Week 10 - Why People Fail Interviews

"The best interviews are when the candidate doesn't know he/she is being interviewed"

Peter

Interviews are like auditions.

Except in an audition, you are given a helpful snippet of how the person will actually perform if you hire them. Whereas in an interview, you only get to hear the person talk about how well they will perform a job if you hire them. 

So many people who are very capable of performing a job, are incapable of talking about how they will perform the job. They put all their efforts into performing a job, e.g. selling phones, but never practice how they will talk it up in an interview to display their capabilities. 

We've been teaching our Y2J candidates how to structure their answers and make it easy for the interviewer to see how capable they are. When answering interview questions, remember to:

PEE in your CAR

PEE stands for Point, Evidence, Explain and CAR stands for, Circumstance, Action Result. 

Every answer you give can follow this structure, so for example, when asked a questions about customer service for the role of sales assistant at John Lewis:

Point - I believe good customer is about exceeding customer expectations

Example - While doing my work experience at Asda...
     Circumstance - ...I noticed an elderly lady struggling to reach a jar of mayonnaise on 
     the top shelf

     Action - I rushed over and got it for her. I also offered to help her carry her bags to 

     the car

     Result - The lady was really glad to have some help and couldn't stop thanking me

Explain - I am naturally giving person and find it genuinely rewarding to exceed someone's expectations

Answering questions using this structure makes it really easy for the interviewer to see your strengths. A John Lewis interviewer hearing this answer could then assume you would go equally far for John Lewis customers as you did for Asda customers. 

Ruman answers some tough mock interview questions for a fake panel of interviewers

Some tips our candidates came up with about preparing for an interview include:

Before the Interview

• Know the Role - examine the person specification, job description and your CV/application form
• Know the Company - have some key facts about what makes it different from others
• Practice your answers with a friend (a Google search will usually show you what kind of questions are asked about the role by the company)
• Plan your journey - find out how to get there and how long it will take
• Dress smartly
• Trim your nails and hair (especially facial hair)
• Bathe the night before
• Don't smoke

During the Interview

• Look positive
• Speak clearly and confidently 
• Show positive body language (only 7% of communication is verbal)
• Answer the question asked - take you time and answer the question relevantly to the role
• Sell yourself
• Turn off your mobile
• Don't be late!
• Don't swear or use slang
• Don't slouch
• Don't criticise former employers or colleagues

After the Interview

• Ask questions - prepare some relevant questions to ask at the end e.g. when will I be informed if I'm successful? Where is the job based? But don't ask about salary
• Call them back - if they haven't informed you when they said they would, give them a call and ask

*A top tip is to remember that it is not the end of the world if you don't get the job. SERIOUSLY keep this in mind and it will help you to be more natural and calm at the interview, rather than a trembling, nervous wreck!