HOW TO ACHIEVE A SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW OUTCOME

1. Www.futurepoint.ie
Www.futurepoint.ie is a leading enterprise delivering smart
strategies, to the graduate and the broader professional
community, in career development & management.

2. Www.futurepoint.ie
The Job Fit
Find the right Function.
Functions represent job
titles and tasks, such as
engineer and graphic
artist or market research
and product
development.

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The JOB Interest
Identify your ideal Industry
and Interests. Industry refers
to where you will apply
your functional skills,
whereas Interests tap a
specialty area that you
connect with, or are
especially enthusiastic
about.

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What is the Mattter?
Think about the Things That
Matter. What you do in your
career should align with your
values and needs, that way, you
will find greater energy,
motivation, and career satisfaction.
Employers value employees with
energy and motivation. What
motivates you? Autonomy?
Authority? Influence? Monetary
reward? Recognition? Teamwork?
Variety?

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Define Fulfillment
Define Fulfillment. Fulfillment
transforms your job from pay to
purpose. Fulfillment, or purpose, is
the reason why you work. To
define fulfillment, pay attention to
the “tingle factor” the addictive
feeling that comes when you do
something you absolutely love.

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Raise the Bar
Enhance your Identity. Your
identity, what you believe about
yourself, is directly linked to the
type of position you’ll target. You
are usually capable of
accomplishing much more than
you believe you can. Raise the bar
on beliefs, you will be pushed
beyond your previous self
expectation.

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Personality types
Know your personality Type. Understanding
your type allows you to pursue positions that
complement, rather than clash with, your
personality preferences. The basic tenets of
personality type measure four scales: Energy—
the focus of your energy and attention flows to
the outer world or is directed toward inner
experiences and reflection. Perception—your
preference for taking in information via “what
is” or “what could be” Judgment—your
preference for making decisions based on facts
and logic or personal/social values and
Orientation—your preference for coming to
closure or remaining open to more
information .

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Telling Stories
Detailing your answers in a story
telling format is remarkably
effective. Use an anecdotal method
to structure your relevant success
stories, remembering to include
contextual situational clues;
sequential actions; numbers driven
results; a strong link to the
employer’s needs for the vacant
position.

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The Details
Fill your stories with numbers,
such as year-to-year comparisons,
records, past highs, past lows,
target goals, size of project,
number of persons involved, and
budget or project figures (when
not confidential!) Details, give your
successes credibility and weight.
Interviewers will respond
positively to such detail. Avoid
being long winded.

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Leading Story
Remember , it is all about them
and not about you. Interviewers
will filter your story for
relevancy to their organisation.
You are there to solve their
problems and not to detail your
features; they want to hear
about the benefits of hiring you.

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Authenticity
Authentic image; sound
knowledge of your advantages and
self awareness project an image of
your authentic self; focus on the
advantages the employer receives
from you, for getting the
job done, and make employers
aware of those advantages.

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The 3 Point Message
Hone your benefits into a Three-
Point Marketing Message that
conveys your unique strengths.
This is a critical sound bite.

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The Verbal Business Card
Create a Verbal Business Card to
keep you focused; help networking
contacts know how to help you
and explain your value to
interviewers.
Align your statement with
employer expectations.

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Story of Yourself™
Mix and match your success stories
and sound bites to create a
comfortable yet compelling Story
of Yourself™. Consider using a
tagline that helps people remember
you in a unique and favorable
light. Practice, you must be able to
deliver your sound bites naturally,
without appearing as though
you’ve memorised a script.

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Inner Thoughts
Success starts on the inside, with
the inner action of thought and
choice. Consciously be aware of
your thought life. Hold a picture of
your objective future, remind
yourself of the value you offer
employers and frame situations
from a possibility perspective. Do
not entertain irrational positive
thoughts, this is a manged process,
using practical steps and actions
driven by rational thinking.

