Ozwin Posted 2 July 2010 Posted 2 July 2010 For the first time in ages I got a response to a job vacancy! This one happens to be at William Hill and they've invited me to pick a time slot for a phone interview. I've never had one before, to be honest I've never really had a proper one on one interview before (had a couple of group ones) so I'm a bit nervous and don't know what to expect. What sort of questions will they ask and do you have any general advice really?
fox123 Posted 2 July 2010 Posted 2 July 2010 From experience, company's generally do telephone interviews based on competancies. They will possibly have 6 competancies, 3 done over the telephone, 3 face-to-face. Thing's like - Describe a situation where you had to work effectively as a member of the team. What were the team's aims? How was the team selected? What was your role? On competancy based questions I use the 'STAR' guidance... Situation: Describe the situation. Task: Describe what task was required of you. Action: Tell the interviewer what action you took. Result: Conclude by describing the result of that action I think you will be fine and as long as you speak clearly, just try to stay relaxed. Also, on a telephone interview I prefer to be stood. I find it easier to project myself rather than sat down.
AoWW Posted 2 July 2010 Posted 2 July 2010 From experience, company's generally do telephone interviews based on competancies. They will possibly have 6 competancies, 3 done over the telephone, 3 face-to-face. Thing's like - Describe a situation where you had to work effectively as a member of the team. What were the team's aims? How was the team selected? What was your role? On competancy based questions I use the 'STAR' guidance... Situation: Describe the situation. Task: Describe what task was required of you. Action: Tell the interviewer what action you took. Result: Conclude by describing the result of that action I think you will be fine and as long as you speak clearly, just try to stay relaxed. Also, on a telephone interview I prefer to be stood. I find it easier to project myself rather than sat down. Yes, definitely. You'll also sound moore dynamic and enthusiastic when you're standing up - if you're prone to pacing up and down when you do this, though, make sure there's nothing in the way. I was once mid-phone interview when I stubbed my toe and let rip with a stream of expletives - I apologetically explained what had happened but the miserable cow didn't see the funny side of it... pfft, I didn't wanna work for her anyway. Do make sure you've a pen and paper within reach though. Nothing worse than having to turn the house upside down to find one when they just ask you to take their number down, etc.
Ozwin Posted 2 July 2010 Author Posted 2 July 2010 What are some typical competancy based questions I should expect? Gonna write a load down and answer them in preperation.
AmericanScott Posted 2 July 2010 Posted 2 July 2010 What are some typical competancy based questions I should expect? Gonna write a load down and answer them in preperation. They'll probably ask something along the lines of "Tell me about a time when you had to deliver excellent customer service" Or some sort of bollocks like that. Best of luck
Finnegan Posted 3 July 2010 Posted 3 July 2010 As Scott and fox123 said, they will ask you for examples. It is possible they gave you a small list of things (as HSBC did with me) to prepare on and think about in advance, if they do not - think about the position you're applying for and what is relevant. If it's customer service based, as it sounds like it is, expect questions like (as Scott said) think about a time you delivered good customer service; but then expect follow ups like what was the result of this customer service and how did you achieve it, et cetera. The questions that catch me out are always things like "Think of a time you COULDN'T / didn't provide excellent customer service, why?" The other one that's a bit of an arsehole that you sometimes get is asking you for examples of policies or practices you've had to carry out in previous employment. The bottom line, though, is that you're not applying for the position of Head Rocket Scientist on the League of Rocket Scientists. The questions will nearly always be worded far more elaborately than the answer deserves, it's a test of your ability to deconstruct what they're saying intelligently and reply in kind. They want an effective communicator. Be calm, be prepared and above all DON'T WAFFLE.
Ozwin Posted 3 July 2010 Author Posted 3 July 2010 I'm not worried about waffling, more worried about being too brief and the interviewer going 'oh ok' like he wasn't expecting my answer to be so short. Having only been employed by Argos I can't say I've had much experience with customers, good or bad (mostly bad) so I'm gonna have to come up with some right BS to swindle my way through this. I'm mostly worried about not having an answer to a question, how do you respond to that? Cheers for the advice so far though guys, appreciate it.
AoWW Posted 3 July 2010 Posted 3 July 2010 Don't be afraid of asking them to repeat the question if you need a little more thinking time. Just try not to do it for every one!
purpleronnie Posted 3 July 2010 Posted 3 July 2010 Plus try not to be dull, from personal experience they like someone who's bubbly especially if they're dealing with the public.
DANGEROUS TIGER Posted 3 July 2010 Posted 3 July 2010 Even though you say you are not confident, try to be positive and sound confident. In a face to face interview, you must always look the questioner in the eyes, and just try to be relaxed.
DB11 Posted 3 July 2010 Posted 3 July 2010 Even though you say you are not confident, try to be positive and sound confident. In a face to face interview, you must always look the questioner in the eyes, and just try to be relaxed. Not stare 'em out though; that's creepy.
