Common Asked Housing Officer Questions

A housing officer will often be employed for housing associations or the local authority, supporting clients with the assessment of needs in terms of housing applications.

The housing officer may also specialise in working with homeless people and/or service users with additional needs.

How competitive is a Housing Officer job Interview?

Interview Specifics

This article will list the commonly asked job interview questions for a housing officer.

By understanding the job interview structure and by knowing the commonly asked housing officer interview questions, applicants can prepare answers that highlight their level of competencies within this industry.

Common Asked Housing Officer Interview Questions

Can you tell me about your housing officer experience?

This housing officer interview question is asked for two reasons; 1 it is an open question to get you talking/feeling relax at the job interview start. 2, to gain a general overview of your experience (generic because the follow-up questions will go into more detail)

To answer this job interview question, start by summarising your experience as a housing officer, your relevant qualifications and a key unique skill relevant to the industry – something that makes you stand out, this could be a specialism you have IE working to house homeless service users.

How do you assess the needs of a client?

This interview question is key because this is the crux of the job role.

Split this answer into two sections. Section one is your people skills; explain how you build rapport, how you use effective listening skills, how open and closed questions have a powerful impact, and how you remain calm in stressful situations. Give a short example to highlight your level of expertise and competencies.

Section two should explain the interview structure; the questions you should ask, the information you need to collate, and how you follow GDPR, data protection and confidentiality legislation.

What does customer service mean to you?

You may be asked several customer services-related interview questions.

In the housing association sector often the service users can be stressed or angry. Some service users may have alcohol or drug addiction. In some cases, you will be speaking to clients who are struggling with finances and have been turned down for financial support.

When answering interview questions relating to customer service and communication, explain how you can handle these situations;

What was the situation – why was the service user angry or upset?

How did you handle the situation – what did you say or do to help calm down the client?

What was the positive outcome – how did the client respond to you?

What do you look for during a housing inspection?

Competency-based job interview questions require you to fall back on your experience.

Give an example of when you have carried out an inspection that had issues (you need to pick an inspection with issues to show that you can deal with this in a professional way)

In the example explain what you look for during a general inspection, the inspection process you follow and quote safeguarding regulations, and how you, when required, challenge a service user.

Follow this up with the example “one time during an inspection I saw…” Give details of what you found, the potential safeguarding issue, and what you did to address this

How would you have a positive effect on your colleagues and team?

A big part of the housing officers’ job criteria is to have the ability to work as part of a close-knit team. You will be asked one way or another about your ability to work within a team.

Open the teamwork answer by simply explaining how you enjoy working as part of a team and how in all previous housing roles teamwork has been an important aspect of the role. This opening confirmation statement shows how you have this required skill.

Now you have ticked the ‘teamwork’ box, you need to give a real-life example. A good frame for this job interview answer is to give a ‘helper’ perspective.

Describe how a colleague was having a problem with a housing issue and how this problem affected the output of the whole team.

Go on to describe how you took action and explain the action you took. Follow this up with the positive outcome focusing on how the whole team benefited from your quick actions.

You can also talk about the larger team – in this role, you will need to work with a range of agencies and stakeholders, including social services, jobcentre plus, citizens’ advice service.

Which other agencies would you refer a service user to?

Part of a housing officer’s job role is to work with the tenants to help them to be successful.

To be effective in this job duty you will need to work with, signpost or refer to a large number of partner agencies from social services to the local job center, from doctor surgeries to career advice officers.

In your answer list the relevant agencies you would partner with and give an example of when you would make a referral compared to signposting.

The example has to be specific. First, explain the service users situation and the key block that was holding them back. Explain the limitations of your roles and how the service user required expert advice.

Go on to explain how the service user had attempted to get support but had failed. End the interview answer by stating what you did to ensure the client got the support and advice they required.

Do you have any questions for me?

A guaranteed question is the “do you have any questions for me?” question. And your answer should be YES! Always ask a question.

