BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED
PREPARING FOR YOUR INTERVIEW
Job interviews are not events that occur every day for most people. Often they are 5 or 10 years apart – maybe even longer. As such they are events for which we must prepare and practice otherwise we cannot expect to make the best impression.
Interviews are in many ways a performance. Whilst it is important that you are “authentic” (the real you comes across) it is important that you give yourself the best chance to display your skills, capabilities and personality so that you can demonstrate your “fit” for the role in a limited timeframe and artificial interview environment.
The following tips and tools will help you prepare for your interview.
- Mindset
The first point to realise is that you can expect to be nervous. Embrace this – as it shows that you are up for the performance and actually willing yourself to do a good job in the interview.
Secondly, remember that the interviewers actually want you to do well. They are always hoping that with each interview they will find the person who ends their search to fill the vacancy. As such don’t see them as the enemy to be beaten or as the opponent to be played – but rather as the person who is there to help you shine. This will hopefully take some of the nerves and also help you recognise that you can ask them questions if you don’t understand what they meant by a question etc.
- Preparation
I never like to see people “practicing in their grand final” so it does not make sense to go into the interview for the job you really want without some level of preparation. As such it is important to read over the job ad and identify the skills and traits that the ad asks for. You then need to think about how you might demonstrate you have those capabilities and traits. Usually this is done by preparing short stories from your work life or other experiences that will demonstrate them clearly. We will discuss how to do this in more detail shortly.
- Practice
Sitting in front of 1 or more people (sometimes there is an interview panel of 2 – 5 people and even 7 in some extreme cases) can be daunting and so again it is important to practice. You can do this with family or colleagues or we are happy to assist you at the Job Centre. Again you can identify the capabilities and experiences that are being sought from the job advertisement or job description and develop questions around them. Again we will explain how to do this in more detail below.
DEVELOPING YOUR STORIES
Job Ads and advertisements will usually make clear the key skills, capabilities and traits that are required for success in the role. It is wise to underline these and write them onto a page.
You might get a list like this:
Planning / Organising
Standing up to others / Conflict Management
Initiative
Following Directions
Tenacity
Ability to Learn
Safety Awareness and acting on issues
Listening & Doing / Self starting
Handling Crisis / breakdown
Prioritising
Attention to Detail / Quality
Team Player
You will also get a range of technical requirements – computer skills; familiarity with some systems or plant or equipment and you may also require certain qualifications.
Note:
You may not have 100% of the expectations of the job description but may still feel you could do a good job in the role. If this is the case you could still choose to apply (many applicants do not have all requirements). Of course you should be realistic in your assessment as the employer will have some “minimum standards / expectations.”
Once you have this list then you need to reflect on your work history or other significant events from your past to develop some stories that indicate you have a capability in these key areas. Most interviews (in some form or another) rely on you telling stories about what you have done in the past as past behavior is seen as a reasonable predictor of future behavior.
At BlueScope we have used Targeted Selection for many years and it relies on the simple formula of Situation from your past, explaining what you personally did and then some measure or result of how things turned out.
Whilst some companies use Targeted Selection many do not so it is not necessarily helpful to go into an interview expecting a Targeted Selection style interview. Nevertheless, having stories written down that relate to the key elements in the job ad will hold you in good stead regardless of the interview format.
For example if people ask you how you might handle a certain situation you can reflect on the relevant story that showed how you did handle something similar in the past – and either refer directly to it or use the structure / principles you used then to explain how you would handle the situation in the future.
How do I develop my story?
Once you have identified the key areas then consider the following structure:
“Start Line”
Situation
What I did1.
2.
3.
How it turned out
Measure of Success
The Start line
One of the hardest parts of answering a question is getting started. Therefore it is suggested you develop a set of start lines. They are simple cues that you can use when you are ready to start an answer. You do not start talking until you know which story you are telling and you clearly have the sentences you have written around the situation in your mind. Then you start confidently using the “start line.”
The start line can be as simple as “In my current role” or “# months ago” or “A key strength of mine is..” The important point is that you use it as a launch pad to confidently move into your answer and you remember you are not ready to use this “launch phrase” until you have the situation clearly in mind.
The Situation
The “situation” is a clearly identifiable event from your work life or other significant experience where you demonstrated the dimension being sought by the interviewer. You need to write down 1 or 2 sentences that clearly identify the situation and give some context for the interviewer as to what was at stake.
Example
Start Line - Attention to detail is one of my core strengths
Situation - In my current role in managing the payroll one of my tasks is to ensure that each cash payment is correctly calculated and the right amount is physically placed in each pay packet. I have to handle 100 pays within a four hour period. I handle about $400,000 in each pay cycle.
Here the situation is very clear. The person has responsibility for calculating the pay and ensuring the right money goes in each envelope. The interviewer can also see that there is a fair bit of money involved and so mistakes could be costly.
What I did
In this section you write out what you physically did to demonstrate the trait being sought.
In the case of the payroll manager they might talk about –
- Running the computer report and then doing a manual sanity check to ensure that the payroll ‘figure’ looks right for each person and there were no order of magnitude errors
- Have a colleague count out each pay and then act as a cross check on each pay
- Tick off each physical pay versus the computer print out
- Check the total amount paid versus the cash on hand to ensure it all tallies.
