Interview tomorrow eeek

Minibiker

Minibiker

Minibiker

Soldato
Joined
27 Mar 2016
Posts
7,806
Location
Bristolian living in Swindon
Afternoon all

Tomorrow I have my first ever interview, Just looking for any tips and help on preparation for it... I've been invited to an interview with a local business for an Apprentice Admin position, I've always wanted to be in an IT position so this may be the start of a happy life as I have been stuck in a dead end warehouse job for 8 years. I left school 12 years ago and have been in jobs that I got through family so no need for interviews which makes tomorrow quite a big day for me.

Thought id come to you lovely lot to give me any pointers on what to wear, what to take, what to say etc :)

I have had an email from a recruitment lady to tell me the interview is with her and two other people from the business which actually makes my nerves perk up already :p Any calming techniques to help that :p

Some of you may have seen my threads before saying about my depression in my warehouse job so this could be the break for me FINALLY!!
Cheers
 
Be enthusiastic about the change and the company. Ask questions about long term company plans and willingness to train and take more responsibility.
 
STAR approach to answering competency questions (try to prepare some answers in advance).

"Tell me about yourself" is a simple question but make sure you prepare a structured answer for it. I often structure it as, what I am doing now, what I have done in the past and why I am applying for the position.

Maintain eye contact and don't hide your hands away, don't plonk them on the table palm downs either though. If you're not socially awkward you'll figure that out naturally.

If they asked why you should be hired over any of their other candidates, what would your answer be?
 
Tingle said:
"Tell me about yourself"

If they asked why you should be hired over any of their other candidates, what would your answer be?
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So I've had a few practice interviews with the missus :p how do my responses sound?

Tell me about yourself? In the last 8 years I've been a warehouse op, Previous to that I was in customer services but now im looking for a different career in IT, Somewhere that I can progress up the ladder.

Why Me? Because I'm more of a mature individual compared to a school leaver, Meaning I have the skills and experience that will make me stand out from a crowd.​
 
Your answer to 'Why me?' is a good starting point. You just need to put some flesh on the bones - what situation have you faced where your experience and judgement made a positive difference to the outcome? Something urgent and unexpected is usually a good basis for your answer.

A small point - I'd explain your experiences, etc., without putting down less qualified candidates. It can come off wrong; your value should speak for itself.

Good luck and go to bed soon.
 
Try to be more specific, Minibiker. 8 years of work experience is good, but what specific applicable skills did you develop, under what circumstances and to what end? Even 'unskilled' jobs develop skills!

For an apprentice role with training they don't have to be all IT/office job related; you don't need to go over the top either. But it would be nice to hear that you essentially match the personal spec for the role. I'm pretty sure you dealt with tough characters, managed stress, multi-tasked, and so on. Use STAR as above, which although formulaic, will see you through and is easy to remember. Very brief example:

Situation: Warehouse; end of shift; few guys didn't turn up
Task: Sort remaining inventory from a botched/late delivery; forklift truck use may be required for some items
Action: Assessed and talked through who's good at what at speed; split work accordingly
Result: Finished on time without the team getting in each other's way

In basic IT, juggling a few tasks with complications and insufficient resources is par for the course. You could go through the whole job spec like this, writing out STAR items from your personal and work experience.

How did you develop your passion for IT whilst doing those other jobs? Was there anything in the warehouse, like a stock control system, you could bring up as an example? Hobbies? Your willingness to learn?

Then show some basic knowledge about the company (a surprising number of people won't even read the company's website), training on offer and be in a position to quiz them according to your priorities, if not covered in the main interview. After all, you want to move up into IT, so it would be nice to hear that a route is available to do that. Is this purely in-house training? Are you going to go to college some days/nights?

The most important thing is to realise that you and the interviewers are human, prepare and turn up looking the part. If they plan to have a specific test, say a typing test, then your recruiter should have already told you about it.

Good luck.
 
Use your work experience as an advantage.

Be prepared to give examples of:
where you already have some of the basic skills required for the job
how you have been a good team player
dealt with difficult situations
understand how to prioritise and manage your workload

Remember most people applying would have the same experience so make yours stand out and prove it with examples or stories. Everyone can say they are good at something but good examples will back you up.

Also, have good questions to ask like:
Where do they see someone in the role to be in five years' time
What software would you need to learn to do the role
What happened to a previous incumbent
 
Minibiker said:
So I've had a few practice interviews with the missus :p how do my responses sound?

Tell me about yourself? In the last 8 years I've been a warehouse op, Previous to that I was in customer services but now im looking for a different career in IT, Somewhere that I can progress up the ladder.

Why Me? Because I'm more of a mature individual compared to a school leaver, Meaning I have the skills and experience that will make me stand out from a crowd.​
Click to expand...

