Interview Questions UK

The second step in getting a job is having an interview with a potential employer. The first step was sending your application and after careful review by the company, you are seen as candidate for the vacant position.

The employer got this information through an ad that was placed in the paper, referred by someone in the company or a headhunter, or by a person who simply submitted an application via the company’s website. 

The first impression employers always look at is your resume. Given the many that apply, this usually takes about 30 seconds and so with the limited words, one must be sure that the resume is well written and grammatically correct.

During the interview, most employers want to know more about person since the resume only gives certain information such as the person’s name, age, address, contact number,  social security number, past and current employment.

The employer will likely ask about the experiences, lessons and accomplishments one has done and learned working for another employer. This will usually include how the person handled a situation in the company, the challenges of the job and the relationship with coworkers.

Another question will be the relationship between the applicant and family members. This shows character with how the person interacts with people who are close and those that know the person for a long time.

The employer will usually ask why the person applied in the company and where you would like to be in 5 to 10 years. Long term questions such as this will show if there is dedication for the job at hand and if the company can provide something beneficial for both the applicant and the employer.

Companies follow a certain budget in hiring qualified personnel which is why the interviewer will ask how much one desires to get for the job. If what is being asked is too high, the employer will usually ask if the salary is open to negotiation.

After the employer asks questions, room is usually given for the applicant to ask questions in return. This is the best time to know a little bit more the company one might be working in and to get a feel of the potential company.

If there are no more questions, the interviewer will then end the meeting and call the applicant back if the person has passed the initial interview so that the next phase of the application process can begin.

Many people feel that the interview is the single most stressful part of the job search process. Any number of things can go wrong, and a big part of being successful is avoiding simple mistakes.  The things you should avoid doing are as below:

1. Trying to wing the interview: Practice! Get a list of general interview questions, a friend, a tape recorder, and a mirror and conduct an interview rehearsal. Practice until your delivery feels comfortable but not canned.

2. Not being yourself: Be yourself and be honest! Don’t pretend to understand a question or train of thought if you don’t. The interviewer will pick up on this. If you don’t know an answer, say so. Relax and be yourself. Remember you’re interviewing the company as well as vice versa.

3. Not listening: Focus on the question that is being asked and don’t try to anticipate the next one. It’s OK to pause and collect your thoughts before answering a question. Pay special attention to technical or work process related subjects that are unique to a given firm or organization. The interviewer may have provided information you will need to answer the question earlier in the conversation. Employers will be looking for your ability to assimilate new information, retain it, and, most importantly, recognize that information as useful to you later in the interview.

4. Not providing enough details: When answering case questions, technical questions or solving technical problems, take the time to “talk through” your thought process. Recruiters are much more interested in seeing how your mind works and how it attacks a given type of problem, than the answer itself. Articulate your problem solving process and verbalize your thinking.

5. Lack of enthusiasm: Maintain eye contact, greet the interviewer with a smile and a firm handshake (not too weak, not too strong), and show common courtesy. Don’t be afraid to display your passion for the job/industry and to show confidence.

Once the application has been sent and the resume received the next thing that should happen is that the employer will be calling to test communication skills by means of an interview.  Allowing yourself to be given the option on which employer is best fitting the applicant is one characteristic of being pro-active.  Consider being called by multiple employers for a job interview in a day a good sign.  This means that they were really impressed with the documents you submitted, therefore, deserving a personal communication on how most likely an applicant would land the job.

Resumes can present an individual very well.  Seventy-five per cent of employers say that applicants with resumes passing their standards would definitely be invited for a job interview.  Allow two or more interviews.  How?  Here are some resumes tips that would give you not only one but more calls for interview:

1. The position that an applicant is interested in should be placed right at the start of the resume.  Having this as an objective shows that an applicant is really focused and career oriented tells that he or she knows what is exactly the perfect career for him or her.

2. One of the best significant ways to get the employers’ attention is by using words that are really powerful that denotes strong capabilities of the applicant.  An example of this is, instead of writing, “assigned to be”, write instead “in-charge of,” indicating that the applicant has active leadership skills that can be a step to the management position if there is any.

3. A bullet catches the eye of an employer at one look.  Use these in itemizing achievements, career highlights, recognition, qualifications, and skills and interests.  Words in bullet form forces the employer to read the information provided.  These also create more clear space on the paper making the application form or the resume very neat and outstanding.

4. Make sure that the resume is very selective.  Only apply for a certain position in one company or organization one at a time.  Do not submit resumes with different job interests and positions applied for at one time.  This will be a complete waste of time.

5. Ask a pro.  Resumes are written with the help of experts who can actually see the applicant’s strengths and opportunities.

