked ‘why are you leaving your current role?’ The truth might be that the company culture is toxic. But, stating this in a job interview can be seen as negative. The negative opinion is created because of interview stereotypes. Common interview stereotypes include:

Being late for an interview is a sign of being unprofessional (the reality is that a crash on a motorway could have caused a long delay)
Overweight applicants are lazy (see the research on obesity in recruitment)
Giving a negative opinion in a job interview means you are a negative person

Another question where the truth can result in a lack of job offers is with the job interview question: ‘tell me about the main duties in your current role?’

Interview answers, in a structured job interview, are scored on a point system. The points are awarded on the amount of criteria reference during the interview answer. If, for example, the main duties in the current role are significant for the new position, but secondary and third duties are more relevant, it is imperative to talk only about job duties that will score high on the interview scorecard.

‘Where do you see yourself in 5 years’ time?’ can be a tricky question if the answer is ‘in another company in a higher paid role, after gaining just the right amount of experience in this low salary position to apply for the new position!’

Instead, the savvy interviewee will tell a white lie, explaining how they will be loyal to the company.

To pass a job interview it is important to communicate how you meet the job criteria, while selling your unique selling points. Stand out from the crowd by delivering an outstanding interview performance without making these common interview mistakes.

February 9, 2023February 9, 2023

CEIAG School Lesson Plan: Job Interviews

The CEIAG Job Interview lesson plan can be used to meet GATSBY benchmarks: 1 – a stable careers programme, and 2 – learning from careers and labour market information. Activities can be tailored to focus on a specific curriculum and job sector, supporting GATSBY benchmark 4 linking curriculum learning to careers, or as a more generic career guidance session.

This session is suitable for high school, further education, and higher education students.

CEIAG Lesson Plan Details – designed to be a flexible lesson plan which can be easily adapted to suit the needs of the class.

Duration: 60 minutes

Number of pupils: 10-30

Each interview activity last for 60 minutes, the whole lesson plan can be delivered as a CEIAG drop-down day event or each activity can be delivered on its own.

CEIAG Job Interview Lesson Plan – Activity 1

Become a confident speaker

The activity objective is to increase confident communication and can be used as an ice breaker as part of a full-day interview lesson plan or as a confidence-building activity.

Aims:

Increase confidence when speaking off the cuff
To learn how to give a detailed description
Become competent when answering ad-hoc questions

Each pupil in turn will stand in front of the class (or within small groups) and takes a question out of a box. The pupil then answers the question, taking between 1-2 minutes

Example questions:

If you could go back in time, what year would you return to?
If you could have a superpower, what superpower would you choose?
Tell me about your best holiday
Describe what you will be doing in 10 years’ time
What do you prefer carrots or sprouts and why?
Convince the class that a caravan holiday in the UK is better than a summer holiday abroad
If you were the prime minister for a day what would you do?
What do you prefer cats or dogs and why?

Once all the group have answered a generic question, ask the group what collectively they could improve to deliver a better speech. Answers often include:

Use less urms and arghs
Slow down
Speak straight away
Give more detail
More around
Gesture and eye contact

Using the advice, ask the pupils to repeat the speaking exercise using a new set of questions

CEIAG Job Interview Lesson Plan – Activity 2

What is an interview?

The key objective is for learners to recognise that they are likely to attend multiple interviews throughout their life

Aims

Recognise different environments where interviews will take place
Understand what a structured interview is
Learn the 3 rules for a successful job interview

Ask the class ‘when are you likely to be interviewed?’ Common answers will include:

Job interview
College interview
University interview
Apprenticeship interview
If you are famous

Explain that career data has found that most people will have 3 careers in their life, and its common for career professionals to change organisations once every 3-5 years. Most people attend 6 job interviews before being offered a job role.

In groups, ask the pupils discuss what happens in a job interview (for 5 mins). Ask different groups for their opinions. Explain that most organisation use a ‘structured job interview process’ this is where the interview panel ask the same questions to each interviewee. Their interview answers are then scored on a pre-set scale, often between 1-4, with 4 being the highest score. Points are awarded by the interviewer cross referencing the interview answers against a pre-written list of criteria for each 1-4 points.

Research has found that the top two interviewees only have a score difference of 1 or 2. That means if the other interviewee gains 3s across all the interview questions, and you get all 3s and one 4, you will be offered the job role.

State, the 3 rules for a successful job interview are:

Identifying the job criteria
Being a self-promoter
Communicating with confidence

Ask the class, what each rule means:

Identifying the job criteria

Understanding what skills, qualities, experiences, and qualifications the employer requires for the advertised job position. The interview questions will be based on the job criteria. Therefore, by knowing the job criteria a job applicant can predict the interview questions and prepare detailed job interview answers.

Being a self-promoter

Being able to ‘sell’ yourself is key in a job interview. Never downplay your experiences and skills, and instead talk in detail about specific tasks you completed.

In groups ask the pupils to spend 10 minutes selling an item: a banana, a new style of pen, a pair of spectacles. Each group then ‘sells’ their item, focusing on the item’s benefits. After a group has ‘sold’ the item, ask the rest of the class if there are any other benefits that the group could have mentioned.

Communicating with confidence

Confident speakers don’t use filler words, have awkward pauses, or talk too quickly. They also give more detailed answers, have better eye contact, and naturally gesture. Ask the group to mention famous (good) speakers and ask what they liked about their speaking style.

Summarise by asking what the three job interview rules are.

Finally, ask about other types of job interviews:

Group interview where applicants get involved in a group task. Employers here look at team work, leadership, and communication skills.
Test interview – often a Math and English test. Common in high skilled roles.
Role-playing, to look at how an interviewee would act in a particular situation.
Artificial intelligence robot interview – a new style of interviewing for large organisation’s. This is a video interview conducted by an AI bot. candidates are asked 3 interview questions which have to be answered within a set time frame. The AI bot then cross-references the answers against the job criteria before the successful applicants move to a human round of interviews. This is replacing the telephone screening interview process.