As above, put some meat on the bones and tie it all together - sell your experience to them, make them see the value in your 8 years of experience. Can you think of anything from these 8 years that would help you in this role? If so tie this together with the customer services experience and how all of this (including the warehouse op experience that is) will be beneficial to your ability to carry out the role.

Your experience is worth something and so you really need to sell it.

I cannot think of any interview I have had where I haven't been asked this classic question and so really try to perfect this answer. In less structured interviews it can often be used to guide the interview and so it's a great way to highlight your skills and motivation for applying (why you have decided to look for a different career in IT).

Good start though, keep doing the practice interviews. If you have any friends/family who have interviewed candidates before, try to have a mock interview with them too.
 
Tingle said:
STAR approach to answering competency questions (try to prepare some answers in advance).

"Tell me about yourself" is a simple question but make sure you prepare a structured answer for it. I often structure it as, what I am doing now, what I have done in the past and why I am applying for the position.
Click to expand...

The other classic one is "what do you think you can bring to this role?", think about your answer.
 
datalol-jack said:
How did it go?
Click to expand...

Thank you for asking and thank you to all of you for your input and advice.... I had an email today saying they wont be taking me on this time but will keep me on the record for another time... I honestly thought this was my chance and thought it went well yesterday but clearly not :(:( Feel quite **** and annoyed with myself now tbh :(
 
Minibiker said:
Thank you for asking and thank you to all of you for your input and advice.... I had an email today saying they wont be taking me on this time but will keep me on the record for another time... I honestly thought this was my chance and thought it went well yesterday but clearly not :(:( Feel quite **** and annoyed with myself now tbh :(
Click to expand...
It’s important to realise that this is unlikely to be personal, someone may have had some better qualifications or have done slightly better in the interview. Keep applying and you’ll get there!
 
OP you failed.
this is how we all win in life.

[youtube]OwDmg74rhCw[/youtube]

although i cant embed this youtube video lol
 
Minibiker said:
Thank you for asking and thank you to all of you for your input and advice.... I had an email today saying they wont be taking me on this time but will keep me on the record for another time... I honestly thought this was my chance and thought it went well yesterday but clearly not :(:( Feel quite **** and annoyed with myself now tbh :(
Click to expand...

Take it as a learning curve and nothing wasted. It's experience and confidence in interviewing
 
Minibiker said:
Thank you for asking and thank you to all of you for your input and advice.... I had an email today saying they wont be taking me on this time but will keep me on the record for another time... I honestly thought this was my chance and thought it went well yesterday but clearly not :(:( Feel quite **** and annoyed with myself now tbh :(
Click to expand...

It happens, same happened to me twice in one week last month. Followed by two rejection emails for jobs I never got interviewed for.

Just have to move on and keep on applying for other jobs.

If you need some extra tips on interviews. Send me trust, I send you a document which will help.
 
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Minibiker said:
Thank you for asking and thank you to all of you for your input and advice.... I had an email today saying they wont be taking me on this time but will keep me on the record for another time... I honestly thought this was my chance and thought it went well yesterday but clearly not :(:( Feel quite **** and annoyed with myself now tbh :(
Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry about a single job, unless it was say some company you've always wanted to work for (like say you're an engineer and a massive fan of McLaren or a developer who really wants to work for google or something) - there are plenty more basic IT jobs out there, get some more interviews lined up and move on.
 
An apprenticeship might be a bit basic for someone of your age. Why don't you do a distance learning course yourself such as at the open university to better yourself and give you something on your cv that would make you attractive. The problem with apprenticeships is due to your age they have to pay you more than someone whos fresh out of school so unless you already bring some skills to the table it's probably cheaper to train someone younger.
 
I was in computer game sales from 18-19, software dev nvq from 19-20, warehousing/despatch (FLT up to management) until I was 27 ish and then office jobs.

You can make the move, warehouse jobs aren't just lifting and moving and no offence, an apprentice admin position is below you and likely wouldn't lead into IT, just paperwork and phonecalls.

Bang you CV on google docs and share, we can look for you.
Speak to your current employer, say you'd like to move into a move office based role or even a leader based role (lots of paperwork there), even inquire about their current IT infrastructure. How can it be improved?

Get yourself on LinkedIn and post your profile link on here, I'll add you. I've several friends in IT recruitment all over the UK.
 
Jonnybmac said:
An apprenticeship might be a bit basic for someone of your age. Why don't you do a distance learning course yourself such as at the open university to better yourself and give you something on your cv that would make you attractive. The problem with apprenticeships is due to your age they have to pay you more than someone whos fresh out of school so unless you already bring some skills to the table it's probably cheaper to train someone younger.
Click to expand...

Age isn't a factor when you are in your first year of the apprenticeship. A company can pay the minimum apprenticeship wage to someone who is 30 years old.
 
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