Imposture syndrome is the biggest barrier to job interview success. The data proves that a lack of job interview self-esteem is unfounded as any career professional who has been offered a job interview is in fact 97% better than the competition.
Much research has highlighted that the average number of applications per vacancy is around 250 (vastly higher for global organisations such as Microsoft or Google) HR statistics tell us how only 6-8 of the 250 applicants are offered a job interview.
The data speaks for itself. The percentage of 6-8 interviewees out of 250 applicants is around 3% – That means a candidate who has received an interview offer is in the top 3 percent of most ‘suitable’ from the employer’s perspective.
And it’s the employers perceptive that counts.
How an Employers Views a Perspective Candidate
How an employer views a candidate, either via their application or during the job interview, increases the likelihood of that applicant being offered the job role, or not.
The candidates ‘interview identity’ which is formed by the job seekers level of knowledge/experience vs their level of confidence creates 1 of 16 interview identities with only a small number of the ‘identities’ being view as suitable enough to be offered the advertised vacancy.
There hasn’t been a better time to gain a salary increase, by finding a new job opportunity, then now. Employers from across job sectors are looking at creative way to encourage applicants to accept their job roles from offering a blended office/home working option to wage increases.
The fear of career change
With an increase in job opportunities, a potentially high salary with a new employer and an awareness of growth sectors that offer a more secure career, why aren’t career professionals applying for new vacancies?
Even career professionals who hate their job role, those who are stressed out due to workload, or graduates that picked the wrong job sector to work in, don’t make a career change.
The reason is simple. Humans fear change.
In the world of work many career professionals see a career change as a backwards step where they would have to start of the bottom rung of the career ladder. This limiting belief is inaccurate as employers look for a diverse workforce who can bring a new perspective gain from experience in a different industry.
In fact, many employers seek to gain talented team members without direct experience in the sector. An example of this would be a manager – skilled at leadership, staff recruitment, finance projections. Managerial skills are transferable into many job sectors.
Humans fear failure
At a basic level humans have in built desire to ‘belong’. Humans are pack animals. To survive in a pack individuals need to be accepted by others. To be rejected is to die. The same emotional pull happens in all social situations. Many humans avoid asking someone on a date as they don’t want to chance being rejected. People fear public speaking as they fear being ‘laughed’ at. And career professionals hate job interviews because they might be told they ‘are not good enough’.
It is easier to stay with the devil you know than to make a change, even is the current situation is a toxic workplace that is making you ill.
It is time to make a change
A confident career professional with over 10 years industry experience and/or a degree level qualification or above should easily gain a number of job interviews – creating the 3% rule.
This means the competition is now only 6 other applicants. Six people, rather than 250 candidates, doesn’t seem so overwhelming.
During the 45 minutes job interview the average employer will ask 6 job interview questions – often behavioural interview questions (question based on past experiences – “give me an example of doing A”)
The initial question commonly asked is: “tell me about yourself” An easy question to ask, and the final question is “Do you have any questions for us?”
Knowing the structure of the job interview reduces the candidate’s anxiety levels. Lower levels of anxiety increase performance confidence, allowing an interviewee to produce more detailed job interview examples relevant to the job interview question.
Employers will hint towards the job interview questions by sharing the essential criteria of the job role. It is the main duties or essential criteria that is referenced in the job interview questions. This insight can help a job seeker prepare high-scoring interview answers and examples prior to the job interview.
Fear creates procrastination. As a high number of people fear the job interview it is unlikely that each candidate will complete the essential preparation before a recruitment process. If for example only 50% of candidates fully prepare, including yourself, that is only 2 other applicants who are confident enough to give good job interview answers.
From 250 initial applicants, only 3 of the 6 interviewees will be interview ready. This means you only need to give higher scoring answers then the two other prepared people.
A job interview is one of most stressful situations you can put yourself in.
This is because, most people, fear being the center of attention.
It is the fear of being rejected by the hiring manager that creates stress and anxiety. Job interview stress changes the candidate’s behavior which in turn creates a weak interview identity. Answers are weak, lacking detail and filled with an excessive number of filler words and weak language.
This article will explain how to handle job interview stress to create a strong interview identity that results in job offers.
Is a job interview a stressful situation?
Stress happens:
When we experience something new
When something unexpected happens
When we feel we have little control over something
All three stress activators can happen during a job interview. On the other hand, a well prepared career professional will feel confident if they:
Carry mock interviews and/or attend public speaking training – this reduces the ‘something new’ fear
Understanding the job interview process – this helps overcome the ‘unexpected’ fear
Humans are confident in familiar situations. Routine, processes, the norm, are all things that reduce stress. This is why some career professionals who are unhappy at work don’t search for a new job. The fear or something new outweighs the fear of the staying in an unhappy job role.
Do Employers Make the Job Interview Stressful on Purpose?
The myth that all job interviews are difficult, with employers asking awkward curveball questions designed to increase pressure on the applicant is just that – a myth.
Employers may asked: ‘how do you handle stress?’ for stressful positions, or ask problem solving riddles in engineering, IT or mathematical roles but for most advertised vacancies each job interview question will be based on the essential criteria for the job role.
In fact, employers will go out of there way to make the interview an ‘enjoyable’ or at least informative. Think about it, a recruitment manager is looking to hire the best person for the role.
All employers know that job seekers will be attending several job interviews over a short period of time, often with a rival company. It is in the employers interest to hire the best applicant.
If the employer did created an unnecessary pressurized job interview environment it is quiet likely that the 1st choice candidate will take the job offer with another, more friendlier’ employer.
Most employers use a ‘structured job interview’ process, by familiarizing yourself with this process will help you feel more in control and less stressed.
Reduce Job Interview Stress
Some well known basic stress reducers include:
Drink water
Eat healthy
Regular exercise
Learn to say ‘no’ as this increases assertiveness
List your skills and talents as positive reflection increases confidence
Use deep breathing or mindfulness to feel more calm and in control
Use a blackout curtains and a soundless room (no mobile phones, etc) to get a good nights sleep
Negative self-talk
Remove negative self-talk.
‘I’m not good enough’
‘Others are better skilled then I am?
‘I don’t have the relevant experience’
What you focus on you feel.
If you focus on negative statements you will feel negative. Instead focus on your strengths your skills, qualities and what you have to offer the new employer – your unique selling point.
Make a list of your key skill set
Reflect and record key experiences where your ideas, hard work or leadership resulted in a positive outcome
Re-read past appraisals and focus on what a previous manager liked about you
Perception
Perception creates or reduces the power balance.
Viewing the job interview as a life or death situation increases the body’s flight or fight response.
Breakdown what a job interview is. At the bottom level, the interview is you talking about you. And you are the expert on you!
View the interview as a meeting where you are teaching other people about what you have learnt; your knowledge, your experiences, and the techniques you have picked up to get a job done.
Reframing a job interview changes the perceived power balance. Being stress makes you feel you have no power, no influence. Feeling confident about talking about you makes you feel powerful, invincible.
Interview Questions and Answers
Repetition is the key to mastering a skill and practice creates perfection.
The more job interviews you attend (or mock interviews) the more confident you will be as an interveiwee.
This is true with any task. To be a good tennis player, play more tennis. Master chefing by cooking on a regular basis. Learn to speak a second language practice, make mistakes, and learn.
Technical interview to check a candidates competencies – this may include practical tests
Group interview and/or values interview to review suitability/company culture fit
Final interview for shortlisted candidates
A large number of career professionals on platforms such as LinkedIn express their concern over the high number of interview rounds – or ‘hoops’ they are made to jump through to secure a job offer.
So, why do employers have multiple interview rounds?