CEIAG Job Interview Lesson Plan – Activity 3

First impressions

The objective is to understand that we make generalisations when meeting someone new and how these opinions are often wrong

Aims:

Understand what stereotyping is
Become more aware of what makes good first impression in a job interview situation
How to promote yourself verbally and non-verbally

Show a pictures of around 5 different people. Ask, on first impressions who would you offer a job to and why. Give each group 5 minutes to discuss and then ask each group to feedback.

Explain how everyone stereotypes and makes opinions within milliseconds of meeting someone. Opinions are often created based on the culture of the country we grew up in, home life and personal experiences, values, and beliefs.

Ask the whole class what factors make a good or bad first impression? Common answers include:

What the person is wearing
Age
Makeup
Tattoos
Gender
Race
Eye contact
Posture
What they say/sound like

Ask the group who would be best for the following job role, and ask for reasons:

Engineer – a male or female
Computer game designer – an older or younger applicant
Customer service advisor – an overweight individual or an average-weight person

Explain that initial opinions are stereotypes. At this point we know nothing about the person. Repeat the questions again but give more context:

Engineer – a male who has recently left university or a female with 10-year engineering experience
Computer game designer – an older who invented the first gaming app or a younger applicant with 3 years experience in coding
Customer service advisor – an overweight individual with a level 3 customer service qualification and 6 years of customer service experience or an average-weight person with 3 years of telephone communication experience and a level 2 customer service qualification

***this often results in pupils requesting more detail about the characters.

Ask the group to design the perfect interviewee. On a flipchart draw the elements the group state. This may include a suit, briefcase, hairstyle, etc

In small groups ask what the ‘perfect’ interviewee could initially say when first meeting the interview panel to help create a positive first impression. At the end of 5 minutes, ask each group to state their prepared sentences. Ask the larger class for feedback on the introduction. This can include verbal and nonverbal communication.

CEIAG Job Interview Lesson Plan – Activity 4

How to answer job interview questions

Become better skilled at answering job interview questions is the main objective for this activity

Aims:

Understand the SAP (situation, action, and positive outcome) model – an easier version of the STAR technique for school/college leavers
Become confident at answering interview questions
Better understand the job interview process

Explain that most job interviews last around 45 minutes with 2 or more interviewers asking, on average 8 job interview questions. The initial question is often ‘tell me about yourself?’ and the final question is ‘ do you have any questions for us?’

The middle 6 questions are often questions related to the job criteria – the duties and/or skills required for the main part of the job role.

Ask the group what the main job duties are for:

Engineer
Customer service advisor

Ask, with these duties in mind what questions will the interview ask? Write these on a board.

Example include:

Do you have experience of (duty)?
What do you do in X situation?
Give me an example of working in a team?

Explain the SAP (situation, actions, and positive outcome) technique. When giving an example of part of an interview answer use the SAP technique:

Situation – in one sentence describe the situation “I was asked to (solve a problem) help set up a fundraising activity”
Actions – describe specific actions you took “to do this, I first did X, then I did Y, and finally I Z”
Positive outcome – state what happened after the actions “this resulted in a great cake bake sale where we raised over £60 for the charity”

Split the class into pairs, ask each pair to pick 3 of the interview questions on the board, and ask them to prepare an interview answer. Give at least 15 minutes for this task.

As for a volunteer to be interviewed. Pick one of their chosen interview questions and ask the pupil to answer it. Focus here on content not delivery. Break down the answer. Did they:

Give a detailed answer?
Did they describe the situation?
State, in detail, the actions they taken
Was the positive outcome mentioned?
Was the language positive and self-promotion?

CEIAG Job Interview Lesson Plan – Activity 5

Become confident at answering multiple interview questions.

This activity can be completed as a ‘mock interview’ using local employers or teachers, or within the class with students interviewing each other.

First ask the pupils to take the teenager interview test to help them understand how they currently perform in a job interview: interview test

Choose interviewees and interviewers.

Each interviewer is given a common list of interview questions for a generic customer service role:

Do you have any experience in customer service, please share an example?
Give me an example of communicating something to another person?
Tell me about a time you were involved within a team?
Do you have an example of putting 100% into a task?
Have you ever had to plan for something, what did you do?

The interviewers ask one question to one interviewee, and then the interview moves to the next interviewer who ask the second question (this way the interviewers only ask the same questions to the different interviewees)

At the end of the interviewing, ask for feedback:

What was it like being interviewed by different interviewers – what was the difference in their approach?
Interviewers, give an example of a great answer.
Did you feel nervous as the interviewee or interviewer?
What did you learn from your role?
What could you do to improve your interview skills
Did everyone find it easy using the SAP technique?

January 26, 2023January 26, 2023

3 indicators that you are just about to fail your job interview

Jobs are notoriously difficult. Research shows, how on average, it takes at least 2-3 interviews to be given a job offer. And how just under half of employers won’t offer a position to an interviewee who lacks job interview confidence. The key then, to a successful job interview, is to identify during the recruitment process itself if you are juts about to fail the job interview and to quickly change tack.

Knowing the 3 indicators that highlight the possibility of a potential failed job interview can help job applicants reassess their interview identity to help increase job offers.

Signs of a bad job interview

Anticipation, nervousness, and being the center of attention affect a job candidates interview performance. A highly experiences, skill, and qualified career professional, one who is highly thought off in their current role, can been viewed negatively if their interview answers lack substance and are communicated without confidence.

The first sign that an employer isn’t impressed is by the lack of follow up interview questions.

Employers, in the main, utilise the structured job interview approach. In a structured job interview, the interview panel ask a number of behavioural and situational job interview questions.

