OMO your assistance please

[appollo1]

Oh mighty Org, I know I have not been on here for a while but as always I am certain that this is the place for help and information.

It has been 2 years since I left the RAF. In that time I have been self employed as I had applied for numerous jobs when I first left the RAF and only ever got one interview.

Recently I have applied for some jobs and now have 2 interviews coming up in the next couple of weeks.

I know all the usual about being on time, learn about the company etc etc etc

At the last interview nerves got the better of me as it was my first interview in over 25 years.

Does anyone have any experience of sitting on panels to employ people that could give me some top tips please?

thank you

[Bibio]

i have only ever failed one job interview and that was for packing shelves in Tesco and their excuse was i was over qualified and would be better off applying for a management position. ermm i only want to pack shelves coz i'm at UNI you morons.....

my advice for what its worth, be yourself, if your face fits your in its as simple as that.

relax.. there is nothing to be nervous about, they are not going to get up and punch you in the face or anything like that. they just want to know if your suitable for the job by asking you questions, nothing more nothing less. if you dont get the job move on and apply for another.

get used to interviews by going too as many as you can even if you dont want the job its experience.


ooohhh and never ever lie, even if you think they wont like the answer DONT LIE.

good luck Ricky, hope you get the job m8 you deserve it.

[Alexander94]

The best advice that I got given when I was applying for jobs is to research the company before going to the interview so you can recite some statistics to the interviewer (they always like to hear how great they are)
I didn't end up needing to do that but it wouldn't hurt your chances ;)
Besides that, relax, I've had interviews where I should have done well but didn't because I got myself all worked up...

Good luck with your job hunt!

[appollo1]

That's what happened at the last interview i got so nervous that when they threw in a 'curveball' question asking my 3 best qualities i couldn't answer due to nerves.

thanks lance

[punyXpress]

The stress of the interviews can't be as bad as some of the 'shizzle' you endured in your previous job.
Treat the first one as a practice for the next - no pressure.
Best of luck with both.

[Jayneflakes]

The last interview I enjoyed was with a scam company, you know the ones, the companies who scam old ladies out of their pensions by doing the hard sell door to door. By researching the company, I was able to ask the right questions, be critical of their practice where I needed to be and thus avoided getting involved with a company that had the ethics of a hungry shark in a playpool!

So be objective. You owe it to yourself to find a job that will treat you with respect, reward you for hard work and not steal all of your family time. You are interviewing them too, if the job does not fit what you want, you may be unhappy doing it.

Remember as well that most managers pulled into interviews don't want to be there because they have other important things to get sorted, so those first 30 seconds of the interview are important.

Farting during an interview is considered rude, well unless you work in a baked bean factory! ;-)

[Sir Trev]

Quite a few websites have lists of the more odd questions some employers seem to think they have to ask. Write down some of your key points and take some notes in with you - it shows you have thought about it all and have prepared, which should work in your favour (unless the job relies on your memory capabilities).

[Moleman]

As above RELAX!
You got the interviews because they thought you are a good match to what they are looking for.. So your 50% of the way there..
Listen to the questions and consider your answer but don't over think it.. Consider your experances and give examples which you feel fit the questions. Makes the interview more interesting for the interviewers and more memorable. You want them to remember you..

Always have some questions for them to as it shows intrest amongst other things.
Again relax everyone expects people to be a little nervous it shows your bothered.

[ClunkintheUK]

I found a really useful book when I started my interviews out of uni. The basic gist of it was, figure out what your USP is. What one thing makes you stand out as suited for the role, ( mine was quick leaner) Then think of three or four themes from your CV that back up this USP, I showed my masters, diverse experience for a fresh graduate ( gap year and internship and even my uni work in a bike shop) and the highly numerate degree (it was a technical role) then for each theme think of 4 examples or situations that back up that theme.

From this you should have written down on a piece of paper a pyramid three layers deep. Each story at the bottom is a potential answer to a queation. So then think about what the likely questions are and how each of your potential stories would answer this. A story can respond to more then one question, and you can have more then one potential response. Each response you then give should ultimately link up and bolster your USP without you having to actually articulate it directly. They will likely have to ask the same questions of each candidate, so using the same response twice is not necessarily a problem, just saying 'as I mentioned before' and you can give a shortened response just highlighting why it is relevant to the current question.

I also found having a mechanical way of preparing for the interview meant that I was much less nervous, and when the curve ball came up that I hadn't thought off had a bank of 15 or so situations that I could pick from, or as in your case I'd have those three qualities backing up my USP directly at hand to respond.

I have also found it useful to write down on a piece of paper all the questions I want to ask the interviewer. That way you won't forget, but also when they ask if you have any questions, you can check your notes, and if everything as indeed been answered in the interview already, you don't look unprepared.

This has always worked for me in interviews, but for the record I have never been and interviewer.

[maviczap]

When you walk in to the interview, imagine the panel is naked, was a tip to divert your mind about being worried what they are going to ask.

[Jabba]

Interviews often start with an "ice breaker" - something like "tell us something about yourself". They will be expecting answer about you and your life experiences, e.g. where you were born, went to school, uni, family (maybe), work history...... just something that you know about to relax you and get you talking.

As others have said, know a little bit about the company that you're applying to, history, key business areas, etc.

If it's a job in a team of people, you might get asked about your understanding of "teamwork" and why you would fit in. Lots of stuff about this on the 'net.

If your prospective role is a technical one or which requires specialist knowledge, make sure that you are up to speed not only about what's current but what might be on the horizon.

But, as others have said, relax and be yourself. Remember that they don't actually want to trip you up; candidates that are nervous and clam up make everyone, interviewers and interviewees, feel very awkward.

DON'T RAMBLE UNNECESSARILY!! Speak at a normal pace and volume, pause from time to time, etc. Breathe!!

DO NOT TELL THEM ANYTHING THAT ISN'T TRUE!!

[Heorot]

It's said that you can lose an interview within the first 9 seconds. Certainly when I was interviewing, my reaction was coloured within that timespan. Do I like or dislike the person. In addition to the technical requirements of the job, the interviewer is assessing whether you will fit into his team.

When you walk in, try to be relaxed, smile, look the interviewer in the eye and give a firm handshake, not limp and certainly don't try to break the interviewers hand. If you do the above, you have avoided losing the interview before you start.

[TamSV]

Just be yourself. After establishing knowledge and skill levels, the biggest part of an interview is basically finding out if you're a ****** or not.

If you've got an experienced interviewer then pretending to be something you're not will be an indicator that you're going to be their next HR nightmare. OTOH if you have an inexperienced interviewer, and they buy your BS, then you might find yourself in a job that doesn't suit you - but suits the person you pretended to be at interview. :)

Your CV basically consists of your RAF career so you will be stereotyped by that to some extent. Whatever your rank was at the end of your career adds another layer to that.

If asked to list your strengths it's worth bearing those preconceived notions in mind if you think you have attributes that fit the positive side of the stereotype or dispel the negative.

If asked to list your weaknesses it's good to come up with something that you've recognised but also point out how you have dealt with it (e.g. I used to have a problem with time management so now I keep a strict diary and to-do lists - that kind of thing). Don't list any unresolved weaknesses and, whatever you do, don't say you don't have any - only sociopaths actually believe that. :)

If your nerves do come to the surface then give an apology and explain you're nervous because this is your first interview for 25 years. That should go down OK. I've always preferred inexperienced interviewees. If I look at a CV with 15 different jobs on it then that person has possibly attended up to 100 interviews and they've become quite good at projecting a positive first impression - to the point that it doesn't mean anything.