From the employers perspective, when paying a high salary for a highly skilled role, the hiring manager needs to ensure they recruit the right person. Often a single interview gives an indication of a persons suitability but doesn’t always highlights the individuals temperament, skills, knowledge, work-ethic, and values.
For low to medium skilled roles, most employers will have one or two interview rounds. For leadership positions, high-skilled roles, technical jobs the recruiters must hire someone who can add value, this requires a more in-depth recruitment process.
What does a final job interview mean?
Research shows how the top three candidates in a job interview will only have one or two points between them – the structured job interview is a close run thing.
Having such a close match can result in the interview panel being influenced by an unconscious bias. Rather then being forced into a decision, the recruitment team, often led by a human resources hiring manager, will invite the top performing interviewees to a final interview.
The final interview means that all the candidates are employable, they all meet the essential criteria and can add value to the team.
Only three to five applicants are offered a final interview round. This shortlist of candidates will all hold relevant industry qualifications , many years of sector experience and the confidence to delivery high-scoring job interview answers during the recruitment process. In short, they have a strong interview identity.
Competition, therefore, is high in terms of quality but low in terms of quantity – as the weaker candidates have already been dismissed.
Interview Specifics:
Can you demonstrate the relevant knowledge and experience to pass a final job interview?
Do you give detailed examples?
Do you state measurable data during examples?
Do you reference industry models and theories?
Do your answers meet the job criteria?
Are you a self-promoter?
Are your answers delivered confidently?
Do you use an excessive number of filler words?
Does your unique selling point stand out during the interview?
Check the average pay for your job role.
How to prepare for a final interview?
The biggest mistake most career professionals make during a final interview is not repeating examples from previous job interview rounds.
For all rounds, the job interview panel must score applicants based on the answers given in that interview round. Remember that each interview round maybe conducted by a different interviewer.
Not that all previously used examples will be needed. Each employer has their own way of conducting a final interview.
Some employers, will ask similar questions throughout all the interview rounds (worded a little different) to check that the applicant does possess the required skills and knowledge for the job vacancy.
In this approach, the final interviewers – often trained HR and senior leaders will ask more specific interview questions looking for data and evidence that they can measure.
As an example:
Interview round 1 question: “Tell me about a time when you worked with stakeholders?”
Interview round 2 question: “Tell me about a time when you had to influence a stakeholder?”
Interview round 3 question: “Give me an example of when you have influenced a senior stakeholder to overcome an objective on a collaborative project?”
Interview round 4 question: “Explain the specific steps you took to get a stakeholder with an objective to a project to agree with a proposal you had created?”
In other organisations, the final interview round will be focused on added value. The interview questions maybe open, even informal, to understand how an applicants experience will make a difference in the current team, on a project, and/or to achieve the company vision.
The employer is looking for:
Unique selling points
How an (experience) can be used to improve production or output/increase profit
What industry related knowledge can help progress the company
Specific skills and how they can be used to influence the workforce/achieve an objective
How the (applicant) can raise the bar
Final job interview tips
By the final interview stage, the employer has a high opinion of the candidate. The opinion must be reinforced.
This is because employers value confidence. A self-assured employee gets things done. Humans also associate other positive personality traits to confident people. We believe they are hard-working, skilled, knowledgeable, and that they possess good personal skills; communication, listening, teamwork.
To be viewed as confident:
Be assertive with your communication
Use the power of a pause – don’t rush your answers
Add characters and storylines to your examples – entertain as we as explain
State researched information about the company within the interview answer
Be a master of the basics; eye contact, positive posture, power voice
Be ready to answer scenario interview questions.
Employers recruit for a reason – there is a recruitment to gain a person with the knowledge and experience to achieve a key objective.
The final job interview often focuses on the candidates abilities to achieve these objectives. The questions asked can be both open or closed:
What do you know about X?
What would be your 5 step plan to achieve (objective)?
We are facing a (barrier) who would you turn this around?
Describe the operational plan, over a 5 year period, you would implement to achieve (objective)?
Tell me more about that?
The employer leaves it to you!
In the final interview, don’t wait to be asked follow up questions. If questions are ambiguous:
Tell me more about that (often used in informal job interviews)
Describe your leadership style
Give me an example of success
It is up to the interviewee to provide the detail. Research shows how the higher number of words per answer often results in a high number of job offers.
Give detailed and specific answers as this increase word count. This can be achieved by:
Talk about the pro’s and con’s of a situation, management style, product, machinery, process
Use multiple situations in answers. As an example, to answer a ‘leadership style question’ talk about using different leadership styles in different (sector related) environments
State a theory or model and give an example of the theory/model in use
Embed short metaphors and examples into a longer example, ensuring their is a golden thread
Create a conversation.
Dont wait until the end of a job interview to ask the employer questions about the company.
Ask questions throughout the recruitment process and use the answers to give your own suitable replies. As an example if, by asking the interview questions, it is clear that the company value innovation, ensure you reference times you have been creative and innovative.
Mirror the language an employer uses; build on their metaphors, copy jargon and acronyms. By using a similar level of language a stronger level of rapport will be built.
Final job interview questions and answers
Final job interview question: Tell me what would you do in the first 3 months of working for the organization?
The interviewer here, is checking that the applicant is a self-motivated individual who can get things done.
Explain:
Understanding the vison/project brief
Planning for risk
Reviewing budget spend
Team motivation
Taking action
Being results driven
Final job interview question: How will you motivate the team to achieve the objective?
A leader creates a vision that the team work to achieve. The two parts vision and action(s) come together by ‘motivation’.
Discuss:
Different leadership styles
Staff motivation models
Operational plans
Previous examples of motivating teams
Final Interview Questions: What problems do you foresee?
Nothing is streamless in the world of work.
All managers, senior leaders and project managers can predict and manager risk. To answer the ‘problem’ question:
State potential problems
Discuss risk management models
Give solutions to common industry problems
Explain reactive and proactive approaches
Talk about risk budgets
How competitive is a final job interview?
Final job interviews aren’t competitive in terms of numbers.
The average number of applicants per vacancy is around 250. The average number of interviewees for each role is 8-10. The average number of final interviewees is just 2.
The two final interviewees will be highly skilled, knowledgeable and experienced. In these terms competition is high, because both job candidates are equally matched.
Often, the job offer goes to the candidate who has best prepared, and therefore the most confident in delivering high-scoring interview answers.
For a final job interview, high scoring answers are the answers that give specific and measure data that highlights the candidates competencies relevant to the job criteria and beyond.
In years gone by having a degree open the doors to a new career.
In more recent times the number of people attending university has risen meaning having a degree alone isn’t enough to secure an entry level position.
One study precited that ‘the number of young people aged 24 to 34 completing a tertiary degree across OECD and G20 countries is expected to increase to 300 million by 2030, up from 137 million in 2013‘
This is because the data shows that having a degree will:
Increase your chances of employment
Help gain a high-skilled job role
Increase earnings compared to non-degree employees
An entry level job role is a the starting position on the career ladder. Employers, in the main, will create an entry level position with additional support, training and mentoring to introduce the new employee to the word of work even though they lack industry experience.
With an increase in degree level applicants an increase in competition has become common, with job offers going to the candidates who perform best in the job interview.
This article will explain what a graduate can do to pass an entry-level job interview.
How competitive is an Entry Level job interview?
Interview Specifics:
Can you demonstrate the relevant knowledge and experience to pass a Entry Level job interview?
Relevant qualifications
Any sector related experience including placements, internships, and work experience
Personal skills and work ethic, related to the job role
Knowledge of industry related model and theories
Being a life long leaner
Commitment to organization as they invest time and money into the graduate
Skills gained from being a graduate
Any unique selling points
Check the average pay for an entry level job role.