Each job applicant is asked the same questions, in the same order, and each interview answered is scored against a set criteria. Each member of the interview panel will have a list of interview questions, and example answers for each of the scoring criteria, which, on average, is a 1-4 scoring system.

Under each job interview question is a further list of follow up questions. Employers know that most people will be nervous during the job interview, and their initial response to the question may lack detail, be off point due to the question being misunderstood, or the employer will intuitive know that there is ‘more’ to be uncovered.

If a sought after applicant gives a weak interview answer, members of the interview panel will ask an additional follow question, or more clarity, or for a specific piece of information that relates to the scoring criteria.

As an example, if the interview question relates to time management and the interview answer is focused on using calendar reminders, to-do list, planning out work in advance, but the employer is more interested in how the potential employee decides on the priority of a task, the interviewer may asked a follow up question for this specific element of time management.

The asking of additional, and specific, questions can be the difference between an interviewee gaining a three or four scoring on the interview scorecard.

The first indicator that the interview isn’t going well is the lack of follow up interview questions.

This is especially true for job applicants who know they have given a weak answer, or if an interview example was short in duration (and lacking detail), or when the same ‘example’ has been used multiple times.

At a subconscious level, an employer who initially likes an applicant, due to the halo effect, will want that interviewee to do well. A naturally occurrence of willing someone to give high-scoring interview answers, is giving a helping-hand, by asking an additional question that allows the presumed suitable applicant to divulge more information.

On the other hand, an applicant who is viewed as not a good fit will have the opposite effect on the members of the interview panel. In short, the interviewers won’t want to waste their time on prolonging an interview that they believe isn’t going to have a positive outcome.

Subconsciously, wanting the interview to end quickly, stops the asking of additional information. If an applicant senses the lack of supportive questions, they need to start giving more detailed answers using a powerful interview formula that results in high-scoring interview answers.

The second sign of bad job interview is the interviewer not taking notes

As mentioned, during a structured job interview each member of the interview panel will possess an interview scorecard, which has a list of job interview questions and the scoring criteria. Under each question is a space for the interviewers to make notes – the recording of the candidates answers.

The idea is that at the interview end, the recruiters can cross reference their notes, what the applicant has discussed, against the job interview criteria, before allocating an interview score.

When an interviewee is giving a relevant and detailed answer, the employer will often make notes verbatim, attempting to catch as much information as possible, so they can accurately score the candidate at the interview end.

Often when a job candidate gives constant weak answers the employer will write far less information. Or in some cases they wont record any of the information at all. In some cases, if the interview answer is off point, a panel member may ask a follow up question, but again if the answer doesn’t result in the employer scribbling on their forms, its possible the answer hasn’t hit the mark.

It is hard to remember exactly what a person has said, which is why employers make notes. After a full day of interviewing, it is difficult to remember which applicant gave which example. This is why note taking, or the lack of recording interview answers, has a powerful impact on who the advertised job is offered to.

A good sign the job interview is going well is when the employer states: “sorry, I will juts be a few more seconds writing down what you have just said”

The third indicator that you wont be offered the job role is the employer reluctance to discuss the job role

The goal of a job interview, from the employers perspective, is to predict the job performance of the job candidates. A secondary goal, is to promote the benefits of working at the organisation to successfully recruit first-choice applicants.

To ensure a job offer results in a job hire, employers throughout the job interview will highlight benefits of the organisation, including the company culture, available training, leadership styles, their vision and vales, all to create an overall positive package that would be hard to refused.

Employers do this in two ways. The first is at the interview start, when the employer will outline the job role and company, and why the position is currently available. In this section the interviewer will, often, discuss the long term objective of the organisation, where they sit in terms of competitors, and future goals. They create a carrot for the applicant to chase.

Secondly, the interview panel will ‘sell’ the company in an unplanned way. As an example, if a first-choice applicant is talking about their passion for learning and development, and how they always look for roles that can help them grow. An employer, who is feeling positive about the interviewee will sell a benefit of the company: “In our team we have a learning and development budget that all employees can access to purchase relevant training, including recognised qualifications”

Selling is an effort, and what is often the case is that people only make an effort if they truly want something. In the interview scenario, if the employer doesn’t believe the job applicant will be a good fit, they wont make an effort to promote the benefits of working within their team or for their organisation without being promoted or asked by the interviewee.

The 3 signs of a failed job interview

The 3 indicators that the interview wont result in a job offer are, a lack up additional questions to gain more scoring related criteria, a absence of note taking, and little communication around what makes their company great to work for.

Five additional signs that the job interview isn’t going well

The employers look at each other with a confused impression after an answer
A lack of smiling and positive body language during the interview
A much shorter than expected interview process
The interview panel didn’t ‘sell’ the company to the applicant
The interview seem rushed and the interviewers seemed distracted

Get interview ready by taking the interview prediction grid test

January 12, 2023January 12, 2023

How to answer the job interview question: ‘what is your professional development plan for the next 12 months?’

Many employers will ask a job interview question to help better understand the job applicants’ motivation to develop professional skills. A candidate that can clearly communicate how they are a lifelong leaner, and how they have attended regular professional development opportunities to improve industry-related skills and knowledge, is likely to score high on a ‘continuous professional development’ interview question.

This article will help a job interviewee prepare for the job interview question: ‘Can you give an example of working towards your (CPD) continuous professional development?’

Professional development plan

Career professionals have a clear career goal and a professional development plan. Continuous professional development, is the ongoing process of gaining the required skills to keep up to date with changes happening within the job sector. As technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, customer demand, and global politics, continue to change the job market, today’s employee needs to continue their development to be seen as highly employable.

