This week we took time to prepare for our Mock interviews for the 19th November. In this mock interview we are to apply for a job role we are interested in and present ourselves to the interviewers who we are, and why we are suitable for the job. This process will also give us students some ease into the industry & interview stage, for the future.
BEFORE THE INTERVIEW
- research company/studio/organisation
- research job criteria
- anticipate and practice interview questions – and prepare questions for the employer
- if travelling to site by car, drive 10-15 minutes early and familiar yourself with area
- dress professionally
DURING THE INTERVIEW
- talk about qualifications, background, education, experiences
- Attitude, be honest, sincere, professional
- Intelligence – use communication skills, speak about company and its mission
- Compatibility, speak about adapting to different work environments, examples of being an effective team player
- Use the STAR Method – describe the Situation, what was the Task, describe the Action undertaken, what were the Results.
DO’S
- give time to think about answers
- be friendly not abrupt
- be positive and honest
- relax and talk to interview like a human being
- talk about skills & achievements proudly
- take deep breaths when tense and freezing up
- prepare your answer to questions, but not off by heart
- go with the flow
DON’TS
- down play skills and achievements
- sound too abrupt
- get annoyed with interviewer
- speak softly, or too loud
- exaggerate and be dishonest
- be negative
AFTER THE INTERVIEW
- Ask when you may hear back from interviewer
- Ask for feedback / where there could be improvement
Source:
https://eu-lti.bbcollab.com/collab/ui/session/playback
As a task for this weeks lecture we took some time in groups to ask each other interview questions from the examples we were given. We picked out one from each category which were:
- Skills
- Experience
- The Role
- Ambitions
- Personality
- Odd questions
- Do you have any questions for us?
I worked with three other classmates and we took turns to be the interviewee and interviewer. I was the interviewer first and I asked questions like:
- What are your strengths/weaknesses?
- What is your best achievement to date?
- What would your first 30 days in the job look like?
- What is your dream role?
- Do you prefer to work in a team or independently?
- What is your favourite animal?
For when I was the interviewee, I was asked similar questions and tried my best to answer them all confidently and professionally. I think this task was very rewarding and it made me feel a lot more confident in taking the mock interview soon.