Job offers are given to the graduate who is viewed by the employer as being the best fit. This means the way a candidate is perceived by the interview panel, the applicants interview identity, which is based on their perceived level of knowledge/experience vs their level of confidence, is an important aspect of the hiring mangers decision making process.
In fact, the applicants interview identity for an entry level position is important for a second reason. On average, all the interviewees will have a similar level of qualification (the sector related degree) and therefore a similar level of knowledge.
Each candidate, in the main, wont have in-depth experience of recruitment processes, so will be nervous during a job interview. And most will have equal work experience and/or placements.
In short, an entry level job interview is a level playing field. That means the interview performance can be the difference between or job offer or job rejection.
Job Interview Questions and Answers for an Entry Level Job Role.
Most employers adopt an informal job interview process for an entry-level job role. This is because, in many cases, the candidates wont have enough experience to answer behavioral job interview questions.
An informal job interview is a 30-45 minute job interview where the employers ask several planned job interview question that create a conversation, before asking follow up question depending on where the conversation is leading.
Whereas, a structured job interview – the most common type of job interview will ask the same questions to all applicants, with no ad-hoc follow up questions.
Entry Level Job Interview Question 1 – why did you apply for this position?
Before planning the answers to interview questions, it is wise to first think about the interview environment.
Has the employer requested a virtual or a face to face interview? Tips for a virtual interview can be found here: Online Job Interview Advice
The most commonly asked entry-level job interview question is the ‘why this position?’ question, sometime framed as ‘Tell me about yourself and whey you applied for this role?’
Unstructured job interview questions are often ‘open’ allowing the interviewee to discuss anything they think may be relevant.
Two mistakes graduates make is either 1) not giving enough information and detail, or 2) discussing experiences and skills irrelevant for the advertised position.
To answer the initial opening question discuss three key elements:
Your character
Your journey
Your reason for applying
“I have always had a passion for (industry) this is due to (give reason). What I particular interested in is (give a specific element of the job sector that you care about). My experience (in university studying an X degree/working in job sector) has given me an in-depth knowledge on (job sector criteria) as an example (state 1 or 2 job sector relevant data/knowledge)
I recently completed my (qualification) at (university name) where I (give selling point: achieved a 2:1 or had a work placement at (famous company). In addition to studying I also (describe relevant work experience gained)
People describe me as a (name three qualities). This is because (give reason for the character reference). The reason I applied for this position is because of the company reputation. I am looking to work for an organization that (add facts about the company) which is why I want to work here. I was also impressed with the company vision (state company vision) which is something I also deem important”
Entry Level Job Interview Question 2 – how do you develop yourself?
Employers understand that entry level employees lack sector knowledge and industry experience.
The reason for the lower waged than a more experience career professional is due to the fact that the employer will train, mentor and support the graduate in the position.
Hiring managers are looking to recruit staff members that are life long learners. Technology, politics, customer demand, globalization, among other things, are the drivers of change that evolve each industry.
In time gone by these same drivers of changed happened, but at a slower rate. The fast pace rapid sector changes require a flexible workforce who can absorb new knowledge, changes in industry policy and quick adopt to new ways of working.
On a smaller level, a graduate new to the world of work needs to have the ability to pick business-as-usual tasks and job duties quickly. Over a 3 year period, an entry level employee will learn the same level of knowledge as they did during their degree course.
In short, employers need applicants to demonstrate they are keen on professional development and learning.
“I’m a life long learner who values personal and professional development. Over the past three years I studied for my degree where I gained a (qualification level). As well as attending the lectures, I also decided to improve my sector knowledge by (add any additional studying; attending online courses, watching additional lectures on YouTube or attending study groups). Because I have a clear career direction, I also applied for and gain a (part-time sector job, placement, internship, etc) where I learned about (describe a sector related knowledge).
Because I value development, I often reflect on my strengths and weaknesses and attend short training courses to improve skills and knowledge. Recently I felt I could do with improving a (soft skill) as I knew this skill would be important when (completing a job duty) so I attending a (course) which helped me to (course objective).”
Entry Level Job Interview Question 3 – what can you bring to the team?
The informal job interview is designed to get to know the applicant.
The goal of the informal interview is to find out what the candidate can bring to the team and if they would work well within the company culture, which is why many employers directly ask ‘what can you bring to the team?’
To answer the interview question well, a candidate must remember the tree rules for a successful job interview outcome:
Identify the job criteria – the skills, qualities and experiences an employers deems relevant for the job role
Be a self-promoter – detailing experiences, explaining knowledge and using self-promoting language
Communicate with confidence – delivering interview answers in a clear, concise and confident way
One barrier to gaining a job offer is the relevance of a job interview answer. Some applicants will give detailed and self-promoting answers but still struggle to gain a successful job interview outcome.
The reason is the content of the interview answer. By identifying the job criteria (knowing what the employer is looking for in a new team member) helps to craft an answer that references the job criteria.
“The three key elements that I can bring to the team are X, Y and Z. I’m am highly skilled at X, which means I can (describe how being skilled in X will be a benefit to the organisation). My key strength is Y. As a team member I can use this strength (to gain a positive outcome). And finally, being highly knowledgeable about Y can help in (describe a future scenario where the knowledge would be of high importance).”
Entry Level Job Interview Question 4 – tell me about your course/degree?
The trap, most entry level applicants, fall into when asked a question about their time at university is that the interviewee will simply describe the duration of the course, the course content and their opinion of the degree.
What an employer is really asking is: ‘what skills and knowledge did you gain from studying a degree and how will those skills and knowledge help you in this job role?’
Again, as with all job interview questions it is important to first identify the skills, qualities, and experiences and employer deems to be important and then to reference these throughout the interview answer.
“What I really enjoyed about the course was how it improved my knowledge in (a specific area). As an example, I know have a level of understanding about (technical element of the job role) that would be of great use when (describe relevant work-based scenario). I also have a great knowledge based of (describe three additional knowledges).
Throughout the course, I also able to recognize and build upon some of my skills and qualities. In particular, one of my key strengths is (add strength). On the course I (describe a situation/problem). To overcome this barrier I (state three actions took, describing in detail how yo use your strengths, skills and qualities). This resulted in (state a positive outcome).”
Entry Level Job Interview Question 5 – what were your favorite classes and why?
The ‘favorite classes’ job interview question is asked as an alternative to the ‘tell me about your degree’ question. It is mainly asked in apprenticeship job interviews.
The format of the interview answer is the same for both questions – a focus on how a particular class or classes gave the interviewee the skills, knowledge and experience relevant to the job role.
The above interview answer template can be tailored for both questions.
Entry Level Job Interview Question 6 – what do you like to do outside of university/work?
Businesses complete risk assessments on all aspects of the business, including recruitments.
Hiring a highly experienced and qualified employee is deemed as low risk, as the cost of recruitment vs the experienced gained is viewed as beneficial.
The risk of recruiting a graduate with no industry experience and therefore no way of knowing how the react the pressure of a job role, how they work within a team and their work ethic is viewed as high risk.
In addition, employers spend time and money to support and develop entry level employees. The pay off, for the employer, is that they get to train the new employee to work in a way that suits the culture of the organization.
But culture fit also depends on an applicants personality. By asking ‘what do you do outside of work?’ is an indicate to that persons temperament.
Stay ways from answering the question with anything to do with:
Drinking
Staying in bed
Parties
“I like to make the most of my time. I spend a lot of my evenings exercising, going for short runs, walks and doing yoga. Exercise is one of the best ways to stay fit and healthy but also helps to build a positive mindset.