Good questions to ask in a housing officer job interview are;

What is your approach to supporting service users with their many barriers?
What development opportunities do you have to help upskill a housing officer?
How many hostels/houses do the organisations look after?
What is the best part of your day?

August 19, 2017

Job Interview Questions for a Job at Rise in Manchester

Rise Manchester offers a tailor-made space for the FinTech community, drawing together the city’s vibrant startup culture and its rich industrial past. In staff they are looking for friendly and fun staff who know there coffee and who can improve their customers experience.

If you want a job at rise, here is some questions you will need to answer

Below you can also access 101 Interview Questions and techniques to Influence the Job Interview. Good luck with your next job interview.

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Job Interview Questions for a Job at Rise in Manchester

Job Interview Question 1:

“Tell me about your customer service experience?”

The opening question at Rise, will be a generic interview question to gain an insight into your customer service and barista experience. Summarise your experience and have a focus on the key skills required for this position; how you welcome customers, how you promote the rise philosophy and how you go above and beyond

Ensure you mention

customer service skills
strong written and spoken communication skills
the ability to solve problems
the ability to deal tactfully with customers
your friendliness and rapport building skills

Job Interview Question 2:

“How do you handle difficult customers?”

For situational job interview questions, answer using a real life story or example

state the situation – why the customer was angry/difficult
explain how you remain calm and how this calmed down the customer
discuss what you did to support the customer while following processes and procedure
explain the outcome of the situation ***ensure this is positive

Job Interview Question 3:

“When have you gone and beyond to help a customer?”

Rise isn’t just a coffee shop, its an experience. In an employee Rise are looking for staff members who go that extra mile. Answer this interview question by first stating your work ethic and your temperament. Second give a real life example of when you went above and beyond to help a customer. Remember at Rise the customer base isn’t just shoppers, in fact the percentage of customer are entrepreneurs who spend their day at Rise working

Job Interview Question 4:

“What questions do you need when booking a room for a customer?”

Many customers book rooms and the stage area. This task requires a level of organisation. When answering this questions explain your strategy for keeping the administration side of things on point. How do you ensure that you have the correct details; customer detailsl, booking details

Job Interview Question 5:

“Why do you want to work at Rise?”

Be honest when answering this question – Rise has to be the right fit for you, and you need to be the right fit for Rise. What made you apply for this role? Why do you like the environment? To answer this question, start with “The three reasons I want to work at Rise are…” and then give 3 real reasons.

Job Interview Question 6:

“Do you have any questions for me?”

Good interview questions to ask interviewers at the end of the job interview include questions on the company growth or expansion, questions on personal development and training and questions on company values, staff retention and company achievements.

Conclusion

Many people are afraid of job interviews. The truth is if you prepare for your job interview, by predicting the job interview questions, you can easily prepare your job interview answers. If your job interview answers highlight your unique selling point, are stated in the positive and are said in a confident manner, then you can influence the job interview to increase job offer.

Interview Preparation Resources

Other People Who Read This Article Also Read:

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August 1, 2017November 19, 2020

Things You Should Never Say During a Promotional Job Interview

Don’t Mention These Things During a Promotional Job Interview

If you have worked for your organisation for a long time, you may feel that in a promotional job interview you can relax and communicate as if you were talking to a friend.

It doesn’t matter what type of relationship you have with your manager, in a job interview, even an internal promotional job interview, you need to act professionally

In the job interview, people communicate off the cuff, reacting to the question they were asked. This is where your guard is down and where poor communication slips out.

Remember, even if you are on good terms with your manager, you need to remember that often you are interviewed by two people – one often being an HR representative. Also, all interviewers have to follow an interview scoring process – this means you may have a friendly interview, but if you don’t answer the questions meeting the criteria of the interview scorecard you won’t be offered the position.

Never Get Defensive

When asked about previous mistakes never ever say that it wasn’t your job, task, responsibility, as X should have done it. Instead, explain how you have learned from the mistake and what you would do differently in a similar situation.

