Abi, member of the Youth Parliament Advisory Group, has been involved in interviews recently, both as interviewee and a recently Youth Parliament trained interviewer, giving her a unique perspective on the interview process.
Abi said ‘Having done the training and being part of the recent Somerset council Interview panel has made me definitely realise where I’ve been going wrong in my interviews and how I can improve!’
In this article, Abi gives us a rundown of tips and advice gained from her experiences.
This month’s article is definitely a lighter topic from me (compared to last month’s), and it’s about an exciting part of everyone’s careers…interviews!
Wait, where are you guys going? Don’t leave, this is advice about interviews, no negative news about the state of our current job market amidst cuts and capitalism and the normalisation of profit-over-people business tactics. So come back and listen closely, because I’ve had practice interviewing for and with our beloved Somerset Council. You see, I’ve bombed interviews (metaphorically) and interviewed others who’ve bombed their interview (also metaphorically). Interviews can be scary, scary, scary but succeeding in them is possible. All of us deserve our dream jobs, but at the minimum we deserve good pay, good treatment and healthy environments.
For now, let’s stay far away from ‘politics’ and say we’ve applied for and are interviewing for those types of roles. What do we need to do?
Note: I’m currently looking for general assistant roles within the council, such as team assistant, project assistant legal assistant etc. so please send me an email or reference me if you see one.
- They are looking to see and hear your character, so be you.
Knowing who you are means that they’ll be able to envision you in the team and to figure out if you’ll be a kind, honest and professional employee. Try your best to be your best self and let your character shine through your body language and behaviour.- Learn that DAMN job description off by heart.
Knowing what they want will help you tailor each and every answer to their job description. While you’re speaking, keeping the job description, responsibilities and skills section in mind will help you check off what the interviewer is listening for. It’s hard and it’s annoying, but definitely worth it when striving for a better job.- You’re a star, so S.T.A.R everything!
Using the ‘Situation, Task, Action and Response’ method to questions will help you check off what they want to hear, and with the job description in your mind you’ll be able understand what you need to say much better.- Nerves are a killer.
Nerves can come off as being underprepared or not the best fit for the position. Being comfortable in the interview (with a bit of nerves) can show that you belong in the room you’re in. Practice is key for this, and as you interview more and more in your career you’ll pick up on the smaller skills needed to relax in them, some people need more confidence in their physical appearance and others need a more accessible interview, but experience will show you what *you* need. Nobody’s perfect, but combating nerves is a big part of getting where you want.- Know the company!
Being “commercially aware” of what’s going on in the business and who’s who will really help you seem like you belong there, of course the level of research will depend on the grade of the role (like applying for an assistant role verses a senior manager position) but do your best to look at the website and see what’s going on in your department.- Sometimes, it’s really not fair.
People who are more familiar with the organisation tend already be working in them, and it honestly gives them a leg up when explaining what they feel like they can bring to the role. How do you combat this? Add extra points about creative thinking and what you bring to the role from outside the company (e.g. transferable skills you’ve learnt at your current job).Of course, all of this is easier said than done. I myself start practicing the night before the interview and shake with nerves on the day sometimes. Reminder: these are my tips, there are definitely lots of others out there, but these are what I’ve learnt from my experiences. No one is perfect but try and stick to it as much as you can. It’s super tough in the current job market (as everybody and their grandparents are saying) but all we can do is shoot for the moon and lunge for the stars. Again, the current job market isn’t always fair, and the reality is that at the moment not everybody can get what they want, however if you take the steps towards your goal you can rest assured that it’s on its way to you.
Abi
Careers and stress
Members of Youth Parliament and the Advisory Group have written articles about careers and stress management, offer their views, tips and suggestions. Check them out by clicking here.