I mentioned previously that I enjoy professional development. I am currently applying to attend (short course) that will teach me (state course objective).
I also enjoy (describe hobby). What is interesting, even though the hobby doesn’t directly related to the job role, is that this hobby helps me build up (a skill) that can be used when (job duty).”
Entry Level Job Interview Question 7 – Do you have any questions for me?
Each hiring manager during all job interviews will ask each interviewee if they have any questions for the employer.
Knowing that the final ‘ask me’ question will be asked, a set of questions needs to be prepared.
What will the first few weeks as an entry level employee look like?
How would you describe the team?
What have previous graduates gone on to do in your company?
Why do you proactive employee graduates?
Do you offer training for new employees?
This site uses the ‘LMI for All’ online data portal to access official government ‘big data’ sources. This powers the labour market data provided on this site.
The interview is the wall blocking the path to career success.
Knowing how to interview for a job helps to break down the barrier, giving career professionals the upper hand in the recruitment process.
This article will explain:
How an employers perceives an applicants suitability
How to prepare for job interview questions
How voice and content create high scoring interview answers
In short, this article will help job candidates get interview ready.
Are you seen as employable during the interview?
The goal of any job interview, from the applicant’s perspective, is to be seen as hirable.
Showcasing one’s suitability is the objective, but the question is what does suitable look like?
A bottom-line approach would say that the applicant who best meets the listed essential job criteria would be offered the advertised position.
By ticking that an applicant has X qualification, or X experience doesn’t result in the best hire. This is because employers value creative problem-solving skills, innovation, and work ethic, among other things – these are all hard-to-measure qualities when using a tick sheet approach.
Employers overcome the tick-sheet hurdle by requesting ‘example’ interview answers. The example, when delivered well, showcases personal qualities and skills as well as duration in the industry and sector-related qualifications.
Many hiring managers also look a ‘fit’ – asking ‘will the interviewee’s temperament fit within the current team and company culture?’
The searching for a good ‘fit’ has resulted in a new style of job interview; strength based interviewing and values job interviews.
In all job interviews; behavioral job interview, situational job interview, unstructured recruitment processes and values interviews, suitability is based on two key elements: The applicants perceived level of industry knowledge and experience and their level of confidence during the job interview.
The combination of a career professional’s level of perceived knowledge/experience vs their level of confidence creates one of sixteen job interview identities.
A strong (highly suitable) interview identity is created by the confident communication of competencies through story-telling, facts & figures, stating sector models, the use of industry jargon and acronyms, and highlighting relevant skills and experiences.
Weaker interview identities are formed from a nervous applicant who uses excessive filler words, self-discloses weaknesses, fidgets, mumbles, and gives answers that don’t reference the job criteria.
How to interview for a job starts at the beginning, the interview introduction:
A highly skilled career professional was running late for his job interview. The traffic was a nightmare: horns beeping, drivers shouting and all traffic lights turning red. After a few detours and maneuvering, the interviewee arrived just on time, flustered, stressed but on time.
Running through the entrance, he announces himself to the receptionist. After making a few notes, the receptionist starts making small talk, asking about his journey and the weather. The flustered interviewee wearing a well-fitted pinstriped suit is dismissive to the receptionist as he checks his documents in preparation for the forthcoming interview.
The receptionist, a tall blond lady, takes a sip of water, looks at the man, and attempts to engage the job applicant in conversation. After another curt reply, the receptionist takes the man upstairs to the interview room, where she introduces him to two hiring managers. To the man’s surprise, the receptionist sits down next to the hiring manager ‘she must be taking notes’ the man thinks to himself.
As the man takes a seat and straightens his tie, he smiles at the interview pane. Just then the receptionist starts the interview by explaining that she is the CEO and that she likes to meet all new candidates at reception to get to know them better, informally, before the interview started.
The job interview starts as soon as the candidate walks into the employer’s building.
First impressions are hard to change. This is why the appearance of an applicant; their clothing choice, handshake, body language, and voice, is an important factor.
The applicant’s appearance and all the underlined ‘appearance’ categories create an unconscious bias, which at a generic level is based on likability.
If an employer, based on first appearances, ‘likes’ the candidate, the candidate has a smaller upper hand at the interview start. This is because humans search for evidence to back up their beliefs, meaning that at a subconscious level an interviewer who initially likes or dislikes a person (through unconscious bias) will look for evidence that proves this opinion to be true.
A positive initial impression is easy to create by using the advice below, but some hiring managers may be ageist, sexist, racist, or any other ‘istems’. An employer with a strong negative association towards any group will be a hard person to influence, as their prejudices create an invisible barrier.
To be seen as more likable:
Wear a clothing style that suits your body shape
Possess strong eye contact – this can be practiced in advanced
Hold your head high, shoulders back and don’t slouch when sitting down
Use a firm handshake and smile
Have a well rehearsed introductory line
Think of a few ‘small talk’ questions to ask while walking to the interview room
In the interview room
Each company is different, but in the main, a hiring manager will introduce the interview panel, before explaining the interview process: The duration of the interview, the number of questions, and the interview rules (that you can ask for a question to be repeated). Any additional tasks; presentations, assessments etc, that may be required as part of the recruitment process and when the candidates will be informed if they have been successful or not.
In most cases, you will be given a glass of water. But as a back up take a bottle of water for this interview hack.
When asked an unexpected interview question, it will put most job applicants on the back foot, resulting in them waffling on about an unrelated subject.
Instead, whenever your brain is too slow to catch up with the curveball question, take a sip of water. Interviewers expect applicants to be nervous and to take sips of water (to wet a dry throat). These 3 seconds of sipping water allows the mind to search for a suitable interview answer.
After or before the introduction to the interview panel, you will be asked to sit down.
It is important to be seen as a confident person. Humans are drawn to confident people. We believe confident people will be a good fit and possess excellent social skills.
Confident people will:
Relax in the chair while having good posture
Possess strong eye contact, looking at all members of the interview panel
Gesture as they talk and become animated in their voice (lots of vocal variety)
The job interview
A number of interviews are now conducted online. The virtual interview requires additional advice that can be found here: how to interview virtually.
For a traditional face-to-face job interview, employers preference the ‘structured’ job interview process.
In short, a structured interview is a set of interview questions asked to all candidates (unlike an unstructured jo interview which is an open conversation where different candidates are asked different questions based on the discussion) which are scored logically based on the job roles essential criteria.
As an example, for a job role that has 30 essential criteria’s an employer will create 8-10 interview questions.
Each interview answer, for each question, to score high must reference several of the 30 essential criteria. This can be in the form of:
Stating a sector related theory or model
Giving an example or story
Listing facts and data
Physically presenting data
Through the applicants persona for essential criteria relating to personal skills
Job Interview Questions
The average number of questions asked in a job interview is eight.
Commonly, the opening interview question is: ‘tell me a little about yourself’ and the final question is: ‘do you have any questions for us?’
In between these two questions will be 6 competency-based interview questions. Questions that ask for evidence that highlights if the applicant possesses the essential criteria.
One of the best approaches, to create a high-scoring answer, is to split the answer into two sections. Section one will state the process/theory/model relating to the interview questions, and part two is an example of using the said process/theory/model.
This two-part job interview answer will cover a large number of essential criteria.
As an example, if asked ‘give me an example of being prioritizing tasks’ the answer would start with an explanation of how to prioritize tasks using, as an example, the time management matrix theory before an example of being organized and planned is given.
Its not what you say, its how you say it
One mistake career professionals make is focusing solely on content to their interview answers.
Any good public speaker will tell, ‘it’s not what you say, but how you say it that is important.
Inflection, as an example, can change the meaning of a statement. The statement ‘I could do that has a different meaning depending on how it is spoken.