Employers understand the importance of recruiting staff that have a passion for the sector and are motivated to attend training, to gain new skill sets, and become more knowledgeably about their industry. For this reason, the interview question: ‘tell me about any recent continuous professional development opportunities you have attend?’ is a commonly asked job interview question.

The interviewee needs to answer the question by discussing relevant information. Talking about public speaking or art for a role where these skills aren’t required won’t meet the job criteria on the recruitment panel’s interview scorecard. When hiring a new employee an organisation needs to ensure fairness, research has found that a structured job interview – asking each applicant the same interview questions and scoring each interview answer against the criteria on the interview scorecard, results in the most appropriate hire.

To gain a high-scoring job interview answer, the job candidate can use the job advert, role description, and their own industry knowledge to create a list of the job duties, required skills, qualities, and knowledge required to be successful in the advertised position. The insight of the job role allows an applicant to tailor their job interview answer to meet the essential skills and requirements the employer has associated to the job position.

In addition to meeting the essential job criteria, each job interview answers must be communicated confidently in a self-promoting way. Within a job interview downplaying a skill set or knowledge rarely pays off, as research has shown how self-promoting interviewees are much more likely to gain job offers.

Returning to the professional development plan, the plan should list the required skills needed for a certain job role and how they can be gained. In some cases, the plan will include industry qualifications, sector-related skills, and personal qualities. Each required skill should have an achievement deadline date, and a milestone. For ease, most career professionals will embed course links into the plan, and or add, application deadline dates.

For sector knowledge, the development plan may list useful industry magazines, blogs, or books. These articles may possess relevant information that can be used to showcase industry professionalism.

Answering the job interview question: ‘what is your professional development plan for the next 12 months?’

The interview will, in most cases, take under one hour to complete. A panel of three senior employees will be seated on the interview panel, with each panel member asking two to three interview questions. The interview question ‘what is your professional development plan?’ is generally asked in the later stages of the interview.

A lack of a development plan, especially in fast-paced job sectors, can be viewed as a red flag. Applicants who mumble something about ‘wanting’ to develop skills are seen as having an ‘insincere’ interview identity.

Whereas a charismatic interview identity will confidently deliver a detailed answer that highlights their interest in the job role, their enthusiasm for the sector, and their plan for developing relevant skills and knowledge.

How to answer professional development plan interview questions

Start with a confirmation statement that highlights a passion for professional development:

‘Yes I have a professional development plan that I have been working towards for the past 12 months with the aim of gaining X (sector knowledge/skill)…’

The second line of the interview answer needs to give more specific information by discussing the development plan, and detailing actions taken:

‘To achieve this development goal, I have started a course in (course name) where I have learned (industry-related knowledge) and to date, I have successfully passed (unit/qualification). X months a go I also attend a (short training course) to improve my knowledge in (sector-related knowledge) and I am currently working on (detail current development opportunity….’

Follow the past and current professional development opportunities with future actions:

‘My CPD actions for the next 12 months include (give course date, desired outcome, and duration)…’

End with a summary:

‘To summarise, I have passionate about professional development as I believe that having up-to-date industry-related knowledge will help me improve my performance in work.’

All job interview questions, especially the interview question around continuous professional development, must be answered in detail, by positively communicating (selling yourself) specific information.

October 17, 2022February 22, 2023

Studies into job interview stress and anxiety

Many people suffer from anxiety, in a US study it found that around 20% of the population could suffer from an anxiety disorder.

Particular situations, such as the workplace, can increase the feeling of anxiety “It is not surprising that anxiety is an inherent part of the interview process, as the employment interview is a highly evaluative situation” (Heimberg, Keller, & Peca-Baler, 1986) source

Along with being ‘evaluated’ job applicants, and people in general, feel increased pressure when they are the centre of attention and the feeling of a lack of control.

Research around the impact of job interview anxiety has found that an anxious candidate is likely to score less on the interview scorecard than a less skilled, but more confident interviewee.

Anxiety pre-interview training and/or coaching can help to reduce job interview anxiety, and therefore increase the likelihood of a career professional gaining job offers.

Confidence, data has proven, improves the interview performance as a self-assured interview identity is more likely to give a measurable and detailed interview answer. In addition, confidence is seen as a valuable asset in an employee.

Being a confident interviewee also helps when self-promoting skills, qualities, and experiences. Relaxed applicants communicate better, a key skill in a structured job interview.

Smiling can negatively impact the job interview

Confident job applicants are more likely to express emotions through facial expressions, gestures, body language, and verbal communication. Relaxed interviewees are more likely to smile compared to nervous candidates. Smiling creates a positive loop, when we feel good, we smile. When we smile we feel good.

Therefore, a job seeker at ease in the interview process will feel good, increasing a ‘natural’ smile. A number of studies have found that when a person observes a smiling face, the observing brain releases the feel-good chemical – endorphins. An interviewer through observing a smiling candidate should therefore increase likability for the applicant, increasing that applicant’s chance of gaining a high-scoring interview outcome.

Some research has found the opposite to be true. In an experiment to check the impact of smiling on the outcome of a job interview, it was found that smiling could decrease the likelihood of a job offer. The findings show the importance of job choice. Applicants were rated less favorable for careers associated with a ‘serious demeanor’ if they were found to be smiling. Another experiment (Able & Deitz, 2008) found that DJs were seen as being more hireable based on smiling vs non-smiling photographs.

Other research backs up these findings. The job stereotype can increase or decrease desire for an applicant depending on the applicant’s image compared to the interviewer’s perception. An experiment that looked at the effects of appearance on job evaluations found that the ‘beauty is beastly’ stereotype can influence hiring decisions, an ‘attractive’ female applying for a traditionally masculine job position, could be related lower than an ‘unattractive; female with the same knowledge/experience.

Smiling is often associated to attractiveness. The ‘what is beautiful is good’ bias shows that attractiveness can increase job offers, as humans link physical attractiveness to the perceived suitability of the applicant to the job role.

