Interview tips

[Slow Car Sport Mode]

Good morning all! Hoping we could run down some "interview tips." I have a BIG interview tomorrow morning, and I hope I get moved to the next round. I will say, it is for a government job and its over Webmeeting or some kind of virtual.. still, though, they could advance me or not, and I want what they are offering.

So, some tips to share? I'm starting to think about it a LOT so that I ACE my interview (it may be a "panel" interview, I do not know.) No clue what they will ask me about, anything.

All I know is...

1. "Yes and no" answers. Talk long, talk wrong.

2. Be friendly but not overly so. (This may be the hardest part of it for me.)

3. Be composed and natural.

4. Direct all questions back to the relevancy of the position being interviewed for.....

I really want to get this right, so. For today, this is my my primary focus. Any tips?

 

[Pew]

Relax and find some common ground/interests that you all can laugh and talk about.

 

[Slow Car Sport Mode]

Should I mention that I take care of my Mom or is that irrelevant?

If like @Pew says they say something like "Tell me about yourself" (an open-ended question...) should I not mention I have 3 cats as well as birds? Like, what are OK and not so great responses to that question? I want to specifically avoid saying ANYTHING that could have them look at me crazy. I want to be as normal as everyone else they are looking at for when they decide who to move forward and who not to love forward. It is not tomorrow morning yet.

Should I mention "I love to drive" or "I love to be on the road."

Should I mention that I like to be observant and/or situationally aware.

Should I mention that my father was in the Marines as well as an electrician that wired MANY major buildings in NYC in the 70s and 80s including WTC.

Trying to ballpark what to share and not share. Or even what to say.

 

[Astro14]

I’ve done a few virtual interviews. One of the hard parts - looking at the camera lens, not the screen.

When you look at the lens, the interviewer sees you “looking at them”.

If you look at the screen, they see you “looking to the side”.

Choose a decent background. Not cluttered, not personal. A simple painted wall. No lights, no mirrors, no paintings, no bright windows, no distractions. Good, multi source, lighting on you. No weird shadows. Nothing harsh that the camera would make look distracting.

And then we move onto the interview itself.

You need to be prepared for the type of questions that they ask. Rehearse the answers you should be prepared to answer questions like “what is your greatest weakness?“ Or “what is your greatest strength?” Or, “ what would you do if you caught somebody stealing at work?” Or, “ how did you handle an interpersonal conflict at work?”.

Google a list of typical questions that this particular agency asks during interviews. I guarantee the information is out there. Write the questions on one side of a piece of paper and write your answers down on the other side.

Then, and this is important. Look at the questions side and answer it, then turn the paper over and debrief yourself on how you did answering that question. It’s not enough to just read your answer for rehearsal. You have to recall the answer from your own memory, articulate it in your own words, while maintaining eye contact and being engaging.

That recall and engagement is what you’re practicing when you practice your interview answers.

Just writing down the answers is not sufficient. The real preparation for an interview is anticipating the question, having relevant stories, and being able to engage in the way that they ask you to.

For example, in my most recent interview, I was asked to give my responses in a “STAR” format. Situation. Task. Action. Result. Accordingly, I wrote down my practice responses in that format. They did ask me a question that I hadn’t heard before, but having practiced both the recall, and the delivery, I was able to give them a relevant story from my experience, that met the format.

One little point in this digital age. When I say, write something down, I really do mean take a pen or pencil, and put it on paper. It’s not enough to store something electronically, because studies have shown that recall from electronic format is dramatically lower than they are from actual printing. The point is - the act of writing it down is what solidifies things in your memory. It’s much more than just adding information to a digital page.

 

[buster]

 

[SaberOne]

• Avoid the motor-mouth syndrome
• Don’t be too cool for school
• Don’t be patronizing
• Don’t try to be funny or cute
• Don’t tell the interviewer they’re too fat

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Don't say you're good at something you really don't like to do

Interviewer's eyes light up when I said I'm very familiar with SQL, reporting practices and accounting. To the point they canceled all other interviews.

 

[Pablo]

When your criminal record comes up, say you were framed.

Man this is when being retired is great. Working is fine in some ways, applying for jobs is torture.

Most important thing for most gigs is you must fit in and they have to want YOU. Swamp nailed it. When I said I have previous experience with small hydrazine engines, I knew I was in. Not sure what the hell a slacker government job wants, but you best figure that out now.

 

[BigCahuna]

When I get asked what my greatest weakness is, I usually say my honesty. Most say they don't think that's a weakness. Then I tell them I don't care what they think.,,,

 

[Pablo]

Should I mention that I take care of my Mom or is that irrelevant?

Oh HELL NO.

Unless the hiring manager is into taking some specific pity. No Just no. Even if it's your passion, it's none of their business.

Man if you were even thinking that...........

But I don't know gov jobs. Maybe that's the secret sauce.

 

[CarDoc66]

No cologne!

