Interview Prep

So last week I had a phone interview with a well known and prestigious festival in Toronto. Can you guess which one? Anyway it was a phone interview and I bombed it big time. But they were professional enough to call me back and offer feedback and urge me to apply again in the future, which I intend on doing. So sweet rejection has taught me that  you need more than confidence and a great attitude to win people over. You have to be totally and fully prepared and a great way to do this is to do a mock interview in advance as well as touch up on you're knowledge on the company you are applying for. If it's a phone interview try and book the day off of work. It was unfortunate I had less than 24 hours notice and couldn't get work off. But! Live and learn right? So here are some questions and answers I gathered from About.com, my favourite reference site.

But first here are my hot tips for interviews:

• Stay confident, take a breath, don't rush.
• Do you're research and be prepared, this will help tremendously with your answers
• Give yourself plenty of time day of the interview
• Don't be self-deprecating or sarcastic. Stay positive and smile a ton. Until you're face falls off actually.
• Work the right angle, what do you have to offer, what are you're skills, what can you contribute to the team? Think like you're interviewer.

1. Q: How was it working for your last supervisor?

Really means -Eeep trick question! Don't talk trash! Ever. Everybody knows everybody in this biz and you could very well be slamming their friend or a friend of their boss.

•   Putting down your supervisor only shows you're disloyalty to a team once a job is complete. "Accentuate the positive and minimize any difficult situations. Discuss the strengths your past supervisors had and how they helped you succeed in your positions." Maybe you felt you're last supervisor delegated their work too much, spin that and say ' I felt a great amount of independence working with them and really developed my leadership skills.' Badabing! 

2. Q: What can you contribute to the company?

Really means- What do you have to offer and are you confident in your skills

• "Describe specific examples of how effective you have been in your other positions, change you have implemented, and goals you have achieved. Talk about the depth and breadth of related experience that you have. Also relate your abilities to the employers' goals."

3. Q: Describe a difficult work situation and how you overcame it.

Really means- How do you handle stress? Are you a problem solver or a drama mama?

     

"Discuss how you researched the issue and contributed to finding a solution. Examples of good responses include:"

• During a difficult financial period, I was able to successfully re-budget our departments needs and save the company x amount of dollars. With some help from a few volunteers, we substituted paid positions for work experience and cut costs enormously. Of course we were able to offer volunteers a stipend and free meals during shifts.
• "When the software development of our new product stalled, I coordinated the team which managed to get the schedule back on track. We were able to successfully troubleshoot the issues and solve the problems, within a very short period of time."

4. Q: What interests you about this job?

Really means- Are you passionate about this job and informed on it's requirements

• "Describe the qualifications listed in the job posting and connect them to your skills to show your knowledge of the position. Mix enthusiasm with desire to gain new skills and confidence to use relatable skills. For example if you were 
  interviewing for a Human Resources Manager job where you would be responsible for recruiting, orientation, and training, you will want to discuss how you were responsible for these functions in your past positions, and why you are interested in continuing to develop your expertise in Human Resources management."

5. Q: What problems have you encountered at work?

Really means- How do you handle problems among the team.

• "Once I found a major flaw in the work of one of the most senior members of the department, which could have been very costly to the company if it had been overlooked. I went directly to him, and called it to his attention so he could fix it before it affected the final outcome."

6. Q: What is your weakness

Really means- Are you a positive person? Show them by turning your weakness into a strength

• "Being organized wasn't my strongest point, but I implemented a time management system that really helped my organization skills.
• I like to make sure that my work is perfect, so I tend to perhaps spend a little too much time checking it. However, I've come to a good balance by setting up a system to ensure everything is done correctly the first time."

For more Q&A visit about.com