Aside from preparing an impressive resume carefully follow and read all the special instructions like how many spaces are provided for a specific answer or the number of words for the answer.  Keep in mind that this is also a test to see how well an applicant can follow simple rules.  Not only does it have to follow the steps, the application form should also be neat.  Handwriting is also being considered and using a black pen will greatly add to the formality of the answer.  As much as possible, never use a liquid paper or fold and bend the application form and paper.

When answering, be careful not to leave blanks unless it really does not apply.  Use N/A only if necessary.  Be truthful with all the answers but this does not mean that you have to provide a complete or thorough answer for every question.  Always adapt the answers to the job being applied for.  Only provide the skills and recognition received that will be beneficial to the new company or employer.  However, see to it that the answers provided indicate the reason of being more qualified than the other applicants.

Choose references that can provide the applicant an objective description and information.  Teachers, friends, and previous employers can be willing and honest enough to provide that information.  The application form must be consistent with the resume.

“How to be Invited for Interviews”

Once the application has been sent and the resume has been received the next thing that would possibly happen is that the employer will be calling to test communication skills by means of an interview.  Allowing oneself to be given the option on which employer is best fitting the applicant is one characteristic of being pro-active.  Consider being called by multiple employers for a job interview in a day a good sign.  This only means that they were really impressed with the documents submitted, therefore, deserving a personal communication on how most likely an applicant would land on the job.

Resumes can present an individual very well.  Seventy-five per cent of employers say that applicants with resumes passing their standards would definitely be invited for a job interview.  Allow two or more interviews.  How?  Here are some resumes tips that would give you not only one but more calls for interview:

1. The position that an applicant is interested in should be placed right at the start of the resume.  Having this as an objective shows that an applicant is really focused and career oriented tells that he or she knows what is exactly the perfect career for him or her.

2. One of the best significant ways to get the employers’ attention is by using words that are really powerful that denotes strong capabilities of the applicant.  An example of this is, instead of writing, “assigned to be”, write instead “in-charge of,” indicating that the applicant has active leadership skills that can be a step to the management position if there is any.

3. A bullet catches the eye of an employer at one look.  Use these in itemizing achievements, career highlights, recognition, qualifications, and skills and interests.  Words in bullet form forces the employer to read the information provided.  These also create more clear space on the paper making the application form or the resume very neat and astounding.

4. Make sure that the resume is very selective.  Only apply for a certain position in one company or organization one at a time.  Do not submit resumes with different job interests and positions applied for at one time.  This will be a complete waste of time.

5. Ask a pro.  Resumes are written with the help of experts who can actually see the applicant’s strengths and opportunities.

Aside from preparing an impressive resume carefully follow and read all the special instructions like how many spaces are provided for a specific answer or the number of words for the answer.  Keep in mind that this is also a test to see how well an applicant can follow simple rules.  Not only does it have to follow the steps, the application form should also be neat.  Handwriting is also being considered and using a black pen will greatly add to the formality of the answer.  As much as possible, never use a liquid paper or fold and bend the application form and paper.

When answering, be careful not to leave blanks unless it really does not apply.  Use N/A only if necessary.  Be truthful will all the answers but this does not mean that you have to provide a complete or thorough answer for every question.  Always adapt the answers to the job being applied for.  Only provide the skills and recognition received that will be beneficial to the new company or employer.  However, see to it that the answers provided indicate the reason of being more qualified than the other applicants.

Choose reference that can provide the applicant an objective description and information, teachers, friends, and previous employers can be willing and honest enough to provide that information.  The application form must be consistent with the resume.  Since many of these employers standardize and gauge the information the applicant is providing in his application form and resume, these must be full of complete and honest information.  This will be their basis when considering to have a one on one interview to see if what they read is true enough.  Arm oneself with positive strategies and knowledge to get those invitations for interviews come after you.  Remember that this will also be a marketing tool that any applicant can use for other future job hunting experience.Since many of these employers standardize and gauge the information the applicant is providing in his application form and resume, these must be full of complete and honest information.  This will be their basis when considering having a one on one interview to see if what they read is true enough.  Arm yourself with positive strategies and knowledge to get those interview invitations coming to you.  Remember that this will also be a marketing tool that any applicant can use for other future job hunting experience.

Are you in desperate need of a job?  If you are currently unemployed or if you truly think that your current job is making you “crazy,” you may be.  When it comes to finding a new job, especially in a hurry, there are many individuals who think that the more job applications they fill out or the more resumes they submit, the better their chances of finding a new job are.  But, what about the employers who are currently not hiring?  If you are wondering whether or not you should fill out a job application or submit your resume to a place that isn’t hiring, you are not alone.

