Interview Tips?

Chris1712

Chris1712

Chris1712

Soldato
Joined
29 Jul 2004
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Location
Bristol
Evening all. I've got an interview tomorrow at Broadcom for a one year internship, and I'm after some pointers because its where I really, really want to be next year.

Anyway, I've already got through the phone interview and supposedly these formal interviews are down to the last 4 candidates, for 2 jobs. I think I'm fairly clued up on the technical side of things I need to know (Real Time OS, Interrupts, Thread control, semaphores, context switching, stack control and scheduling. For those that are interested!). I'm hoping the interview is mostly technical anyway.

I'm more concerned about the corporate blurb. Eg.

"Describe a time when you used initiative in a team"
"Tell us about a time you worked under pressure to a deadline and delivered exceptional results"

And other such BS infused questions. I understand that these are really, perfectly valid questions, it's just at this point in my 'career' I don't really have any relevant experiences!

So, what have people in my position said about? I do have 3 years of retail experience at the purple shirts, but my intelligence was hardly stretched there :p.
 
Experience doesn't always have to relate to career, although it helps.

Are there any examples outside of work where you've done the above?

Voluntary work
Personal work (own websites, home networks, interest in the field)

There must have been some experiences at PCW..
Explaining the jargon in plain english to the inept
Dealing with large volumes of people over xmas
Being a supervisor while your boss was off


Dig deep, there will be examples.
 
Hi,

Make sure you have answers prepared in advance for questions they could ask. Here are some that might be handy:
  • Your Strengths
  • Your weaknesses
  • N words that best describe you
  • What do you think this company does?
  • What does this role do?
  • Why do you want to work for this company?
  • What brings you to this company?
  • Why do you want to apply for this role?
  • Why should we employ you?
  • What can you bring to this role/company?
  • What have you learnt from your time at university?
  • What is your biggest achievement?
  • Discuss a time when you worked with in a team and something went wrong and how did you rectify it?
  • Discuss a time when the team disagreed on something and how you resolved it?
  • Tell us about project X that you have worked on

Try and act enthusiastic, and have a number of questions ready for at the end of the interview as this shows you are interested in them.
 
You can prepare for those kinds of questions even if they're a pain because you know they're coming.

The biggest tip I would give is: research, research, research. Know the company you are applying to inside out! Think about how you'd fit in, why you'd want to go there, how your experience and abilities relate to them specifically, and try to bring in some examples from your research into your answers. If you can, include something about what the company does, its structure, its market, etc. in your answers to questions relating to your experience, strengths, and so on.

It won't matter if you're a bit off. If they can see you've taken the time to get the know the company as well as possible that will set you apart from the field.

I've always tried to do this, and it's been mentioned as something that made me stand out from the pack quite a few times - even over better qualified - and just plain better - candidates.
 
!bluetonic! said:
Experience doesn't always have to relate to career, although it helps.

Are there any examples outside of work where you've done the above?

Voluntary work
Personal work (own websites, home networks, interest in the field)

There must have been some experiences at PCW..
Explaining the jargon in plain english to the inept
Dealing with large volumes of people over xmas
Being a supervisor while your boss was off


Dig deep, there will be examples.
Click to expand...

I do have all three of those in my CV, in more or less words. It's just trying to think of specific examples. Working there has actually helped me no end in terms of personal development.

I guess your right though, will have to delve into my PC World memories.
 
Above all, be relaxed (if you can) and natural. If you are tense and nervous, then say so. The people interviewing you will be human, honest, and if they hit you with any of the usual stereotypical questions they will be interested in how you cope with the question, as well as the actual answer. If you always use your initiative, then say so. Unless it's something you have on a certificate they are not likely to want proof of you taking the lead/helping a customer/going out of your way to satisfy somebody etc.

Be honest, friendly, and polite, but try to answer the questions given, and not talk too much.

Ask questions. Have you investigated them, for instance, how much do you know about them. Ask about long term future and prospects, it shows a genuine desire to work for them, which they'll want.

Ask what they expect from you. Do they require you to work overtime? Will that be paid? How much holiday do you get? Pension? Health benefits?

Good luck.
 
remember to wear clothes.

Take a bath, have something nice to eat, brush you're teeth and generally make sure you feel good about yourself.
 
Remember also that you are interviewing them too. Employment is a two way street and you have already proven by getting to the interview that you have the skills they are looking for.
 
BE CONFIDENT

If there is one thing I have learnt from interviews, and from feedback etc is that no matter how crap/how good you are, you will most likely fail if you aren't confident.

Even if your GCSEs or whatever was crap, don't dance around the subject. Be upfront about it. YOU know why YOU are suited to that job and YOU need to PROVE to THEM why you are and what you will bring to the table that other interviewees won't.

Good luck :)
 
Research the company, know everything about it. Make sure you know yourself, something that can throw people is questions like - what are your 3 worst features/skills. Most people prepare for one.

Always try to turn a negative into a positive, eg. Weakness of time management, but to overcome this weakness I carefully plan using a diary.

Be confident, eye contact with the interview panel, smile.
 
monkeysmith said:
Research the company, know everything about it. Make sure you know yourself, something that can throw people is questions like - what are your 3 worst features/skills. Most people prepare for one.

Always try to turn a negative into a positive, eg. Weakness of time management, but to overcome this weakness I carefully plan using a diary.

Be confident, eye contact with the interview panel, smile.
Click to expand...

I interview as part of my job and i never ever ask what a candidates weaknesses are cos you will only ever get an answer that is either -

a) a lie
b) a weakness that isnt actually a weakness. Like "my standards are too high" or "i expect too much of others"

Nobody ever ever says "im lazy" or "i have a bit of a drink problem"!!! You know its likely to be a BS answer so i never ask!
 
Be confident.

I always have gone in all guns blasing at interviews and it hasnt failed me yet. As long as your a decent person and have some backbone (and know the job your getting interviewed for) you'll get the job.
 
Another vote for Confidence here, its the ability you either have naturally or can learn through years of experience and believing in yourself.

Confidence is a lot.

You can fake Confidence ... I have and it helped in the past, but you probably need to have been around the blocks a few times for this bluff to be effective.

Apart from this and all other good intentioned advice ...

Be yourself.

Good luck.
 
Bit of a bump guys, but just saying I GOT THE JOB!

12 month placement starting september, Broadcom in Bristol which mostly deals with TV related hardware, SKY HD boxes for instance are designed and developed there, along with some networking equipment and video processing chips for Samsung tv's. Should be a giggle!
 
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