Top Tips for Interview Success - video transcript

Hi my name is Steve and I'm an Employability Advisor here at the University of Birmingham. Welcome to this video which is going to contain lots of Top Tips for Interview Success. So in this session we're going to begin by looking at the importance of preparation, we're going to examine the different types of interview, we're going to look at some top tips for the day of the interview itself, and we're also going to explore some of the typical questions you may get asked at interview. 

So you've been invited to interview - well done because, ultimately, you have already beaten the odds and they will only invite you to interview if they think you can already do the job, based on what you've already told them in your application. Because, ultimately running interviews for companies is both time intensive and it actually costs them money to run interviews, so they wouldn't spend their time and money on you unless they already thought you might be a great fit for their business. 

So first things first, let's say you've been invited to interview, the first thing you should do is go back to your application form and remind yourself about all the information you have already given them. It can be a really good idea to get into the habit of saving job descriptions and person specifications from job advertisements as well. Just so that you have them safe so that you'll have them to work from when preparing for your interview because, ultimately, these will be your blueprints for preparing for your interview.

So they may have asked for lots of different skills and experiences, you may be very well expected to go into further detail regarding those skills and experiences during the interview itself so it's really important that you keep all that information safe and go back to it once you get invited to interview. Also do some further research, research the employer, what are their values, what's their ethos, also have a look at the sector and other similar companies because, by looking at their competitors, you can really help to see what makes the particular employer you've chosen unique and stand out. And you can find out lots of other information about your sector as well from places like Prospects, specialist publications, or websites or maybe follow them on social media so, for instance, Facebook Twitter or LinkedIn. These are all great sources for getting a really good holistic view of not just a company, but the larger industry as well. 

So then let's have a look at some different types of interview and we're going to begin with telephone interviews. Often telephone interviews won't be the final interview stage but will probably fall earlier within the recruitment process, but let's say you've been asked to take part in a telephone interview. Number one think about how you're going to dress. Now that might sound a little silly because, of course, they can't see you, but if you dress smarter, you will feel more professional and you will perform better. It can affect things such as the tenor of your voice, for instance. If you lounge around in your pyjamas, for instance, you probably won't give as good a performance. Also, be aware that you can't pick up on any non-verbal cues during the interview, so you can't tell what their facial expression is and they can't tell what yours is so it's really important that you ensure that your enthusiasm and interest for the role really comes across in your voice when answering those questions also. As they can't see you, you might want to take some notes into the interview itself. What I would suggest is never write lots of notes, if you have to write down notes that suggests that you maybe you haven't done as much research. As you should have done, prior to the interview. Instead what I'd suggest is maybe just using a few post-it notes with keywords on them, to just jog your memory and because, ultimately, if you've done your preparation you shouldn't need lots and lots of notes. 

Now there are two different types of video interview, there are recorded video interviews and live video interviews on platforms, such as Zoom, for instance. Recorded video interviews aren't always the last stage of a recruitment process and then these instances you're likely be given a date by which you have to complete an interview. This interview is not live, you will be asked questions online, you will record your answers, and then a member of the business will review those answers at a later date. And oftentimes with these types of interview you'll be given a set time to answer each question as well.

Now I’m not going to get into lots of tips here for recorded video interviews, because a lot of the things that apply to them also apply to live video interviews where you're actually talking to a person or a panel of people live so we're going to look at some tips for video interviews overall on the following slide. Choose your surroundings carefully, think about the lighting in the room you're going to be doing the interview, and what will be in the background. You want to be the focus of the employers, so you don't want a poster or an unmade bed or your washing up to be taking any attention away from you, so try to have as clear background behind you as possible. For some basics is your laptop plugged in, is your camera working, does your microphone pick up the sound of your voice clearly?