In the research on smiling vs job interview offers, the hiring of an applicant was maximised if smiling was lower in the middle of the interview – during the competency-based section of the interview, compared with smiling at the interview start or end.

Does power posing create power?

Highly confident and egocentric types are more likely to adopt the power pose in a job interview.

Low-confident interviewees waiting to be interviewed will slump into their chair, hunch over their phones, and adopt powerless body-language. A self-assured person adopts confident body-language, mainly open gestures compared to closed-off body-language such as self-hugging.

As discussed previously, the body and mind are connected creating positive or negative loops. Above we discussed how when we feel good we smile. And when we smile we feel good. The same connection between mind and body is a result of gestures and body language. High-status people adopt power poses. And Power poses help people to feel high status. Source.

Power poses create the feeling of power, confidence, risk tolerance, and memory for positive words and concepts, cognitive processing, thought abstraction, and being action orientated. And importantly, reduces the feeling of fear. Other techniques help with the feeling of power. One experiment found that recalling a time that a person felt powerful increases the feeling of power, but not as strong as the power effect of a power pose.

The secondary gain from a power pose is the increased feeling of confidence which creates enthusiasm throughout the job interview. And creates a calm and collected mindset that decreases anxiety and stress.

Pre-interview preparation is required, as those looking to ‘fake it’ during the interview itself may be found out. Experiments looking at the impact of acting high-status, using self-promoting stories, positive language, etc, found that the longer the job interview was the harder it became for the anxious interviewee to ‘act’ confident. An expert interviewer using a structured interview process was also able to find flaws in the applicant’s fake persona, leading to the hiring managers perceiving them as manipulative and inauthentic – a dishonest interview identity.

Using power poses prior to the interview creates confidence with improves both ‘what you say’ and ‘how you say it’. What you say encompasses positive language, self-promoting answers, and the duration of the interview answer. Whereas how you say includes volume, emotions, tonality, and being enthusiastic.

Is enthusiasm key to job interview success?

Hiring managers, as well as looking at skills, experience, and knowledge, look for potential. An interviewee’s enthusiasm is key here. A lack of enthusiasm during the recruitment process creates a negative perspective of the applicant; they are viewed as anxious, a weak communicator, and less likely to complete the job role to a satisfactory standard.

How are anxious interviewees put off by an employer?

Job interview anxiety doesn’t only affect the job hunters’ interview performance, it also has a direct impact on the acceptance of job offers for those lucky few who make it through the recruitment process. Anxious job applicants are more likely to turn-down a job offer from an employer if they, the applicant, felt nervous during the recruitment process. This is due to the psychology of projection where you attribute feelings that you are uncomfortable with on to someone or something else, IE the employer.

Employers, therefore, would benefit from adopting techniques to help relax candidates before a job interview. The benefits would be two-fold. One, a calm and relaxed interviewee will offer up a more detailed answer that the interview panel can measure against the job criteria, to help hire the most suitable employee. Second, first-choice candidates are more likely to want to accept a job role from a positive experienced job interview.

Chris Delaney

Chris Delaney is one of the leading job interview coaches in the country, helping career professionals to successfully pass job interviews. Delaney is the author of several job interview reference books including ‘what is your interview identity’

October 10, 2022February 22, 2023

Should AI Hiring Robots Be Banned from the Recruitment Process?

A study, by the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Gender Studies, published in the journal Philosophy and Technology, found that AI robot interviewers discriminate while making hiring decisions.

Initially, AI entered the recruitment arena to create a fairer, and faster way, to hire new staff members. This tech came out fighting with successes across sectors. Global companies such Amazon, Google, Starbucks, Hilton, Ikea, and many more are known for their use of AI in their recruitment processes. In fact, some research shows that 99% of Fortune 500 companies have adopted AI tools for recruitment purposes.

The benefits of AI recruitment software along with the boost in their use during the pandemic where in April 2020 46.6% of employees worked from home, led to an overall acceptance for being invited for an AI bot interview.

Even though many job seekers had an increase in job interview anxiety when being interviewed by a bot instead of a human, applicants also liked the benefits of the AI recruitment process: being able to choose your own date and time of the interview, short and snappy interview questions and the ease of being interviewed from their own home.

Do AI Robots Make Wring Decisions?

A large number of AI-powered software companies claim that the robot hiring managers will lead to a more diverse workforce and the hiring of staff that fit the culture of the company. Importantly, the sales pitches explain that AI won’t bring unconscious bias into the recruitment process, something humans cannot achieve.

The study by the University of Cambridge disagrees. The data found that minor details such as the interviewee’s clothes, lighting, and background influenced the interview outcome. The study also found that the AI bots favoured backgrounds with art or bookshelves, applicants who wore headscarves and judged applicants wearing glasses as less conscientious.

It seems apparent that interview technology hasn’t been effectively tested which will result in many changes over the next few years. In March 2020, HireVue discontinued the facial expression reading element of its recruitment algorithms after controversial concerns about AI robot assessment process and a complaint to the federal trade commission.

At the same time is clear that virtual job interviews are here to stay, with many believing that the evolution of recruitment will find job hunters involved in an interactive hiring process in the metaverse.

Chris Delaney

October 5, 2022February 22, 2023

Why You Are Failing Job Interviews

For an activity that is so regular, many job seekers fail to prepare for the job interview.

A lack of preparation results in common, and avoidable, mistakes being made that often result in a job rejection.

This article will explain the top 5 common job interview mistakes and how to avoid them.

Believing that all interview questions are the same

A common misunderstanding is that interviewers across all job sectors ask the same interview questions.

This is why searching for ‘job interview questions’ is more commonly searched (around 1-10k per month Source Google keyword planner 20/22) than, as an example, ‘job interview questions for engineering’ (around 100-1k per month. Source Google keyword planner 20/22).