The person then might tell a quick story how on one occasion a new colleague was learning to count the pay and they ended up underpaying 1 person by $200 and overpaying another by 200 because several bills stuck together. They could note how when they were cross checking they were quickly able to identify the error and make the change before having to recount all the pays.
How it turned out
Here you ensure your story ends with a clear statement about the outcome of you using the skill or trait they are looking for.
In this case I have run the ‘what I did’ and the ‘how it turned out’ together a bit by noting that the payroll manager caught the over and under payment quickly. But here we add that you stopped the count – explained what had happened to the new starter colleague and encouraged them to go a bit slower and ensure the counted each individual bill. You could say that the colleague was very grateful that the error was caught quickly and he committed to do better.
Measure of Success
Wherever possible try to quantify the outcome. In this case the payroll manager could say that they have never had an error reported in the actual money paid out and that this has been over a 10 year period. This means over $100 million paid out without an error which would indeed be a commendable effort.
USING YOUR STORIES
Preparing your stories is not just so you can practice. You should also take them into your interview and turn the interview into an “open book exam.” Most interviewers will notice your notes and commend you for your planning and organization.
The only things you need to be careful of when you bring your stories to the interview are-
Don’t have them in a folder so you have to flip through to find them
Don’t have them written in small scrawl like writing or you will not be able to find the right one, or read it if you are nervous.
Don’t hold them in your lap (if you can avoid it) as if you are nervous you might shake them. Put them on the table.
Have them in an order so you can find them quickly and easily (practice this as well).
USING YOUR STORIES IN AN INTERVIEW
A simple framework to use in order to help you think about how to make use of your stories is
Touch - sort through your stories and find the one to use
Turn - look up, turn to the interviewer; smile & breathe before you start to speak
Talk - speak clearly and confidently (not reading your notes) to ‘tell your story.’
Touch
Whilst the interviewer is asking the question sit up and back in your seat and give them eye contact and a relaxed smile. Engage in active listening (nodding etc) to show you understand the question.
Once they have finished asking the question look down to your notes (prepared stories and find the one that best suits the question. (If there is not a story that really suits go to a page that just has the “Start Line, Situation, What I did, How it turned out and Measure of Success framework written on it to remind you to follow this framework.)
Once you have the right story – quickly refresh the situation section in your head. Then when you are confident you are ready to begin your answer – review your “start line.”
Turn
When you know your start line and the situation and are ready to start confidently you are ready to look up from your notes. You may feel this takes a long time but you will find it is only a matter of 10 seconds or so and this is comfortable for the interviewers as they are probably want to finish off writing their notes from your previous answer in any event.
Look up at the interviewer, smile and breathe.
Talk
Now you are ready to use your start line. Then deliver the situation giving the interviewer good eye contact. You can look back to your notes if necessary but don’t talk whilst looking at your notes.
Speak up and speak confidently.
Don’t worry if you don’t get the wording exactly as you have it written in front of you. The interviewer does not have your script so will not know you deviated. The more you practice the more you will get into the flow. Be careful that you don’t get so practiced it becomes a mechanical speed test to get the words out. The aim is to enable you to be so confident with ‘what you are going to say’ that you can then concentrate on your “performance.”
The Interview Performance
The interview performance starts at home.
Ensure you know the time and place of the interview and you have all your materials you need ready the day before.
Ensure you have appropriate clothes and footwear washed and ironed and ready to go
Consider the appropriateness of any jewelry or other clothing you might be wearing.
Leave home in plenty of time. Better to be early to the location than running late and be caught in traffic or having trouble finding a parking spot.
Don’t actually turn up to the interview too early – 5 to 10 minutes early is fine but much earlier can just make you more nervous.
Recognise you have started the interview as soon as you walk through the door. Some companies ask their receptionists how you treated them and how you handled the ‘waiting’ period and so chewing finger nails etc in the reception area is not a good idea.
If asked if you would like a drink it is good to say ‘yes’ but usually ask for water as it will be less trouble (for them and you) and it’s good to have as a prop (have a sip whilst thinking of an answer) or good to whet a dry throat if you are nervous. However if you want a tea or coffee then no worries – just recognise again that how you order it and handle it are being observed.
Other key points are
Stand up straight
Shake hands firmly (with equal force to that given by the interviewers – no crushers!)
Smile
Wait to be shown to your seat
Sit up straight
Place your materials on the table in front of you and don’t fiddle with them
Do not hold a pen as you will be tempted to fiddle with it
When you speak – speak up and confidently
Smile
Give eye contact. If more than one person uses the sections of your answer to give eye contact to each panel member – 1 point per person is a good rule of thumb.
Remember to breathe!
At the end of the interview
Any questions you should have should be process questions – ie where does the process go from here etc.
You may say that you do have a range of questions about the role and the company but they can wait until you are further down the process. Interviewers generally do not like you asking “what will you do for me” on their first meeting with you.
Thank the interviewers for their time
Remember that your interview is not over until you have left the building – as you never know who from the company you may meet and impress (for good or bad) on the way in or out of the building.
Reflect
Take time to reflect on what you did well and what you could do better.
Consider if you need any additional or better stories
Determine what you will do differently next time
INTERVIEW STORY TEMPLATE
Start line
Situation
What I did
1.
2.
3
4.
5.
How it turned out
Measure of Success