I'd suggest practicing with friends and family members and ask them for their feedback to help you get your setup just right. Also, when it comes to eye contact the best thing to do is to make regular eye contact with the area surrounding the camera on your device or computer. Because by doing so regardless of how many panel members there are, if you make eye contact with the camera you'll be ensuring that you're making eye contact with all of the panel members, at the same time. It can be a great idea to sit at a desk or a table and make sure the chair height is just right for you, and then the screen is level with your eye line. Because, ultimately let's say your laptop or device is lower down, it could have the unintended consequence of the panel looking up your nose for the entirety of the interview, and obviously we wouldn't want that.

Also, this might be your only chance to make a first impression or to make any impression so treat it as though it were an in person interview and dress professionally. Similar to my point about telephone interviews just now, you can also consider using post-it notes, if you feel that you really need them with some keywords on them, but make sure that you don't have them in shot. 

So this is what we often think about when we talk about being interviewed, we are just transitioning back towards some face to face panel interviews so as such, I do have some tips for them coming up. Number one wear smart industry appropriate clothes. It's far better to dress a little bit too smart than too casual. Because number one, it will show the panel that you're serious about this and you've made the effort and, secondly, you will feel more professional and will likely perform better if your dress the part. Try to think of yourself of now as a professional, even if this is your first interview for a graduate role.

Secondly, be punctual. Make sure that you are going to be on time and try to get there for about 15 minutes before the interview starts. You don't want to get there any later than that but you also don't want to get there really, really early either so aim for around about 15 to 20 minutes before the interview is due to begin. Think about your paperwork. Most graduate employers will expect to see your education certificates, maybe even going back all the way to GCSEs, so if you're in the process of applying for roles it could be a good idea to find them now but if you can't it's not the end of the world. You can get in touch with those old institutions where you previously studied and request a copy of your grades, but bear in mind, they do often charge a small fee for this. And remember you do only get one chance to make a first impression so make sure it's a good one. 

On the day of the interview try to be the very best version of you, that aspirational version of you who you wish, you could be all the time. And so, who is the best version of you, for me it is you, you at your most knowledgeable, the friendliest, the politest, the most interested. Try to imagine that version of yourself that you wish you could be all the time and that's who you want to be at interview. So smile, you'll look pleased to be there and people will smile back. Even if you're feeling terribly nervous, channel that nervous energy into positive energy and smile, make eye contact, but try not to stare. Think about your posture, so stand up straight, shoulders back and don't fold your arms because unconsciously, to the panel that might make, you see, and like you might be a closed off person.

Also remember to breathe, take deep breaths prior to going into the interview. Take them before you begin to answer the question to give yourself some thinking time. Or even halfway through a question, as you think about the next point you want to make, because this will give you think and it will calm your nerves. We're not really sure what's going to happen in the future about shaking hands but just in case it does come back, when it comes to handshake you want to have a firm handshake but not too firm, so somewhere in the middle. Also be polite to everyone, you meet on the day anybody could be asked for their opinion about you, including maybe even the receptionist when you sign in with them in the morning. Try to think of your interview beginning the second you step into the building and it doesn't end until you leave. And ultimately taking all this together, just trying to be the best you. Smile like you mean it, you should really be happy to be there. 

Now we're going to spend a little bit of time looking at some of the different question types, you might be asked to interview, those being career motivation business awareness and competency based questions. So career motivation questions are really there to encourage you to showcase suitability. Your interest and your research so an example here is, what you can bring to our company. And this is where doing that research I said earlier on the company will really, really come in useful by knowing what their values are. Or what's been happening for the company any particular successes they've had recently or any larger issues in the sector the company might be reacting to will put you in a really good place to answer a question like this. So that's why, having a really firm understanding of the company is absolutely key to a good interview. Now business awareness, it's really important that you can make not just strong links between you and your skills experiences and the company and the role for which you're applying. Companies also like to see that you can view all these things in the larger industry context as well. So, for instance, we have an example here. What are the challenges facing the orders in sector in the UK, so this could be something very specific to whatever sector you're applying to? But again, this is an opportunity for you to show your research and to show them that you have a great understanding of the industry, the sector and the company and thereby you as the employees place within it. 