I could do that – I can do that and I am happy to do that
I could do that – You want me to do that?
I could do that – I don’t want to do that!
Watch this video for a great example of inflection
The voice is a powerful communication tool, to engage the interview panel:
Using vocal variety
Reduce the amount of filler words
Pause before a key point
Increase pace when excited
Slow down pace when making a powerful statement
Show emotion through your tonality
To pass a job interview, the three rules are:
Identify the job criteria as this allows an applicant to predict the job interview questions and to practice high-scoring job interview answers
Be a self-promoter – talk about skills and experiences relevant to the job role, the essential criteria
Use confident communication to engage the interview panel
A third of retail staff are under the age of 25 and over half are part-time employees. This role attracts both students, looking for a part-time income and full-time retail staff looking for a career in retail.
In the main, the larger retail organizations have an ongoing recruitment campaign and like to hire a diverse workforce.
Due to the time spend on recruitment, many employers deliver short informal interviews that are designed to check a applicants work-ethic, attitude and personal skills.
This article will list the commonly asked interview questions for a retail position, and explain the best way to answer each question.
How competitive is a Retail job interview?
Interview Specifics:
Can you demonstrate the relevant knowledge and experience to pass a Retail job interview?
Customer service skills
Communication skills
Numeracy and literacy
Reliability
Flexibility
Teamwork
Till/handling cash experience
Stock rotation knowledge
Sales techniques (for some roles)
Check the average pay for a Retail job role.
Retail job interview questions will vary from one retailer to the next. As an example a food retailer will ask about stock rotation and food hygiene awareness, whereas a clothing company will focus their interview questions on personal skills – being helpful, smart in appearance and communication skills.
One – identify the skills and experiences each retailer requires you to possess
Two – be a self-promoter by highlighting customer service skills, reliability and your work ethic
Three – communicate confidently. In retail communication and customer service is a key skill. The whole of the job interview is an assessment of how you come across to a potential customer.
Job Interview Questions and Answers for a Retail Position.
To pass a job interview for a retail position is relatively easy.
Employers don’t ask tricky interview questions, they are rarely ‘scary’ and in the main try to create a relaxed environment to help the interviewee to open up.
At the bottom line, the interviewers want to get to know the potential employee.
The barrier here then is the number of applications each employer receives, which is much higher then the number of job vacancies.
To pass a retail job interview, it is important to predict the interview questions and practice the delivery of the interview answers.
Mock interviews help to practice an interview in full
Re-writing interview answers helps with memory
Talking in slower pace (as interviewees then to speed up due to nervousness) helps the employer to record your experiences and skills
Below is a list of retail questions and an explanation of how to answer each question.
Retail Interview Question 1. Tell me a little bit about yourself?
In all retail job interviews, the hiring manager will ask a generic opening question:
“Tell me about yourself?”
“Do you have any retail experience?”
“Give me an overview of your relative experience?”
The idea with asking a generic interview question is for the interview panel to get to know the job applicant, while at the same time getting them to open up.
By talking about oneself often gives confidence to the candidate, which helps later in the recruitment process when the hiring manager will ask more specific questions.
Employers will make a hiring decision based on the interview answers each candidates give. For a retail job role, the employer using a applicants retail/customer service experience as well as their personality/confidence to create an opinion.
“I have worked in (retail/customer service) roles for ‘X’ number of years. I really enjoy the (state a positive challenge) aspect of the role.
One of my key skills is (add retail related skilled IE customer service, sales, problem-solving) an example of this is when I was working as a (job role) at (company). A customer (describe action) to help get a positive result I (describe actions). The outcome was (positive outcome)
People describe as (list qualities). In my last role I was known as the employee who would (add quality; arrive on time, help customers, go above and beyond).
I am currently (studying full-time/looking for a career in retail) and I applied for this position because of (reference a positive aspect about the company)”
Retail Interview Question 2. Why did you apply for a job with our company?
Retail managers know that there is a vast amount of retail job roles, all with varying pay and conditions, available for people to apply for.
With this in mind, a high number of hiring managers will ask the reason why a candidate is applying for their vacancy rather then another.
The reason for this interview question is due to staff retention. The longer a staff member/retail team work for one company the more skilled that team will become (as well as saving on recruitment cost).
Don’t answer the ‘why us’ question with any of the following reasons:
Financial
Near to my home
I just need a job
Don’t know
Instead create an interview answer that highlights how the company values, vision and culture appeal to you.
Interview Answer Template.
“When I started job searching I saw a high number of retail vacancies, but when I saw that your company was advertising I knew I had to apply.
What I like about your company is the fact that you (add a company value/vision). This is something I can relate to. I also am passionate about (add a passion that relates to the company value/vision).
I also like where the company is heading. When I was researching the organization I read how you are (add a recent quote from a media source) I think this is a great idea as more people are (give a future action related to the quote IE shopping online).
One of the main reasons I applied for the role, is because I shop at your company and I love (the products/the way customer are treated/the environment)”
Retail Interview Question 3. What does customer service mean to you?
Customer service is a fundamental part of any retail job role.
Retail employers always ask a customer service related interview question:
“Tell me about your customer service experience?”
“What would you do if a customer did X?”
“Give me an example of going above and beyond for a customer?”
An article on Salesforce talked about the 8 principles of customer service:
Teamwork
Listen and share
Friendly
Honest
Improved empathy
Deep product knowledge
Timeliness
Improving processes
One way to answer the customer service interview question is by stating what makes good customer service and then giving an example of delivering excellent customer.
Interview Answer Template.
“For me, customer service is the key part of my job role. Good customer service includes being a great listener and communicator, while being able to build rapport. It is also about being a time-sensitive problem solver and looking at a customer problem from their viewpoint, and most importantly its about helping to create loyal customers.
I have always had a natural ability to give great customer service, as I am a natural peoples person. An example of this was when I was (describe a situation), to help the customer I (add 3 steps: Listened to the issue, discussed options and used my personal skills to get a positive outcome)”
Retail Interview Questions 4. How would you handle a rude customer?
Helping a pleasant customer is easy, they ask for help, help is given and everyone is happy.
On the other hand, having to deal with an angry, rude or disruptive customer is much more difficult.
In fact, the whole reason that customer service is the hot topic in retail job interviews is because of the fact the employers need to hire retail staff that can respond professionally to any customer service situation.
An article on MindTools explains 5 steps to dealing with a rude customer:
Stay calm and don’t react
Don’t take it personally
Listen and apologise if needed
Stand firm
Solve the problem
Interview Answer Template.
“I have helped many rude customer in the past. I don’t get affected by a rude customer as I don’t take the rudeness personally. I know that many customer s act rude because they are frustrated and once they see that I am willing to help them resolve their issue, they will calm down, often applogise and become helpful.
An example of helping a rude customer is when I worked at (company name) and a customer was angry because of (state issue). First I stayed calm and listened to their complaint without interrupting. I then summarised their problem and asked what outcome they wanted. I then though about two options (describe options) and asked the customer a few questions to help them decide which option was best. By being calm, patient and by wanting to solve their problem I was able to get a customer, who initially was rude, to leave a positive comment on a store feedback card.”
Retail Interview Question 5. Do you work well within a team?
A retail store is a well oiled machine.
All the various cogs; shelf-stackers, cahiers, cleaners, security guards, customer service desk, buyers, warehouse staff, etc, etc work together to display products that customers want to buy.
The team collectively works well when all team members embrace being team.
Many retail company’s will create a team culture through teambuilding activities, team meetings and highlighting team achievements.
In a retail recruitment process, the hiring manager isn’t just looking for a skilled worker they are searching for a team player.