There are a few commonly asked job interview questions, that we will list at the bottom of the article, but in the main, recruiters ask specific questions relevant to the job role and company culture. As an example, a teacher job interview will be filled with questions about lesson planning, classroom management, and preparing for Ofsted visits. Whereas a manager job interview will feature questions on financial planning, leadership skills, and project management.

That much is obvious. What isn’t as obvious is the difference in interview questions for the same, but in different organisations. A misconception is that all (sector) employers ask the same questions. This is true to an extent. A retail interview, for various retail outlets, is likely to feature a job interview question relating to customer service. This doesn’t mean that every question will be repeated with each employer.

With the retail example, one interviewer from a food retail outlet may focus questions on stock rotation, dealing with spoiled food, and food contamination. A second retail recruiter, from, let’s say a clothing retail store might ask questions on communication, fashion knowledge, and dealing with returns.

The first rule for a successful job interview is to identify the job criteria. Review the job specification, read the job advert, research the company culture, vision and values. In fact, researching values and company culture is highly important as more employers use ‘value interviews’ and ‘strength-based interviewing’ as part of their recruitment process.

Only using examples from your current role

The most popular job interview is a behavioural interview, part of the structured interview process. The behavioural interview asks for examples of how the candidate has previously acted in past situations.

Example behavioural interview questions include:

Give me an example of when you have collaborated with stakeholders?
Have you ever had to deal with competing deadlines, what did you do?
Describe a time that you have influenced others to agree to one of your suggestions?

Most behavioural interview questions can be predicted. The key common tasks for the new role, in most cases, will be discussed in the job interview in the form of a set of behavioural interview questions.

The problem comes when a candidate is nervous. An interviewee’s anxiety level affects their memory professing. The increase in cortisol, the stress hormone, results in memory loss. It becomes harder to recall details, such as answers to interview questions, or remembering the details of the experience the job candidate planned to discuss during the recruitment process.

The interview stress problem results in the overuse of one example. The interview panel ask an easy-opening interview question about a generic skill, teamwork or communication, and the applicant gives an example of using the required skill. The second question becomes more specific “Tell me about a time you used (required skill or knowledge)?” The nervous applicant struggles to find a suitable example, so reverts to using the same example from question one: “As I said, when I was…(previous example)…I used (required skill)”

From the interview panel’s perspective, the repetitiveness of the same situation doesn’t showcase enough variety, experience or knowledge for the recruiters to see the value of hiring the nervous applicant.

This is a very similar problem to only using examples from the current employer. In a job interview, when anxiety is often higher, it is easier to recall information from the current role. This is fine, often expected, for a least one or two interview questions.

Using only one employer example has one key barrier – the candidate can only highlight the skills and knowledge from that particular role, rather than showcasing a diverse set of skills, knowledge and experiences, that is gained by sharing examples from various roles and positions.

To prepare for a job interview, write down at least 10 behavioural interview questions that are likely to be asked. Next, reflect on 5 situations from at least 3 different employers.

The situations will become the examples that will be embedded into the interview answer. The ideal situation is one that required multiple skills and knowledge to create a successful outcome; teamwork, communication, leadership, industry knowledge, collaboration, stakeholder engagement, etc.

This allows the savvy interview applicant to reframe the example and situation depending on the interview question and the required skill or knowledge the employer is looking for the applicant to discuss. Remembering 5 examples that can be used for multiple interview questions is much easier than having to prepare 10-15 single-use interview answers.

Believing the interviewer is psychic

There is a myth that interviewers are superhuman.

The nervous interviewee believes that the employer is highly confident when interviewing, in fact, many are just as nervous as the job applicant. Some organisations allow their trained HR team to conduct the job interviews, which means they are skilled in interviewing but not always with the sector technical know-how.

The biggest misconception is that the interview panel is psychic. A high number of career professionals fail to mention key information during their interview answers. As an example, the applicant will describe a problem they faced and the actions they took to overcome the problem. On the face of it, the interview answer format sounds positive. In reality, the interviewee will delete essential information from the interview answer:

Decision-making skill
Reasons for declining an option
Creative thinking process
Time management
Communication skills and stakeholder relationships
Work ethic and commitment

The list can go on and on. It is important, therefore, to give as much detail that relates to the interview question as possible. In fact, some research has found how the higher number of words per interview answer increases the likelihood of a positive interview outcome.

A more basic problem for internal interviews is not understanding the impact of an interview scorecard. In a structured interview, each interview answer is cross-referenced against a set of job criteria recorded on the interview scorecard. The criteria includes skills, qualities, and experiences. Each interview question is scored on a scale, for example of 1-4. The interview panel can only score an applicant high if they reference all the criteria on the interview scorecard. This is why ‘identifying the job criteria’ is of the most importance.

Because the applicant, in an internal job interview, knows the interviewer has seen their work, they will naturally miss out key information. This lack of detail only results in a low-scoring interview answer.

To overcome the missing information problem 1) identify the job criteria 2) be a self-promoter 3) communicate confidently

Disclosing irrelevant information

If you this next common interview mistake you must stop straight away

One of the worst errors an interviewee can make is the self-discloser of weaknesses. Time and time again candidates will randomly disclose a weakness even when they haven’t been asked.

When asked a technical question, it is easy to let slip out ‘I’ve never worked on something like that’ Instead it is better to confidently communicate your knowledge on the subject. Discussing knowledge will create a stronger interview identity than explaining that you lack experience.

Other negative slippage includes ‘I prefer working on my own initiative..’ to questions about teamwork. Or, ‘Others in my team focused on that area of work’ when asked about a particular skill.

