Seeking your first job right after university, applying for a position at a higher level or changing to a high-paying job … It all starts with a job interview. Job interviews are the key that opens the door to your dream job. If you think you are bad at job interviews – no worries. I got you cover. Keep reading about how to pass your next job interview.
This is a skill you can learn, and more important you can master it.
As with almost everything in life - the more you practice something, the better you get at it.
Theory + practice = success
Tips for interview
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If you want to nail your next job interview
3 principles that will make you unstoppable in your next job interview.
- Strong opening – Your intro speech
- Time to talk about yourself – “I” vs “We”
- Interview STAR technique – Situation Task Action Result
Strong opening
When building your speech intro, you should clearly define 3 main elements
- Who you are / Set of skills
- Bring relevant examples from previous experiences
- Share which skills you would be bringing to your future employer
Practical example:
Who you are / Set of skills
I am a hard-working determined ambitious and professional team worker who over the years has built up extensive experience and transferable skills that are a match for this role.
Bring relevant examples from previous experiences
For example, in my last role in [previous company], I completed a difficult project [Name project -explain challenges of the project].
I understand everything I do here at [new company] must be focused on [build on future company values].
Share which skills you would be bringing to your future employer
If you hire me, I will get up and running in the role quickly (several roles in my career). I will be a supportive team worker and I will bring a unique set of skills that will help [new company] carry on delivering groundbreaking and transformational products for its customers.
Time to talk about yourself
It is “you” who is going to the interview. Use “I”
Avoid the “we” – we achieved this, we improved that, we saved a certain amount … NO!
You should switch as much as possible to “I”
The interview is about you.
When I say you – I really mean it, you.
The interview will be looking at your achievements, your skills, and what you as an individual can contribute to your future organization …
Interview STAR technique
STAR is a method of responding to behavioural-based interview questions.
This method is commonly used when applying to FAANG companies (FAANG is an acronym for the five best-performing American tech stocks in the market: Meta, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Alphabet).
Understanding the STAR model
Each letter of the STAR model stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. While elaborating Most questions centre on your past or current attitudes, and your work, academic, or service experiences. When talking about these subjects, choose specific examples to illustrate your answer.
S = Situation
T= Task
A= Action
R= Result
Describe the Situation you were in – give as many details as possible, the Task you were asked to accomplish, the Action you took and why, and the Results of your actions. This will help the interviewer follow your "story" and see your accomplishments.
Example of STAR model
Situation: One of my duties in my previous position was preparing a risk analysis to share with suppliers to trigger the next productions and ensure the product is available on time when needed.
Task: I noticed that this daily report was taking way too much time (30 min/daily)
Action: I designed a new excel tool (using VBA) that was automatically connecting to SAP, downloaded the needed data, and gave it the format requested by the supplier – Only with one click.
If you want to learn more about excel – click here
Result: I reduced by 83% min daily the amount of time needed to prepare the report. (From 30min/daily to 5min/daily). I deployed this report to other team members and currently is being used by +10 planners.
PRO TIP: In some cases, while elaborating your answer, you may want to group the T(Task) and the A (Action) under the same bucket.
Common interview questions / Most common interview questions
No matter if you are applying for a role in finance, supply chain or data.
The principles of the questions you can expect to receive are the same.
It is important to ensure you address the questions with specific examples - avoid commenting with general statements.
10 interview questions
- How would you describe yourself?
- Describe a situation when you had to manage several priorities at once
- Describe a situation when you made a mistake
- Describe a situation when you had to manage a big amount of data in Excel
- Describe a situation when you had to decide with limited information
- Describe a situation when you had to take the lead
- Describe a situation when you influenced the decision of another person
- What would you do in your first days at work?
- Describe a situation when you disagree but are still committed
- Describe a situation when you had to explain an issue
Describe example questions:
Try to be specific - as specific as possible.
Refer to STAR model – Situation, Task, Action, and Result
Avoid general statements.
Example of the general statement: I like to work hard, I am looking for improvements, I am self-driven …
Convert this general statement to specific actions.
General:
I like to work hard
Specific:
During a covid crisis on my team, I had to do the backup of two team members for a week on top of my current responsibilities.
How did I manage?
I set up priorities and aligned them with my manager
I booked time in my calendars to focus – and cancelling the meetings where my presence was not a must
I calibrated with myself the stress level and when alarming signals, raised it to my manager for support and realignment of priorities.
As a result of this, I managed to deliver with excellence the workload
General:
I am looking for improvements
Specific:
I have created an Excel tool that allows me to save 43% of the time – allowing me to automate how I am calculating the financial forecast for the next fiscal year
General:
I am self-driven
Specific:
I have created an Excel tool that allows me to save 43% of the time – allowing me to automate how I am calculating the financial forecast for the next fiscal year
Questions to ask in an interview
Whenever you have an interview, try to always get as many insights as possible from people already working in the organization.
With this, you will get a most realistic picture of what to expect in case of joining the organization.
See below some examples of questions to ask at the end of the interview
- What do you like the most about working for this company?
- Why did you decide to join this company?
- What do you like the least about working in this company?
- How would you describe work-life balance in the company?
- What is keeping you in this company?
- How would you describe the team I would join?
- Can you tell me more about the day-to-day responsibilities of the job?
- How do you define success for this position?
- Which are the key metrics to measure the accomplishments?
- Do you have any hesitations about my skills or experience for the job?
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