The best answer to give is to share an example of teamwork in action. When sharing a teamwork example it is important to explain the problem the team were facing before the candidates shares what actions they took to help the team achieves its goal.
Interview Answer Template.
“I really enjoy working within a team. I like that everyone helps and supports each other to achieve a common goal.
An example of me working within a team is when I worked at (organisation). The team had to (achieve an objective) but the problem was (describe a barrier the team faced).
The team didn’t know what we should do, so I suggested that everyone should share an idea. We all did, and that led to a natural discussion. I took the lead and asked my team mates for their opinions on the ideas and before long it was clear that we all wanted to try a particular suggestion. We the divided up the jobs, I was responsible for (task) and went to work. By the end of the (day/project/task) we had (positive outcome).”
Retail Interview Question 6. Do you have any questions for me?
Each hiring manager during all job interviews will ask each interviewee if they have any questions for the employer.
Knowing that the final ‘ask me’ question will be asked, a set of questions needs to be prepared.
Can you talk me through the training that you offer new staff members?
What are the busiest times of the year?
How would you describe an average day?
How would you describe the culture of the company?
How many staff work full time and part time?
This site uses the ‘LMI for All’ online data portal to access official government ‘big data’ sources. This powers the labour market data provided on this site.
The recruitment process is changing due to issues such as the great resignation and the global job market.
Since the start of the pandemic, career professionals have been reflecting on how their employers have treated them.
The great resignation is an economic trend that started in the United States which saw a large number of employees resign from their job roles.
With a high number of vacancies on the increase:2.4% of job roles were vacant in quarter 1 of 2021, career professionals are feeling confident when it comes to job-hopping.
Depending on the employer, businesses are being affected in various ways.
For small to medium-sized companies, the advice is to shorten the hiring processes as the number one choice applicant gets bored and quits the application when it is long and slow.
This ‘quit and jump’ strategy is a big problem when it comes to filling a position. Indeed state that the average number of days a job is live is 30 days and other sources indicate it is more like 42 days, which has led to employers having to sweeten the deal by increasing salary and company benefits.
Global brands are on the opposite scale with businesses receiving a record number of applications for an advertised role that has led to the increase in automated recruitment processes.
One reason for this is the global job market. With advances in technology and remote working becoming the norm for employees, career professionals living in one country can apply for a position in a second country.
Technology is set to change the workplace with tech giants like Mark Zuckerberg investing in the metaverse – a digital environment where multiple people can interact in a 3D world, which could lead to a future where many jobs take place in the virtual world, from the comfort of your won home.
In an article on Microsoft, they stated how they received over 7 million visitors to the career section of their website.
As global brands see a year-on-year increase in the number of applications they receive for each job vacancy, many of them are turning to automated recruitment options such as asynchronous video interviewing and application tracking system software.
The great resignation and the global job market have resulted in employers testing new job interview processes.
Top 5 Job Interview Processes
Below is an outline of the various and most common job interview stages an applicant may have to attend to land their dream job.
Preperation is key to a successful job interview. To prepare, career professionals must understand the various steps in the recruitment process.
Asynchronous Video Screening Interview
Global brands, big businesses, and high-paying employers are receiving record numbers of applications.
The extremely high volume of applicants is simply too much for a human to contemplate. Rather than hiring additional human resource staff to read and interview each career professional who has shown interest in the vacancy, organisations have turned to technology.
AVI – asynchronous video interviews are used as a screening process.
The AVI interviewed won’t be scheduled on a particular date and time. Instead, the applicant can choose a time most suitable for themselves (as the interviewer is an AI programme, not a human).
Each AVS lasts for around 15 minutes.
During the 15 minutes the interviewee has time to prepare themselves; check the voice and video systems are working correctly, take a practice interview test, before being interviewed by the AI programme.
The actual interview takes around 10 minutes, with an average of three job interview questions being asked.
The interview question will appear on the screen and the candidate will have one minute to prepare for their answer.
After the minute is up, the video recording takes place. During the recording, the interviewee has only two minutes (on average) to answer the interview question, before the recording stops, in readiness for the second or third interview question.
As the 2 minutes are coming to an end the AVI will let the interviewee know that there are 30 or 10 seconds left to go.
Employees, more than ever before, job hop, resign out of the blue, and are approached online by recruiters and employers if a suitable vacancy is available.
Global problems such as the bank crisis and Covid19 have shown how a business one year is a success, but the next year is making redundancies.
No job is safe.
Employers, to help recruit the most suitable and ideally long-lasting employees are turning towards a new way of recruiting based on the values of the organisation.
The ‘values’ job interview is designed to hire staff members who are likely to 1) go above and beyond for the company and 2) improve staff retention as the job interview asks questions about the applicant’s own values before cross-referencing their answers against the values of the company.
In the main, the interview questions will be about the company values:
Can you name the 7 company values?
Which of our values would you say in most important to you?
When working in a team what is your main priority?
What does success sound like to you?
What motivates you to get out of bed on a Monday morning?
How do you know when you have done a good job?
How would you (value) when working on a project?
Research is required for a values job interview. Without an awareness of the employer’s company values it is unlikely that any of the job interview answers will state enough relevance to gain a high-scoring mark.
A number of employers are embedding strength-based job interviews into their recruitment processes.
Similar to the ‘values’ job interview, the strength-based job interview is looking at suitability from the perspective of the ‘company fit’.
Each strength-based job interview question is about the employee’s preference – the way they prefer to work, their natural motivators and are crossed reference against the company culture.
There is an obvious cross-over with company culture and values which is why a values job interview and a strength-based one are similar.
In the main, but not always, the questions are asked about preference:
Do you prefer to work independently or as part of a team?
What is more importnat to you starting or finishing a project?
Do you like variety or routine?
How do you work best, when you are woking on one importnat task or when you have to multitask?
Choose a statement that best suits you: I prefer creativity or I prefer following processes and procedures?
When do you excel when being told what to do or when telling other people how to do things?
The final two job interviews that will be discussed are both from the structured job interview family.
Both the behavioral and situational job interviews are well-known and well-used recruitment tactics.
Previously, employers, especially in small to medium-sized organisations where the interviewer is the potential line manager, not a trained HR interviewer, the interview panel asked a mixture of behavioral and situational job interview questions.
More recently, employers are understanding the importance of how they frame a job interview question, as the frame can influence the type of answer an applicant gives.
This understanding has led to organisations using a specific structured job interview: Behavioural or situational. Amazon, as an example, is known for asking behavioral job interview questions and even going as far as referencing this on their career page.
“Behavioral job interview questions are questions framed in the past tense. The idea being, that past behaviors predict future actions – a zebra cant change it stripes”
Chris Delaney author of What is your interview identity
Behavioral job interview questions sound like this:
Tell me about a time when you were faced with a problem that had a number of possible solutions?
When have you learnt from a mistake?
Describe a time when you took the lead?
Tell me about a time that you collaberated with others?
Have you ever gone above and beyond?
Situational Job Interview Questions
Situational job interview questions are future-based scenarios.
Behavioral job interview questions are ideal when an employer is recruiting a highly experienced and skilled employee, someone, who must demonstrate their work experience.
On the other hand, many roles are suitable to a qualified individual without the need for several years experience:
Graduate positions
College jobs
Internships
Newly created roles/job sectors (as no one will have direct experience) created through the advancement of technology, politics, and globalisation
Situational job interview questions sound like this:
What would you do if you were working on a project and (X) happened?
If you were hired as a team member what would your first priority be?
How would you go about solving (X) problem?
How would you motivate your team?
What do you forsee the problems to be?
Other Types of Job Interviews
Technical Job Interview
Technical interviews assess the candidate’s technical ability to complete a certain technical task.
