Hi there, my name is Richard McMunn, and for the duration of this short
presentation, I am going to teach you how to predict interview questions.
Yes, that's right, it really quite simple.
Before you go along to any interview, follow the tips I'm about to provide
you with and you will be able to predict a large number of interview
questions that you will get asked.
Okay.
Now, what you need to be able to do this is basically the person
specification for the job you are applying for.
So, the person specification is basically a document.
It is the blueprint that sets out the requirements for the role.
And you will notice on the person specification that there are the desirable
and the essential criteria's.
Okay.
So, you need to get yourself a copy of the person specification.
The other kind of document that you will normally
come across when you are preparing for an interview is the job description.
You can usually get asked a question during the interview that
goes along with along the lines of, "can you tell us about the role, what
do you know about the role".
You can get that information from both the person
specification and the job description.
I've already mentioned about the desirable's and the
essentials, these are very important.
When you look at the person specification, you should be able to see both
sets of these.
Desirable's, are basically what it says, you should try to
have as many of these as possible.
Now the essentials, basically means you must have these in order to carry out the
role and be successful at that interview.
It is your job to align all the essentials amongst as many of
the desirable's as possible when you are preparing for your interview.
So, let's take a quick loOkay at a sample person specification, and I am
going to tell you the process I use when preparing for interviews.
So, this is basically for a customer services adviser
and you can use this process when applying for any kind of job.
Now you can see that it has the basic criteria and it is this information on the
right-hand side that I am going to use to predict the interview questions.
You will see there that it says a minimum of 1 year clerical, and cash-handling
experience in a busy, customer service environment.
There is a question in there that says can you provide an example of where
you have handled cash in a busy customer service environment or where you
have actually worked in a clerical role in a busy customer service
environment.
So, what you will do then is prepare a response to that
question.
You can see there it will say, "have you got experience
communicating with customers and colleagues both face to face and by
telephone to achieve satisfactory outcomes for the customer", and again
there are a number of questions that you can extract from that sentence.
One of them is, "can you give us an example of where you have communicated
with customers on a face-to-face level or by telephone", and an add-on
question could be once you've told them that you have been in that
situation is, " what would be your considerations when dealing with a
customer?"
Obviously, you want to be polite, you want to listen to their needs
intensely and you want to make sure that you match their expectations.
So I'm hoping now that you are beginning to understand
how I predict interview questions and it does work.
Here's another: "maintain accurate records including updating computer records while
dealing with customers".
So, they want to see whether you can multitask, so
they might say: "can you give us an example of when you have used computer
records and at the same time whilst dealing with customers?".
They may want to know the kind of database experience and work that you have had in a
previous role.
Another one using information technology to gather information so it would
not be unreasonable to suggest that the interviewer might want to know your
experience in relation to IT.
It says there: "maintaining a calm approach effectively under pressure".
Can you give us an example of where you have worked under pressure in order to achieve
objectives and goals.
They may say to you, "how do you approach pressure
at work?
How do you find working under pressure?"
You can say, "obviously I work in a methodical manner and
I make sure that I am calm at all times".
So you can see there again more questions coming out, proving a flexible approach
to a variety of work.
"What are you like at work?
Are you a flexible person?"
That's another interview questions.
Working as part of a team, encouraging and supporting
colleagues.
Can you give us an example of when you have worked effectively
as part of a team.
What are you like as a team player?
What would be your considerations in that team?
And so the list goes on.
So you can see that just by following that, it is very easy to
predict the question.
So, here is a sample question that I have taken from
the person specification: "can you give me an example of when you have worked
in a busy customer service environment?
Can you give me an example of when you have handled cash in a
customer service environment?
What would be your considerations?"
Okay.
So obviously you have to be methodical, you have to think about security,
you've got to have your wares about you, checking the environment all the
time because it can be a dangerous situation when handling cash so you need
to be careful especially in front of other people.
"Do you have any experience with communicating with customers
and colleagues both face to face and by telephone?
Give me an example of when you have resolved an
issue that had arisen from an initial point of contact through to
resolution.
Do you have any experience of inputting data into a computer
and what database experience do you have?
How do you deal with pressure in the workplace?"
And the last 4: "please provide me with an example of when
you have worked effectively as part of a team.
Can you give me a time when you have had to be flexible in the workplace
and please provide me a time when you have worked alone when having to
carry out a difficult task.
What were your considerations?
The best example of customer service you have witnessed."
I've taken those questions directly from that person
specification.
My advice when you are preparing for any interview whatsoever is to get
yourself a copy of the person specification, then get yourself a
highlighter and go through the essential and desirable criteria and you can
predict interview questions.
So, get yourself to www.howtobecome.co.uk for
more free information and resources on how to pass any interview.