The interview question may have been generalized (the manager doesn’t blame you, rather they worded the interview question wrongly) or if the manager does wrongly blame you the interview isn’t the place to get defensive

You Know Me….

In a promotional job interview, it is easy to get flustered. You are asked a competency interview question and you way up how far to stretch the truth. In external job interviews, the white lies go unnoticed, but your internal job interviewer knows you, they have known you for 10 years (or however long you have worked for the organisation)

When feeling stuck, the internal job applicant often refers to a blotchy response “you know me, I’m a hard worker, so i will do what i have to do…” The problem here, even when your employer knows that the hard worker statement is the truth, you still aren’t giving the required details to score high on the interview scorecards.

These days its the detailed answers that will get you the job offer

Also bare in mind, that your boss might not know all the in’s and out’s of what you did on previous projects. The interview is the place to state the situation, what you did to achieve X and the positive outcome to your hard work – even if they already know everything you are about to tell them

Bad Mouth Others

This is a big know -know

Never, ever, ever bad mouth your colleagues, even the one’s everyone knows are lazy, during a job interview….especially when an HR representative is part of the job interview process

If asked about other colleagues, simply say that everyone works to their best ability – this is a great ambiguous line to keep you out of trouble

September 25, 2016November 21, 2020

Out Of The Box Interview Tips

Think Out Of The Box To Pass a Job Interview

Run of the mill interviewing techniques are becoming talk of the past.

“Tell me about yourself”?, A question that has been out there for so long that candidates tend to just learn the answer to it by heart with minor tweaks here and there.

If the questions aren’t going to change so will the same patented responses will be given during interviews. There is no advancement in the interviewing procedures and no learning for graduates coming fresh out of the universities.

career

Let’s consider a situation where a candidate (you) gets the call from HR representative of the company you applied to.

A unique feature about this call would be (we’ll get into that) but how normally a candidate would respond to one such call:

HR: “Hi, is this Mr. X I’m speaking to?”

Mr. X: “Yes, who’s this?”

HR: “This Ms. Y from ABC Co., you applied for the position of XYZ. Have you got a minute, I have to ask a couple of questions?”

Mr. X: “Please go on”

HR: “Ok, so have been you working somewhere?”

Mr. X: “Both yes and no, actually I resigned from my previous employment and am currently serving my notice period”

HR: “Ok, it says here you’ve been with the firm for last 5 years, what makes you want to switch?”

Mr. X: “Although, I have had no issues here during the tenure of my employment, all I feel is a bit stagnant where I’m and want to challenge myself in pursuit of new and better opportunities”

HR: “Alright, let me schedule an interview with you tomorrow say at 11am?”

Mr. X: “Sounds good to me, will be there.”

HR: “The directions to our office will be emailed to you shortly.”

Mr. X: “Sure thanks. Bye.”

That is how a normal telephonic interview appears as. But if we could improvise and candidate can earn the seat in front row? Startling? We pick it up from point no. 10 above and see how it changes.

Mr. X: “Can I suggest a date, as I have some things to take care of in the days to follow? Hence I won’t be able to squeeze time for the meet.”

HR (based on the availability): “When it would be possible for you to visit, then?”

Mr. X: “On so and so date (suggest a date for 2-3 days ahead)

The idea is to buy time so you can thoroughly search about the company, its stakeholders, review their profile on LinkedIn and prepare yourself well.

HR: “How does day after tomorrow sound?”

Mr. X: “Great!”

Now if the counter argument is not up to your liking, best lock in the day as it maybe that the organization is interviewing other candidates or the interviewing authority may not be available in those days.

At least by making a request you have made your presence felt and that you are not typical instead expressive. Just that is the purpose of asking to schedule at a later date. This gives you leverage in negotiations at the time of offer.

You don’t need to insist on scheduling for the day/date you have in mind or you’ll lose the opportunity, altogether. An attempt suffices and generally employer allows for a day or two in scheduling meets for candidates.

Secondly, the questions needs to be revisited to allow candidates to speak open-endedly and when someone is provided the platform to speak, their frame mind is reflected and the person interviewing can gauge whether or not the person would be a suitable fit for the organization.