The interview isn’t just about past experience, its about potential. Negative slippage ruins a positive interview identity. The barrier here is that career professionals don’t even know they are leaking negativities. When I coach career professionals to pass a job interview, I will record and list all of their negative communications – verbal and non-verbal, and most applicants are unaware of around 95% of the negative communication that is affecting their chance of winning a job offer.

Not being ready for the basics

Understanding the job interview format creates familiarity, familiarity increases confidence.

Failing a number of job interviews have a secondary gain, the applicant becomes familiar with the interview process, which in turn increases their self-esteem during the recruitment process.

You don’t need to fail to win. A little research and some mock interviews are enough to become more confident. By understanding the format and preparing for commonly asked interview questions (as well as sector-specific interview questions as discussed above) helps reduce interview anxiety.

Most job interviews last around 45 minutes. The interview panel is made up of around 3 staff members, often including a HR manager. Interviewees will be told about the interview process before being asked, on average, 8 questions, including sector-specific questions and a few of the generic questions recorded below.

The 10 most commonly asked job interview questions:

Do you have any questions for us (asked at the job interview end)
Tell me about your experience
What are your weaknesses
What do you know about our organisation
Give me an example of using (skill/knowledge)
Describe a time that you worked well within a team
How will you manage your time when you have competing deadlines
Explain how you would (deal with a future duty/task)
What are your salary expectations
Give an example of developing your skills or knowledge

Chris Delaney

August 19, 2022February 22, 2023

10 Job Interview Facts You Must Know Before Your Next Interview

10 Job Interview facts

Everyone, at some point or other, will attend a job interview. In fact, most people will attend 20-50 job interviews over their lifetime.

These 10 amazing job interview facts will help you to better understand the interview process and help you to land the job of your dreams.

The first job interview ever was conducted by Thomas Edison in 1921

Job interviews are conducted every day, for every job role, in every job sector, and in every country around the world.

Why are job interviews so popular and how did they originate?

In 1921 the New York Times headline read: “Edison’s questions stir up a storm” To gain a better level of employees Edison created the ‘Edison test’ – the original job interview.

There were hundreds of questions that could be asked, with people complaining that you needed to be a ‘walking encyclopaedia’ to be hired.

After being interviewed, Edison would take successful candidates out for dinner to be tested by eating soup. The famous ‘soup test’ was simple; Edison would watch if the candidate would salt the soup without tasting the soup first. This is because Edison wanted to hire ‘curious’ people and felt that people who salted the soup without testing it – as Edison didn’t want to hire people who replied on assumptions to make opinions.

Source

Since the pandemic, 86% of recruiters have been conducting virtual interviews

Prior to the pandemic recruiters had stated to use virtual job interviews. Covid, which kicked off the work from the home initiative, simply sped up the use of video technology in job interviews.

Online job interviews include human-delivered Q&A interviews, online psychometric tests and AI bot interviews – being interviewed by a robot.

Virtual interviews save time, no travel is required but do require an investment in technology and good internet speed.

Many HR professionals say that virtual interviewing is the new standard with an additional increase in AI bot systems being a major factor in hiring decisions.

Source

The average time for a job interview is 45 minutes

The interview process is in the process of change, especially for high skilled roles.

Previously one or two job interview rounds were enough to highlight enough of the job criteria to gain a job offer or rejection.

The structured interview, which is adopted by most employers, is the key recruitment intervention in the hiring decision. In a structured or formal interview, each applicant is asked a series of job-related interview questions within a 45-minute time frame.

In the main, the applicant is asked 8 interview questions, which are verbally answered by the applicant. Each answer, on average, lasts for around 3 minutes. Some research shows how the longer the duration of the answer the more likely you are to score higher on the interview scorecard, as long as the answer is relevant to the job criteria.

Interview identities, with a high position on the confidence axis, are more likely to give a self-promoting and detailed reply.

Source

Most applicants expect to hear back from an employer within 5 days of the interview

We have all been to a job interview only to wait days, weeks and sometimes even months to hear back from the employer.

There are numerous reasons for a delay in response; multiple interview rounds, staff sickness, and job offers need to be signed off by senior leaders, to the requirement of a DBS check.

Currently, with an increase in job vacancies due in part to the great resignation, job seekers are becoming restless – they want a quick turnaround.

In fact, the late response is affecting the recruitment of first-choice applicants. First-choice applicants, those candidates who are offered multiple job roles won’t hold out for job offers, even for recognised brands.

The average time for hearing back from an employer following a hiring round is 1-2 weeks.

Source

Over 75% of hiring managers use behavioural interview questions to test soft skills

There are many different types of interview questions from situational interview questions to value-based questions.

When hiring, employers need to evaluate sector knowledge, level of expertise, and essential soft skills needed for the advertised position.

The structured job interview is proven to be the best way to predict job performance. Two common types of interview questions, within a structured interview, are behavioural and situational questions.

Situational questions are based on future scenarios and behavioural questions are based on previous behaviours in past job roles. These questions include the famous opening: “give me an example of using X skill”

This type of questioning does have a downside. The best way people learn is through making a mistake. Also, job maturity changes the way a person would approach a similar work base situation. The framing of the question in the past can limit how the applicant responds and promotes their skills.

Source

On average 250 applicants apply for every advertised job

If a future me were asked how many job applicants apply for every advertised position, I would likely say 500, 1000 or even 5000.

These large figures may sound ridiculous. But it wasn’t that long ago when the average number of applicants was around 25 per position. Further, we have already seen some companies receive over 25,000 applications for a job role.

The number of applications increases because of two key reasons. One, technology and globalisation are allowing people around the globe to apply for roles. Two, it is much easier and quicker to upload a resume, CV or application than it was to hand write an application as was previously required.

Source

60% of skilled workers will quit in the middle of an application if it is too lengthy

Applications are boring! The biggest killer of talented and high-skilled applicants is having a long and boring application process with various steps, assessments and uploads.