When it comes to determining whether or not you should submit a job application or drop off your resume to a place that isn’t hiring, there are a number of important factors that need to be taken into consideration.  Perhaps, the most important factor is if you know for sure they are not hiring. When it comes to filling out job applications, there are many applicants who try and determine, upfront, whether or not there are any positions available.  If you happen to stop by a local business or call to ask about hiring and get a negative response, you may not want to submit an application anyways, especially if you gave your name.  This tends to create a bad impression; an impression that states that you don’t necessarily listen to what you are being told.

Now, there is a difference between knowing in advance that a business isn’t hiring versus being told as soon as you go to turn in your job application or your resume.  If you are told when you are submitting your resume or job application, it is advised that you ask about the future?  Does the company representative that you are speaking with think that they will be doing any hiring in the future? If so, you may want to think about asking them to hang on to your job application or your resume for future use. In some states, employers are required to save all job applications and resumes for about a year.  Of course, if the business in question later advertises the fact that they are hiring, you are advised against automatically assuming that your resume is still on file. You may want to call, just to make sure.

One of the few downsides to applying to places that aren’t necessarily hiring at the current moment is the timing. As it was previously mentioned, many employers are required to save any job applications or resumes that they receive for a period of time, like a year.  This is nice because some employers decide to not even advertise the fact that they are hiring, instead many just go through the resumes or job applications that they accumulated overtime.  The only problem is the overtime part.  You may have submitted your application eight months ago and only end up getting a response now.  If you are like many job seekers, you should be able to find a job in as little as a few weeks, sometimes a month or two at the most. That means that by the time your application or resume gets noticed, it may already end up being too late.

As a reminder, the decision as to whether or not you want to apply at a place that isn’t hiring is yours to make, but it is advised that you proceed with caution when doing so.  If you are told that applications are not being accepted at the current time, even just to hang on to, you are advised to cut your loses and move on. The last thing that you want to do is create a scene or try to convince an employer to hang on to your application, as you may end up creating a bad name for yourself; one that may haunt you, you resume, or your job application for years to come.

Have you ever felt stuck in your career?  Employee stress and burn out can account for a lot of dissatisfaction in your life.  After all, you are at work some 8 hours a day or more.  That’s 13 of your day if you don’t count sleep.  That’s a long time to be dissatisfied.

If you feel stuck, here are 6 great ways to find your ideal career:

1.   Brainstorm on a sheet of paper - I’ve talked about this before and it’s a strategy I use all the time.  Take a pad of paper and write down at the top your objective in question form.  Then, simply list out 20 answers to your question.  For example, you could write “What should I be doing with my time and life?”  Then stay seated for a half hour to an hour coming up with answers to that question.  The key to this exercise is coming up with 20 answers - don’t quit until you have 20 answers.  You can repeat every day until you get the answer you seek.

2.   Ask 3 close friends - Sometimes our friends know us better than ourselves.  While meeting with one of your friends, mention you are at a crossroads in your life and career.  Ask what they think you’d enjoy doing.  You might be surprised at how easily they can zero in to your strengths and abilities and report a perfect job area.

3.   Ask your boss and coworkers - much like your friends in the example above, your boss and coworkers most likely see you in a way you do not see yourself.  In fact, they are likely most familiar with your strengths and weaknesses in the work environment.  Compile all the answers you get from them and see if there are any common threads you can explore.

4.  Call a headhunter - If you are searching in your career, it’s likely you have a resume.  Sometimes you can catch a headhunter or recruiter during their slow times and meet with them to pick through what you might be good at.  I’ve done this at different times in my life and the people seem open to talking with people.  After all, if you don’t get paid, they don’t either.  The ideas I get are usually good.

5.  Take a career assessment test - There are several sites on the Internet you might be able to take one of these tests for a fee.  But using my ‘headhunter’ tip above, many headhunters have this software and don’t mind you taking the test in their office.   I’ve taken these tests two times in my life and they usually take an hour or two, but they are thorough.  They ask you to answer a series of questions about what you are good at, what you like to do, what you prefer doing over what you don’t.  If you take one, you will likely see some new exciting areas to explore in your life.

6.   Keep a journal - Do you keep a journal?  If so, read through, looking for common threads in your writing.  Keep your eyes peeled for trends and activities you like as well as don’t like.  In fact, finding examples of what you don’t like and what frustrates you is almost as important as finding what you do like.  For example, if you hate an overwhelming boss, you’d probably like a self-directed position.  If you hate nosy coworkers you’d probably prefer your own office.

Discovering what you really want to do with your life is the most important decision you can make.  We spend 13 or more of our lives at work.  So figuring out the right career is important to keeping that 13 of our lives happy and productive.