Some technical interview questions look at skills required for the technical role: problem solving or numerical reasoning, with some questions being in the form of a brain teaser.
Common in engineering, science, and IT roles.
Group Job Interview
Team to group interview tasks are common during full-day assessments.
As part of the recruitment process interviewees will be put in groups to complete a simple task.
Several interveiwers will observe the groups and mark each person on their communication, leadership, and teamwork skills.
The task normally lasts around 30 minutes.
Role Play Interview
The use of actors and/or hiring managers acting a part and situation that the interviewee has to deal with while being observed and marked by additional interveiwers is very common in leadership and high-paid positions.
The idea is for the employer to see in real-life (or as near to as possible) how the applicant will react in the (common) situation.
The person playing the part/situation will often be having a problem or being disruptive, and it is for the interviewee to show their professionalism and skill set to find a solution to the problem.
The recruitment process is changing.
There will be an increase in automated job interviews and resume/CV selection.
Large employers will continue to see an increase in the number of applications per vacancy.
Competition (for many roles) will be global.
Technology will continue to change the jobs on offer.
Many employers will use multiple stages of interviews to help recruit a high-performing team.
Hiring managers will ask more interview questions around company values and culture.
Employers will continue to adopt the structured job interview process as it has been proven to be the best indicator of a candidates job performance.
It is highly likely that recruitment will be completed in the metaverse or as part of a virtual reality interview process.
A large number of organisations are choosing job applicants not just based on their experience and knowledge, but also on their personal values.
More importantly, employers use ‘values’ interviews to review if the candidate’s values, their behaviors, and their likelihood to fit within the company culture.
Both, strength-based and values job interviews are often part of a longer recruitment process. Either used at the start or end of a 3-4 stage hiring process the idea behind the values interview is to help avoid recruiting an employee who may be, at worst, disruptive or simply not a good fit within the team.
How to prepare for a Values job interview
Value interview questions, in the main, are asking – do you embody the company values?
More specifically, the vales job interview questions ask – how do you embed the company values into the day-to-day operations?
There are two approaches to asking value interview questions:
An obvious first step to prepare for the values interview is research.
Any organisations adopting this job interview strategy will showcase the company values on their website.
Some businesses will have a dedicated values page (often an indication that values questions will be asked at some point direction the hiring process) or on the ‘about us’ page.
Once armed with the company values, the career professional must understand their own values. As each interview value question will be about how the applicant’s values match the employers.
Values are the drivers of motivation – you are motivated to action because of your values.
An example of value motivation is working overtime. One employee will work overtime because they value money (the additional pay for the extra hours) whereas a second employee may value customer satisfaction (the overtime results in a completion of a task on time that makes the customer happy).
Career professionals all value different things. There are no good or bad, right or wrong values, instead, it is (often) an unconscious trait that motivates that person.
Values can include:
Quality
Quantity
Finance
A job well done
Being quicker/better/more knowledgebale than others
Praise
Fame
Caring for others
Independence
Collaberation
The end result/finishing a task
Professionalisum
Trust
The bigger picture or specfic detail
Processes and procedures
Values are often viewed in the behaviors of colleagues and the language they use within the workplace:
Detailed value: “I like to cross the Ts and dot the Is”
End result: “Lets fisish what we started”
People: “Look how happy they are with (product)”
Finance: “One more sale and I will have made my bonus”
Praise: “I know my (manager) wil like that I did this”
Carer professionals can identify their own values by asking:
What five things are important to me in my job?
Which is more important A or B? (ask this for all 5 values)
What motivates me in the workpalce?
What demotiavtes me?
What makes me the most fulfilled?
Which sectors use value interviews?
There has been an increase in the use of value job interviews, as more employers are taking steps to hire long-lasting employees.
By hiring a career professional whose values are in line with the organisations values (and their vision) the new employee is likely to be happy, and therefore stay, with the employer.
The following industries are adopting the values job interview:
Healthcare
Sales
Education
Animal care
Science
Finance
Job Interview Structure
As mentioned, there are two types of value job interviews – direct value questions, and embedded questions.
A direct value job interview is when the employer asks questions based on their company values.
Direct value interview questions can include:
Can you name the company values?
Which of the company values most resinates with you?
What are your personal values and how do they relate to the company values?
Other direct questions ask about the implementation of the value into business-as-usual tasks:
An example of this is when an employer values quality. The interview question may be: “How would you ensure the quality of (product/service) while increasing the number of outcomes?”
Or, as a second example, an employer who values integrity, could ask: “Describe a situation where you have demonstrated integrity?”
The hiring manager in a direct values job interview will ask one question for each of their list of company values.
Indirect job interview questions
Embedded value interview questions are hard to detect.
Hiring managers ask standard job interview questions:
“Tell me about how you would fit this role?”
“How do you make a decision?”
“How do you manage conflicting deadlines?”
“Tell me about a time you have made a mistake?”
“What would you do if a client gave an unrealisitic timeframe?”
On the face of it, the questions seem to be one of the most commonly asked job interview questions. The difference is, the employer is making note of the job applicant’s values, preferences and motivations.
The framing of job interview questions
Clues to what an employer is looking for, what will score high, is leaked by the structure of the interview question.
An employer who asks: “Have you ever gone the extra mile to satisfy a customer?” is quite likely to value customer satisfaction.
Whereas an employer asking: “how would you say no to an unrealistic customer demand without running the customer relationship?” may be more quality or process-focused.
Employers who ask: “Are you willing to work overtime?” would only ask the question if they require flexibility in their workforce.
Value job interviews often last for around 30 minutes and are conducted by a trained HR practitioner.
Remember value questions can be, and often are, embedded within a behavioral or situational structured 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’
Data has highlighted how today’s workforce isn’t scared of job-hopping, leading to employers having to constantly recruit new staff.
An increase in advertising the same job roles, time and time again, has resulted in a shortening of the recruitment process with hiring managers looking to streamline procedures, but some employers still enforce a 4-6 stage job interview process.
Employees are willing to quit their jobs
In a recent article on MRI Network, talking about the cost of a slow recruitment process, shared staggering HR statistics: “25 percent of people quit their jobs in 2021; 65 percent are currently seeking out new opportunities.”
A Gallop post, sharing statistics from a report, back-up’s the job-hopping data: “21% of millennials say they’ve changed jobs within the past year, which is more than three times the number of non-millennials who report the same.”
In the same post, it goes on to explain how 50% of millennials believe they will switch employers within a 12-month period.
The job sector the advertised job role is in, as well as the demand for a career professionals skill-set, experience, and qualifications, impacts the likelihood of an employer recruiting a long-lasting suitable employee. The MRI Network article explains: “In any market, first-choice candidates always tend to disappear quickly, as they have multiple options to pursue.”
First-choice applicants are interviewees who can communicate their competencies confidently, creating a strong ‘interview identity.’
Long vs short recruitment processes
Even with a need to hire staff quickly to fill the gaps left by job-hoppers, some employers embed long recruitment processes.
On a list of HR facts in a Zoom Shift HR Stats article, they explain how: “60% of applicants quit filling out application forms due to complexity or length. (SHRM)”
The MRI article talking about ‘slow hiring’ says: “These days, employers need to act quickly and decisively, particularly when candidates are currently employed or need to relocate.”
Recruitment processes vary by sector. A detailed study, by Linkedin, of over 400,000 confirmed hires between 2020-2021 shows the duration of hiring times:
The graph shows how industries that value ‘precision’ have a longer recruitment process. But why? The Linkedin article explains: “Companies in the tech industry tend to value precision — sometimes false precision — over speed…. can mean putting candidates through endless technical interviews, assessing deep textbook knowledge that’s far beyond what jobs may require.”
