Careers and Jobs

I guess to purpose of this post is to highlight that interviews can be more complex and varied than you may think. For this reason it is essential that you prepare properly and that you get as much information about the interview process as possible. This information combined with preparation will help improve your confidence and your performance which will increase your interview to job offer ratio.

Different types of Interviews – There are a wide variety of possible interview scenarios that you can face when notified that you have been called for interview. Some of these types of interview include:

Traditional Interviews
Competency / Behavioural Interviews
Panel Interviews
Phone Interviews

Different types of Assessments – To confuse things more many organisations are combining interviews with objective assessments in the form of psychometric testing and assessment. Some of these include:

Personality Questionnaires
Ability Tests
Aptitude Tests
Skills Tests
Assessment Centres

Different types of interviewer and interviewer styles – Finally you can face different types of interviewers who use a different style. It will help you to understand these different styles but more importantly have a strategy to cope with the different styles. Six of the possible interview styles include:

Absentee Interviewer
Inquisitor Interviewer
Buddy Interviewer
Laser Beam Interviewer
Shotgun Interviewer
Silver Bullet Interviewer

In later posts we will provide information on the above interviews, assessments, interviewer styles and more importantly how you can prepare. If you would like more information about the different types of interviewers visit this post.

Need help with competency based interviews ?

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There is much information online about how to prepare for interviews. Particular focus is on how to handle difficult interview questions or how to handle competency interviews. There isn’t much focus on phone interviews and how to prepare. Below is some information on phone interview preparation and advice.

What is a phone interview?

It is what it says on the tin. A phone interview is a screening interview carried out over the phone. Organisations will normally use this screening method when there are geography issues with recruiter and applicant or in situations where there are high volumes of applications and this acts as an initial sifting tool.

Are they easy or hard?

It depends on the individual. Personally I prefer face to face interviews but there are many applicants who prefer the phone interview as they feel more relaxed. Communication your message over the phone is more difficult as body langage is removed from the equation

How to prepare for a phone interview?

Your preparation should be similar to that of a face to face interview. Put in as much effort as I have know phone interviews to be as detailed and as long as a face to face interview. They are normally less detailed though with the client focusing on the key selection criteria. Prepare the normal topics – identify what the clients is looking for, identify how you meet these needs with appropriate examples, know your CV, know about the employer and industry and be clear why you want the job.

Phone interview tips

1. Ensure that you are in a location where you will not be disturbed.

2. Have your CV in front of you during the interview.

3. SMILE before you pick up the phone!!

The above information was provided by an Irish Career Coach & Interview Coach servicing clients in across Leinster (Meath, Dublin, Louth, Wicklow & Kildare)