Ozwin Posted 4 July 2010 Author Posted 4 July 2010 What happens if you don't have an answer? That gives me nightmares.
ramboacdc Posted 4 July 2010 Posted 4 July 2010 congrats on getting the interview man after reading 2 of us in the odds topic! just do your best and just mention the facts youre good with numbers and a fast mathmatitan, you love sport and love working in busy places. just use the usual buzz words they like to hear like "efficiant, punctual, respectable, team worker" if you dont think of an answer straight off the bat it just shows your human and they cant mark you down on it. unless they gave you a load of test questions. just do your best and you can join us bookies bitching about everything that moves and how people will back anything that moves!
Ozwin Posted 4 July 2010 Author Posted 4 July 2010 It's honestly the perfect job for me, all I do is talk about sports! I'm obviously just a bit nervous about it cos I've been out of work since February, don't want to waste this oppertunity. Cheers for the advice though guys.
DANGEROUS TIGER Posted 5 July 2010 Posted 5 July 2010 It's honestly the perfect job for me, all I do is talk about sports! I'm obviously just a bit nervous about it cos I've been out of work since February, don't want to waste this oppertunity. Cheers for the advice though guys. [/qu Well, all the very best to you, and good luck.
MPH Posted 5 July 2010 Posted 5 July 2010 they will most likely ask you what your strengths and weaknesses are. When you mentionn weaknesses make them sound like they are past tense and try and turn them into positives. What. I mean is : " There was one time in my previous job I got really busy and left a couple of things that got carried into the next day. I wasn't satisfied with that and so decided I would start writing lists and prioritise my tasks to maximise my efficiency." Or words to that effect. This would show that you are prepared to work hard, and looking to weed out any faults you may have and have initiative and organisational skills. Its a technique I used for my previous job and was told it was an impressive answer. They will probably ask how you would deal with a member of staff you really didn't get on with. Answer to that is that you would always try and speak to the person privately to resolve any issues to form a good working relationship. If the issues were still there then you would speak to a manager and see if they could help get the issues resolved as its very important personal differences should never effect your job or the customer. They might also ask how you would Deal with a difficult or aggressive customer.... If this comes up tell them you would make sure you read up any policy they have on confrontational situations and also try and always remain respectful to the customer at all times. If there is a senior member of staff there, tell them you would seek out their advice and support. They all love it when people use the manager structure - it usually means them and makes them feel important and good about themselves.
MPH Posted 6 July 2010 Posted 6 July 2010 [quote name=Ozwin' date='05 July 2010 - 11:30 PM timestamp='1278369026' post='1641220] That is some sweet ass advice, thanks a lot man. Np. I have been given every job I have ever applied for using that sort of stuff...
Ozwin Posted 6 July 2010 Author Posted 6 July 2010 Interviews at 2pm on Friday, pretty decent time tbh. Gonna have to write down a load of competacy based questions down and see how I do at memorizing some of them.
MPH Posted 7 July 2010 Posted 7 July 2010 I guess if the interview is by phone you don't have to.memorize every question, you can have them written out in front of you.. One more thing, if you feel you need more time to think of an answer , don't be afraid to ask them to repeat the question. This will buy you a few seconds and its amazing how quickly the mind can work. Of course you need to be careful how often you do that in an interview... even saying something like. 'Thats a good question' or ' well the first thing I would do' can buy. You a few seconds. Even pausing for a couple of seconds to think( which will seem longer in your mind than it is in reality) is perfectly ok. There is nothing wrong with them knowing you are thinking how to answer as this will show to them they have someone with a brain.. just don't take too long, of course. Do not allow yourself to panick and stay focused on the question asked.
Ozwin Posted 9 July 2010 Author Posted 9 July 2010 I got invited to the face to face interview, which is tommorow! That's no time to prepare. Bricking it isn't the word. Anyone know where Queens Road is?
Jon the Hat Posted 9 July 2010 Posted 9 July 2010 I got invited to the face to face interview, which is tommorow! That's no time to prepare. Bricking it isn't the word. Anyone know where Queens Road is? Well done.
Bellend Sebastian Posted 9 July 2010 Posted 9 July 2010 I got invited to the face to face interview, which is tommorow! That's no time to prepare. Bricking it isn't the word. Anyone know where Queens Road is? Leicester, one assumes? It's in Clarendon Park, just south of Victoria Park. It's not far out of the centre of town - a long walk or a short bus ride
Ozwin Posted 9 July 2010 Author Posted 9 July 2010 Oh yeah it's in Leicester. I assumed it was just outside of town but it's gonna be a mission to find the place cos I can barely work my way round the city centre as it is! Cheers for the help though guys, I didn't really need it to be honest. Will have to put it to good use tommorow.
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