BEST OF LUCK

 

[Pew]

Should I mention that I take care of my Mom or is that irrelevant?

If like @Pew says they say something like "Tell me about yourself" (an open-ended question...) should I not mention I have 3 cats as well as birds? Like, what are OK and not so great responses to that question? I want to specifically avoid saying ANYTHING that could have them look at me crazy. I want to be as normal as everyone else they are looking at for when they decide who to move forward and who not to love forward. It is not tomorrow morning yet.

Should I mention "I love to drive" or "I love to be on the road."

Should I mention that I like to be observant and/or situationally aware.

Should I mention that my father was in the Marines as well as an electrician that wired MANY major buildings in NYC in the 70s and 80s including WTC.

Trying to ballpark what to share and not share. Or even what to say.

I would say you can add some of that in there as long as you can lean your response to the job. I wouldn't focus too much on answering any non-work related questions unless one of the interviewers takes an interest (you gotta be able to "read the room.) For example if one of them responds "I love travelling too", you can ask back, "Where's your favorite place you've been too?" If they all start talking about travelling and their favorite places, then I think that's a good conversation and everybody loosens up and turns more lively but if only one of the other interviewers takes an interest in answering back then I'd just try to continue to the next answer. IE: during my interview, the HR manager and I talked more about travelling vs having a "real" internview; then when I went to interview with my manager, we talked more about the Marine Corps than the job itself.

 

[CarDoc66]

 

[Pablo]

No cologne!

It's a telecon

Fat bright tie and pancake make-up is enough.

 

[atikovi]

Should I mention that I take care of my Mom or is that irrelevant?

If like @Pew says they say something like "Tell me about yourself" (an open-ended question...) should I not mention I have 3 cats as well as birds? Like, what are OK and not so great responses to that question? I want to specifically avoid saying ANYTHING that could have them look at me crazy. I want to be as normal as everyone else they are looking at for when they decide who to move forward and who not to love forward. It is not tomorrow morning yet.

Should I mention "I love to drive" or "I love to be on the road."

Should I mention that I like to be observant and/or situationally aware.

Should I mention that my father was in the Marines as well as an electrician that wired MANY major buildings in NYC in the 70s and 80s including WTC.

Trying to ballpark what to share and not share. Or even what to say.

You're not on a dating site. None of those are relevant to a job interview and could cross you off their list. Saying you take care of your mom might suggest you may have to go home frequently to attend to her or not be available when required. Mentioning you father was in the Marines sounds like you may be trying to ride his coat tails. Keep all but the basics of your home life out of it.

 

[jeepman3071]

1. Dress well - I always wear a suit and tie

2. You want your answers to be somewhere in the middle. Simply answering "Yes" and "No" will seem like you have a lack of interest. Answer Yes or No, and then give a brief explanation. No stories, they want to hear about your work experience.

3. Set up your computer and join the meeting early. Nothing like going to join the meeting and the program you are using decides you need to update to the latest version before allowing you to join.

4. Have plenty of light in front of you so it doesn't look like you are sitting in a dark room and they can see your face clearly.

5. Don't be afraid to say you don't have experience in a specific area if you are asked a question you don't know. Simply say you do not yet have experience with that topic but are eager to learn more about it.

 

[atikovi]

1. Dress well - I always wear a suit and tie

And shave. So many millennials seem to think one or two days without shaving looks good, when in fact it makes you look like you just don't care.

 

[John105]

Relax and find some common ground/interests that you all can laugh and talk about.

I did that in the 90's. By the time I left, I realized all we did was to talk about our favorite Seinfeld episodes, and no, I didn't get the job

 

[John105]

Good morning all! Hoping we could run down some "interview tips." I have a BIG interview tomorrow morning, and I hope I get moved to the next round. I will say, it is for a government job and its over Webmeeting or some kind of virtual.. still, though, they could advance me or not, and I want what they are offering.

So, some tips to share? I'm starting to think about it a LOT so that I ACE my interview (it may be a "panel" interview, I do not know.) No clue what they will ask me about, anything.

All I know is...

1. "Yes and no" answers. Talk long, talk wrong.

2. Be friendly but not overly so. (This may be the hardest part of it for me.)

3. Be composed and natural.

4. Direct all questions back to the relevancy of the position being interviewed for.....

I really want to get this right, so. For today, this is my my primary focus. Any tips?

Sounds like you are prepared! Try to find out "if" your future employer is a good fit, for you. If so, let them know. They are doing the same with you.

Remember, some things are negotiable, salary, of course. But so is vacation, etc. If you have 4 weeks or more at your current job, nobody can realistically expect you to take 2 weeks. I have a buddy who took a really high paying job, and he's got 2 weeks vacation. He must have forgotten to discuss that. Like free floor mats when you buy a car lol

Break a leg!

 

[mk378]

No cologne!

It's a telecommute interview, so that wouldn't be a problem. Remove all pets from the room and keep them out though.