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The Power of Habits
Identify your inspirational triggers
(being with other people,
researching, exercising, and so on)
and weave them into your daily or
weekly habits.
“We are what we repeatedly do,
therefore excellence is not an act, it
is a habit” Aristotle

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Controllables
Controllables include “soft” items
like your attitude, self-talk, and
self-image, as well as “hard” items,
such as devoting a certain number
of hours each week to networking
and preparing for interviews;
putting contingency plans in place;
managing your time; taking care of
yourself.

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Act Successful
Act like you have value. Adopt the
attitudes; actions; vocabulary;
dress; posture; knowledge; habits;
self-talk and mindset that
personify people who are
successful in your target position.

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Assessment Tests
Don’t try to ace a personality test
or “fake” any psychometric
assessment. Most of these tests are
constructed to detect socially
desirable responding.

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The Big Five
Employers typically prefer candidates
with psychological attributes that
correlate to the “Big Five” personality
factors: extroversion (social
leadership); emotional stability;
receptivity (openness to new
experiences); accommodation
(agreeableness); self-control
conscientiousness).
Employers generally favour answers
that reflect these factors.

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The Value Focus
When taking personality tests,
focus fully on your value and your
positive traits. Don’t allow personal
stress, work stress, or other factors
to cloud your true traits.
Answer questions from the
perspective of how the employer
would like to see you operate
within a work environment.

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Behaviour Questions
Recognise behavioral interview
questions by introductory phrases
such as “Tell me/us about a time
when you…,” “Describe a situation
where you…,” “Give me/us an
example of…,” or “In the past, how
have you handled….”

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Probing Questions
After the anchor question, be
prepared for probing questions,
such as “What was your specific
role?” “Who else was involved?”
“How did you decide which task to
do first?” “How did the outcome
affect the company?” “What might
you have done differently?” and
“How has that affected the way you
would approach the situation
today?”

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Model Behaviour
Competencies drive behavior!
Competencies are capabilities,
skills, and talents that make the
behavior easy or enjoyable to
perform. Employers look at the
behaviors of top performers in
similar positions to identify
competencies. You may model
yourself after top performers,
remembering behaviour may not
demonstrate knowledge.

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Common Competencies
There are more than 50 common
competencies in demand by
employers. Among the most
important are initiative/ drive/
energy and communication
skills. Search job postings and
job descriptions to create a
master list of key competencies
for your target position.

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Interview Support
Interviewing isn’t a sport, a battle,
or a magic show designed to trick
someone into hiring you. It’s about
offering your best case for why
you’re the right person for the job
and able to support the company.

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Listen & Tell
It is impossible to connect with
others if you don’t listen well.
Remember your objective; engage
the interviewer; share succinctly;
point to benefits; offer proof; never
drone on; dedicate yourself to a
win-win relationship.

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Ask for the position!
Express desire for the position, and
ask for the job! Many an
interviewer has passed over a
wholly qualified candidate because
the candidate did not appear
motivated to do the job. Motivation
to do the job can be as important as
qualifications for the job.

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Follow Up
It is very important to always
follow up an interview with a
“Thank you” to every one that
interviewed you individually. A
short email is fine.
And thank you to you, for
watching this presentation, we
hope you find it useful.

30. Www.futurepoint.ie
Futurepoint are a synthesis of management and education
professionals. It is headed up by Paul Walsh and located in
County Waterford. Paul has worked in the Irish public
transport and the multi national industrial sector. He has
also expanded his career portfolio into the education and
training sector. He has successfully managed complex multi
million Euro operations, delivering business process
improvement, employee development, change mangement,
and managing diverse multi level employee relations. He has
specialisation in recruitment, employee training, team
building, employee engagement & intervention,
communications, interviewing & selection. He has developed
adult education courses for third level colleges such as UCC,
WIT, and delivered training to such professional bodies as
members of the Irish Law Society. He has also worked in
second level education delivering career guidance teaching.
He holds a BA Degree from University College Cork, a
Diploma in Business Studies from Waterford Institute of
Technology, a Diploma in Management from the Irish
Management Institute, and a Masters Degree in Law from
The University of Wales.
Futurepoint is a leading enterprise delivering smart
strategies primarily to the graduate and the broader
professional community in career development &
management.