Finally, we get to competency based questions, and these are the type of questions we imagine, when we think about interviews. So, for example, give an example of a time or tell me about a time or describe an instance where you. And so what these types of questions are looking for is you to tell them to answer with essentially a short story, where you detail a particular relevant experience from your past. So here we have examples are, for instance teamwork, meeting deadlines. or influencing someone. Going back to what I said earlier, this is why re-reading the person specification and job description and your applications really important. Because they will very likely be asking questions regarding the skills and competencies that were in those documents, basically, so you can try to predict the themes of what they might ask you about on the day. But we have a really good structured technique for answering these types of questions and we call that a STAR technique. 

STAR is an acronym for situation, task, action (or sometimes activity), and results. So if you are asked a competency based question, first, you want to describe the situation, maybe it was at university and a team project, you were working on, maybe it was in the workplace and something that happened in there. But you want to contextualize what the situation is and then talk about what the task was, what did you have to do, was it a piece of work, did a customer have a request if it was in the workplace, for instance. It's really important that you get the panel to understand these key elements before you start to talk about the actions or activities because this is the most important part of your answer. You want to explain what your individual contributions were, what you were responsible for, what you actually did but don't just tell them what you did. Also explain why you made the decisions that you made, maybe there were multiple options of approach available to you. Explain why you made the decisions you did into the actions that you took. And this roughly should take at least half of the time of your answer, and then, finally, the results. Don't forget at the end to highlight what the impacts of those actions were so if it was a piece of course work, for instance, did you get good feedback or great grades. Was the presentation, a success, did you get some great customer feedback, did you increase the profits of the company, for which you worked? So don't forget at the end to really highlight what the positive results were. 

Remember always listen to the question being asked, and if you feel that you might not quite understand what they're asking you, there is no problem at all with asking them to provide a little bit more clarity or if they can repeat it. Because ultimately they want new to perform to the very best of your ability. Give a structured complete and detailed answer, as I just outlined, using the STAR technique. Always let your enthusiasm and interest show and really just try to take your time and don't rush your response. Like I mentioned earlier, taking a few breaths before answering a question can give you some valuable thinking time. 

At the end of the interview, you will often be asked if you have any questions for them. And I'd say in terms of asking them questions, firstly, it should be something that you actually really want to know about don't just ask a question for the sake of asking the question. Secondly, it should be focused upon the role for which you're applying. Then thirdly I'd suggest actually preparing at least two or three questions because you never know if you just go in with one question that might get answered just through conversing with them through the interview. So you don't want to be left without any questions to ask at the end. So some good things you might want to talk about are, for instance, what's the next stage to the recruitment process? When might you be likely to hear back from them? Or what is a typical day in the role is like? Will there be any particular training opportunities or peer support could there be any projects you'd be likely to work on within the first few months at the company? But also I'd just like to really emphasize this should be information you couldn't find out anywhere else, so you couldn't find it out on their website or online, for instance.

And finally, at the end of the interview remember that final impressions are just as important as first ones, so at the end of the interview itself, thanking them for their time really cements that you have lots of enthusiasm for this position. Even if the experience has been entirely nerve wracking try not to let that show and smile and tell them you've had a wonderful time talking to them. All this is to leave them with a really positive impression of you. 

So earlier today I mentioned recorded online video interviews and we have a tool on our website called ShortlistMe that recreates online recorded interviews. You can choose from a variety of different interviews and you will be given the opportunity after you've answered each question to review your performance watch the video back and you can self-assess against set criteria that the interviewer would have wanted you to focus upon. 

And that brings us to the end of this video today I’d just like to briefly highlight that we have lots of other online application resources on our website. We can give you written feedback on your applications within five working days. We run regular 10 minutes application appointments every week. We run lots of different recruitment based webinars. If you get invited to go to interview, we can offer you a half hour practice interview. We have CV checker which will check your CV and give you feedback within seconds. And ShortlistMe that I've just mentioned. And we offer all of the support in the years following your graduation.

So I just like to thank you for taking the time to watch this video and wish you all the luck with any interviews you might have coming up. Have a great day.