Questions could be:

“How much element of fun is part of your life?”

“Do you cater to sarcasm?”

“What if I were to ring up a close friend of yours, will he/she be able to tell me your weaknesses?”

Author Bio

Rayanne Dany is an HR consultant and can be reached for assignment writing service via her twitter handle. She has tons of experience in different organizations amounting to a total of 10 years. Her insight over the years as an HR professional has paved way for writing improvement techniques.

June 16, 2010November 20, 2020

How to Gain a Job Promotion

Job Promotion

Once you gain employment, its time to think about your next step up the career a ladder – A Job Promotion.

To be successful in your career, you need to aim high to help get away from low level jobs. We already know that the future employers in the UK will be looking for highly skilled individuals and a job promotion is one way to gain these skills.

The ideal job role is a position that challenges you (to stop you from being bored) in a job role that is inline with your values and beliefs – this helps you feel that you personally are achieving something you believe in.

How to gain a job promotion:

Personal Resources

First, look back at your career, then look where you are now. What have you achieved to gain your current position? What skills and qualities do you already possess? Which of these skills have you used to move this far forward with your career? Can any of these skills help you gain a promotion? Are there any weaknesses that you need to improve? What resources do you have around you to help you overcome these weaknesses? What else do you need to do before you gain a promotion?

We all have the resources inside us and these IAG questions will help you unlock your personal resources and the answers you need to help you gain a promotion.

Do You Want a Promotion?

Before achieving a promotion, you need to decide if a promotion is for you! What job role do you really want? Be clear; think about the duties and responsibility you are looking for. If you were promoted now how would it feel? Would you like this new role? Are you looking for a promotion up the career ladder or a side promotion to a different department? You may enjoy your current role, but would you enjoy the new role and responsibilities that will come with your promotion?

Make a Visual Action Plan

Write down your goal at the top of a piece of paper, make this big and draw a coloured star around it. Draw a thick 2 line path from the bottom of the page to the star, this can be straight or curved, add 9 horizontal lines to the path, making the path look like it has 9 large paving stones.

On these paving stones, starting with the one at the bottom at the page, write or draw the steps you need to take to reach your goal – your promotion. This is your personal promotion action plan, put as much or as little detail on as you want, the main part is having a written action plan that we can look at each day, as research will often show that we are more likely to achieve what we write down.

Let Others Know

Now you have direction and a plan to follow, you will know if you’re ready for a promotion now, or if there is something to develop before you gain a promotion. Once you are ready, let other people, including your manager, know that you are looking for a promotion. Be ready to back up why you are ready for a promotion with your knowledge, skills, attitude, determination and positive actions. In some cases you will have to convince people several times that you are ready for a promotion; take any criticism as an opportunity to learn.

Take Pride in Your Job

Some employees gain promotions quickly in any company they work for, why? Most take pride in their work, when given a task they will be positive, creative and look at how they can complete their task, and then they will check to see if anything could go wrong or be improved before completing the task.

Be your best at work-everyday! Complete all tasks, no mater how small with equal passion and enthusiasm. Believe in yourself, believe in the job role, promote passion and hard work and never give up.

Embrace a Challenge

As your manger see’s this new positive you, they may test your ability by giving you more changing task; the best way to test if someone is ready for a promotion is to see if they can complete a task that they would be given in their new role. Don’t see any additional task as a chore or more work.

Embrace the challenge, manage your work and make an effort to complete the task before the given deadline. Don’t tell others about your additional work, they don’t care! Make every effort to prove yourself, this could be the difference between gaining a promotion or not.

If you have not been asked to take on additional work, ask for it! Look at the problems your company is having, solve them and take the answer to your manager – employers like people who come with solutions not problems.

Act like you have been promoted

Start taking on some additional responsibility and tasks that you would do once you gain a promotion. Become the expert and give advice and support to others, think about your comments at meetings and how you word your e-mails; communicate like you would once you gain a promotion.