These days job seekers want to apply for lots of jobs quickly. Ideally by uploading an application, CV and Resume for various positions.

Some large organisations have already recognised this barrier to recruitment. Companies like the NHS allow a job seeker to upload one application that they can then send off for various NHS roles – each application can be edited if the applicant prefers.

Other research shows how having a count down ‘only two questions to go’ or ‘page 2 of 3’ can keep candidates engaged, as they know the application process is soon coming to an end.

Source

Only 2% of applicants receive a job interview

The top 2% have what it takes…to write a good application.

The problem with job hunters wanting a quicker application process is that the targeting of individual applications is highly reduced. A reduction in targeting, and therefore meeting the job criteria, reduces the perceived value an applicant can bring to the company which results in a higher number of rejection letters.

The acceleration in AI bot automated tracking systems, where the AI bot scans an application searching for job criteria before deciding whether of not to offer the applicant a job interview, has a big impact on those job seekers who use the same generic application for all roles and for various organisations who have their own specific criteria based on that company’s values and vision.

Recent research found that 98% of fortune 500 companies now use an application tracking system.

Only, around, 8 applicants receive a job interview. This means competition is high. Some sectors will have a more flexible approach to recruitment as there is a need for staff but in others, where recruitment is less of a problem, a generic application just isn’t good enough.

Source

40% of employers decline interviewees who show no enthusiasm during the recruitment process

The logical hiring process, scoring interviewee answers against the interview scorecard, isn’t that logical.

All logical hiring decisions are influenced by the emotional section of the brain. It is this part of the mind that uses unconscious bias as a starting point in the recruitment process.

The research for the interview prediction grid model – a framework to reflect on how an interviewee is perceived during a job interview and therefore the outcome of the recruitment process, states the importance of confidence within a 1-2-1 or panel interview.

Confidence creates likeability and is associated with other positive attributes; being enthusiastic, intelligence and teamwork.

It is clear then that a lack of confidence during the interview reduces the chances of a job hire.

90% of people who use an interview coach get a job offer as twice as fast as job seekers who don’t prepare

More and more people are now booking job interview coaches. This is especially true for high-skilled roles where competition for positions is high.

Interview coaches increase confidence through role plays, feedback and sharing job interview techniques.

The main reason why job seekers turn to professional interview coaches is that public speaking is cited as the number one fear in the world.

Chris Delaney

August 11, 2022August 16, 2022

Does your background matter on a virtual job interview?

The number of online job interviews has rapidly increased over the past two years and only seems to be becoming ever more popular. In a recent Indeed poll, 82% of employers said they are using virtual interviews.

A virtual interview, from an employer’s perspective, is quicker, easier, and cheaper. The convenience of being interviewed at home also has similar advantages for the potential employee – no travel required, saving transport costs, and having to put time aside to travel. But it also has a downside, the hiring manager gets a glimpse at the applicants’ private lives.

This sneak peek is a peephole into an applicant’s personal life. Just like a face-to-face job interview, where the candidate’s clothes create an unconscious bias, the background of a virtual interviewee can influence the employer’s hiring decision-making process.

Background Matters

Many online platforms offer fake backgrounds; a beach, a beautiful countryside, or an office setting. These backgrounds either look fake, seem inappropriate for a job interview, or create a ghost effect – where the applicant’s body has a white shadow around it.

The number one rule for a virtual job interview is to use a real background.

3 Background choices

With a real background there are three obvious choices:

Clean space (often a white wall)
Single item (plant)
Full view (able to see the whole room)

It is common for interviewees to choose a clean space, a close-up camera that captures the applicant’s face with a blank background – a painted wall.

The camera position is highly important as discussed in our ‘online interview tips’ article. But a blank background can be boring. A white wall doesn’t say anything about the candidate’s personality. Some hiring managers may even feel the applicants are hiding something.

If a blank wall is chosen, use a coloured wall. Ideally blue. Blue conveys relaxation, calmness and as discussed in Very Well Mind, blue is associated with stability and reliability.

Your Background Shows Who You Are

The background an applicant chooses says a lot about them, often speaking to the employer’s subconscious decision-making process.

Having one or two items in the background makes the who image a little more interesting. Too many items make a ‘busy’ image that can be distracting.

The question is, what to choose to place in the background? A bookshelf filled with industry-related books can create the impression of authority or knowledge. But bookshelves can be overcrowded.

A few books on each shelf separated by an additional item can make a cleaner and more professional background.

Plants are ideal for an online interview background. Potted plants, especially in bloom, are pleasing to the eye. They look good in the background and help create a calming atmosphere.

Ensure the plant isn’t looking dried up, shriveled, or dead.

Whichever object is chosen should be to one side of the frame, not taking more space than 1/6^th of the whole space.

Don’t Show Everything

A full room frame is bad for virtual interviews. One, in a full view, shot the applicant’s face is less clear which leads to less non-verbal communication, facial expressions.

In addition, a full view of the room will either show too much – which is distracting, can highlight mess which doesn’t create a good impression, or has lots of clear space, which is seen as boring.

Camera, Lights, Action

Finally, think about the essentials of creating a video. The virtual interview setup is similar to setting up a space for a video or film.

One of the most important elements of being on camera is the lighting. Some candidates will set up the camera with a large window behind, where the sun blinds the interview panel, hiding the applicant’s face.

Others will set up the video call in a dark room with little like creating dark shadows that create a horror film type of environment.

If a job seeker has the equipment, they can set up lighting behind the camera facing the interviewee which lights up their face. If not, a cheaper option if to have the camera in front of a large window, facing the job candidate, allowing the sun to naturally light up the room.

The idea is to find a well-lit clean room where the job hunter feels relaxed and calm. Ensure the room is clean and add one or two small items in the background, a flower or book.