Demand drives change
Some organisations have a higher number of applicants than others.
If a high number of career professionals seek to work at a particular company, that organisation can have a longer recruitment process without the worry of missing out on first-choice applicants.
In a Glassdoor article they explain: “On average, each corporate job opening attracts 250 résumés. Of these candidates, four to six will be called for an interview and only one will be offered a job.”
A recent press releasehighlighted the high number of applicants for global brands: “1 million people applied for a job at Amazon as part of Career Day 2021”
An advice article about getting a job at Google on the Independent shared eye-opening Google recruitment stats: “Google receives more than three million applications a year and hires just 7,000 people”
The automated job process
The extreme number of job applicants has resulted in HR teams utilizing artificial intelligence robots to screen applicants and to act as job interviewers.
An HR research report from 2020 started: “a third (of HR teams) – 33% anticipate high or very high use of AI in two years.” Whereas other information shows how the pandemic has already created a faster move towards the use of asynchronous video interviews.
Algorithms have a cost-saving advantage over humans, as the AI bot is able to scan a higher number of applications per day than a human HR staff member.
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’
An asynchronous video interview (AVI) is a job interview conducted by a computer algorithm.
In an AVI, the interviewee is filmed answering a set of pre-determined interview questions. Each interview answer must last between one or two minutes. Post two minutes and the video recording ends, even when the job applicant is halfway through their interview answer.
Never heard of an asynchronous video interview? You soon will!
AVI’s have been around for a while.
In a BBC article, they explained how some industries have already tested AVI’s prior to the recent increase in common usage: “AVIs were being used as the first stage of recruitment in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, tech, business and finance sectors..”
In 2012, around 10% of ‘top positioned’ businesses used any type of video interviewing. An article in the Financial Times by Sarah O’Connor, talking about the impact of AVI’s, said that: “Of those employers using video interviews in the UK in 2019/20, 46 percent were doing them with an interviewer, 30 percent were using automated video interviews and 24 percent were using a mix of both, according to the Institute of Student Employers.”
A poll of 334 HR leaders by Gartner found that covid increases the usage of AVI’s with 86% of organizations incorporating new virtual technology to interview candidates.
Artificial intelligence being used in the recruitment process is nothing new
Large organisations have been using Application Tracking Systems (ATS) to shift through candidates’ application forms for many years.
In a Slate article, they explain how AI is embedded into the recruitment system: “Artificial intelligence has played a growing role in recruiting and hiring for some time, as both a timesaver and a matchmaker. A.I. has been used to generate job descriptions, to post and share jobs, to automate candidate searches, and to scan résumés and cover letters..”
Mid to large companies use ATS if they receive a high number of applications for multiple job positions. AI can sort the weak from the strong, the unsuitable from the suitable, a lot quicker than a human can. ATS mainly makes decisions based on keywords embedded throughout the application form.
Recent research by JobScan found that“at least 494 Fortune 500 companies use an ATS, we were able to identify the exact ATS for 482 of them. This means that 98.8% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS”.
Artificial intelligence, from an employer’s perspective, is about saving time and money. But where does this leave the job seeker?
Which Organisation use AI Interviewers?
A high number of large companies are known to be using asynchronous video interviews, including:
PwC
Unilever
Kingfisher
Hermes
JP Morgan
Amazon
Different Trypes of Asynchronous Video Job Interviews
Understanding the platform the employer chooses to use is deemed as being highly important.
In Slates ‘should robots be conducting interviews’ article, they explain that the various algorithms used by the various programmes look at various criteria: “Like humans, these bot recruiters have their own unique styles of interviewing. Some are merely seeking logistical information, like availability and ongoing interest, while others might be looking to assess drive, initiative, team-working skills, adaptability, or even your tendency to job hop.”
The BBC go-on to explain some of the challenges when interviewed by an AI system: “There are challenges; AVIs can vary in the amount of time allotted for each answer, and not every programme will give candidates unlimited preparation time or allow them to re-record a section if they are unhappy with their first attempt”
Some robot interviewers choose candidates based on their interview answers (keywords that match the job criteria), with others reading facial expressions and the candidates tonality.
A researcher, speaking to the Mirror, shared concerns that working-class applicants could be at a disadvantage when a robotic interviewer analyze voice and tonality of a job candidate, if the working class interview doesn’t have “beautifully compiled grammar”
How to Prepare for an Asynchronous Video Job Interview?
Each job applicant should first reflect on their past job interview performances and take the interview identity test to understand how they are viewed by an employer.
Specifically for an AVI recruitment process, job applicants must:
1. Set up the interview environment and IT systems
A full guide to setting up for an online interview can be found here: Online Job Interviews.
The biggest question asked is “what happens if my internet signal drops during the asynchronous interview?”
Luckily, the designers of AVI’s have tackled this potential problem. As an applicant’s signal starts to dip, a warning indicator pops onto the screen. When the signal is lost, the interview will atomically stop and only resume once the candidate’s internet signal strength is strong.
2. Practice speaking to camera
In the online job interview article, it explains the importance of looking at the camera, not the screen, to help improve eye contact.
For systems that monitor facial expressions, feeling an emotion (excitement, joy, happiness) will automatically show on the applicant’s face.
Many applicants worry about the turnaround from entering the virtual interview room and being monitored. In most cases, an interviewee can access the AVI, take a deep breath to relax, before actually starting the interview.
In fact, many AVIs have a practice interview question to help the candidate prepare and ready themselves.
3. Predict the job interview questions and preapre answers
In advance, the employer will send details of the AVI. This will include the date/time of the interview – this is often optional over several dates.
As there are no human interviewers, the job interview isn’t on a specific time on a set date.
The career professional needs to log in, often within a seven-day period, 24hrs a day, and complete the interview at a time convenient to them.
Candidates will also be told the number of interview questions they will be asked – with the average being three questions. And the duration of the interview answer, which is often one or two minutes per answer. Sometimes this information is present once the candidate logs onto the AVI.
The three interview questions will be chosen to gain a better understanding of the job applicant’s suitability for the role. In most cases, AVI’s are used to reduce the number of applicants, which can be as many as 20,000 for global companies to a manageable number of interviewees who will be invited for a face-to-face interview with a human.
One question will be a generic question on suitability “Tell me why you are suitable for the role?” or “Tell me about yourself?” or “What can you bring to the role?”
The additional questions will be more specific, based on the key job criteria: “Give me an example of when you did X?” or “What is your experience doing X”
How do you speak to a robot interviewer?
Research shows how a nervous job applicant will self-disclose weaknesses, give shorter responses and use excessive filler words.
The key to being seen as suitable is through a confident delivery of the interview answer.
Confidence is one element that creates a strong interview identity. A job interview identity is created by a mixture of content and delivery. An employer will have a positive view of a job applicant who they perceive to have a high level of knowledge and experience and who delivers answers with confidence.
AI interviewers have built-in software to understand mispronounced words, and to understand local slang.
But the advice is to always speak clearly and to pace yourself. Talk slower than you would when naturally speaking and focus on diction.
As with a human interviewer, be self-promoting, enthusiastic (especially if the bot is monitoring your tonality), and stick to the time frame of the interview answer.
Are AVI’s here to stay?
The test results aren’t in yet.
There are many concerns around biases with AI interviewers, as they are programmed by humans and data that are filled with biases.
Many people on social media talk about how being interviewed by a robot increase job interview anxiety.
But with one large grocery chain in the U.S. using an AVI to interview about 20,000 people a day for stocker and cashier jobs, it sounds like there will be an increase in robot job interviews.
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’
