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Job interview this week

M0T

M0T

M0T

Soldato
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Got my first ever job interview on thursday and I am bricking it. This is the fifth and final round and also the hardest, plus I know theres 40 people and 20 jobs so I am ruddy close which is putting the pressure on further.

The interview is a whole day affair and means I have to go to a hotel tomorrow night (paid for by them). On the day I will have an actual interview based around competancy questions (show a time when you did this), a written report to write (which takes 3 hours!), a presentation to make and a simulated meeting with other candidates to see how well we interact with others.

Anyone have any words of advice? I have been preparing answers for the competancy questions all day but other than that I don't know what I should really be looking at.
 
Its being conducted by an external recruitment agency and I don't even know where the job is yet, so preparing for this is going to be difficult.
 
J.B said:
Out of curiosity, whats the job?
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Its a government trainee position, but theres a few openings in most departments so they are recruiting for the whole lot at once; although you can specify a preference it isn't guaranteed, and they haven't told me which one I am going for.
 
Interview did not go well :(

Was an assessment day thing with tasks to do, one of which was a 10 minute presentation but you only got the information you needed to analyse 30 minutes before. The main issue was that there was quite a lot of information without any great detail from which you were supposed to draw and support a major conclusion, which was very difficult with the time available and I felt I did badly.

The next thing I did badly in was the interview, I actually had a storming interview answering all their questions really well and they looked pleased. The only problem was they then went 'do you have any questions for us?' but before they said that they launched into some spiel about quality assurance so it sounded to me like they were asking if I had any questions about the interview process itself, so I didn't ask them a question. This was also because the 2 assessors were not working in the governemnt departments I was applying for, and they had provided people from the specific departments for questioning earlier in the day. So at that point all the questions I had written to ask about in the interview I had already asked of these other assessors and had had answered.

The other 2 tasks I did I thought went fairly well, so I suppose it depends on how much they weight each individual section and how bady not asking a question goes against me.
 
Good luck!

Don't be too hard on yourself though i've found in many a case that an interview you think has gone terribly has actually gone well. It's easy to be pessimistic in hindsight!
 
Sanguinnus said:
Good luck!

Don't be too hard on yourself though i've found in many a case that an interview you think has gone terribly has actually gone well. It's easy to be pessimistic in hindsight!
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i agree mate, you never know about these things especially if you've not had many. also, just because you didn't ask a question doesn't mean you automatically fail, it's better to not ask anything than ask something stupid!
 
I've been extremely fortunate in the past; as a contractor the interviews are pretty casual. I would hate to have to go through what you have mate!
 
I'm not going to post a huge essay, just preparation is absolutely vital. Research the company, their products, who they work with and what sets them apart from their rivals. Understand the position you are applying for and the skills they are looking for, you need to show that you have the skills and can demonstrate clear examples from previous experience. Also show that you have thought about how the position will give you new skills and allow you to improve. I also found that writing my typical answers/key points I wanted to convey to typical questions helpful. No question that comes up at interview - technical q's aside - should really be that much of a surprise and with prep you should be able to field them comfortably and confidently. Also important to remember that an interview is a two way process, ask them some questions! Finally, have a shave, put on some deo and wear a suit and tie, appearances do count.

Good luck


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only read OP message!
 
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I've got an interview tomorrow now =/....Bah.

Hate hate hate interviews, mainly because I haven't done many :(
 
Your interview sounds rather like one I've just gone for although we got told there were approx 200 applicants at this stage and around 70 jobs spread across a variety of Government departments. Do you find out on the 15th of December by any chance? Good luck anyway.
 
Well I'm jaffed, my mind just doesn't want to work this evening...Can't for the life of me seem to get thing's down on paper.

Another failed interview coming my way then. Woo
 
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