How to succeed in a job interview

1. How to succeed
in a job interview
Career Services at the University of Turku
Autumn 2023

2. UTU Career Services

3. Career Services’
info sessions
→ found in the Study
Guide & event calendar
1. Working in Finland
2. How to tell about your
skills and expertise
3. The Hidden Job Market
4. CV & Application
5. How to succeed in a job
interview

4. If you want to complete the course, 1 ECTS:
1. Write your name and student number in the chat (use
private message-mode)
2. Enroll for the course in Peppi in your PSP
3. Attend all five info sessions
4. Sign into Moodle, where you can find more information:
https://moodle.utu.fi/course/view.php?id=27192
Job seeking in Finland

5. Job interviews in Finland
• Job interviews in Finland are commonly quite relaxed
• Interview is seen as a time to have a discussion – It is a way
to employer to get to know you, but also for you to get to
know the employer

6. Employers point of
view

7. • What are the roles and responsibilities of the job?
• What are the main quantitative and qualitative objectives of the task?
• What ready-made skills are required for the task right from the start?
• What skills required for the task can be taught during the induction process?
• What qualities related to the personality and work styles support the success of the task?
• What qualities, on the other hand, can slow down the success?
• How much and what kind of work experience should the applicant have?
• How is success measured?
• How is the job of the wanted person managed?
What employers have (hopefully)
thought when they hiring?

8. • Duunitori?
Employer’s point of view
Motivation towards the job
Fitting the work culture
Knowing native languages
Special skills
Previous work

9. The interview

10. • The first obstacle has been overcome
• Thank for the invitation
• Appear on your phone for your benefit; remember where/what you applied to
• You can also ask more specific questions:
• "How many are you interviewing?"
• "How much time is available for the interview?"
• The employer is interested in meeting you
→ Start preparing!
After receiving an interview invitation…

11. Prepare for the interview
• Answer to the invitation as soon as possible
• Get to know the organisation and the job well - use
all the channels
• Read the job ad again carefully (Take a screenshot
of it when you are applying)
• Call and ask?
• Think about what you are wearing and how long it
will take to get there
• What do you want to say and what are you going to
ask?

12. • Theme interview
• Career, work history, experiences, education
• In-depth interview
• Choices, motives, plans, experiences, successes and failures and the
external and internal factors that influenced them
• Group interview
• Usually in the qualifying phase
• Video interview, pre-interview
Different types of interviews
The interview can be structured, semi-structured or unstructured

13. • Entrance and first impression
• How do you say hello?
• How you present yourself
• How do you get in touch?
• How you sit in your seat, how you sit and move in the chair
• Non-verbal communication, body language
• Your facial expressions, gestures, posture and eye contact can be more important than verbal communication
• In addition to these, also your general nature
• Discourse
• How do you start speaking?
• Your speaking style (clarity, persuasiveness, naturalness, positivity, consideration of the situation)
• Do you listen and focus on the interview, do you answer the questions asked, or do you just answer there and then
• Do you maintain eye contact when speaking?
• Purposefulness and motivation
• Do you ask questions yourself? What you ask and how?
• It is particularly important how you tell about your previous work experiences, your previous supervisors and your goals
• Do you seem interested in the job/job and how do you express your interest
Interviewer observes…

14. WHO? Applicant's background
• stages of development, choices and
turning points
• crises, their management and
handling
• values, hobbies and interests
WHO? Self-portrait
• own strengths and weaknesses and
how they should be developed
WHAT? Competence
• work experience and success
• education and courses
WHY? Motivation and expectations
• motivation for the job
• expectations from the job
• professional aspirations
• willingness to develop
The most common topics of the
interview

15. How to prepare for
the interview?
Preparing for the interview is the core of success!

16. • Ground work: study the job as carefully as possible
• Are you still interested in the job?
• Study the profile of the workplace: what it does, how it does it,
where it works, who works there, how it is doing financially
• Read industry-related news and current affairs
• Also remember social media
• Call your acquaintances who know the industry or the
organization's operations
• Contact possible referees now at the latest
Gather information

17. • Read your job search documents and the job advertisement
• What is your message? What impression do you want to make?
What do you at least want to say in relation to the information you have acquired and
the place you are applying for?
• Identify your way of reacting (characteristics) to questions
• Shall I answer briefly or at length?
• Telling with the help of examples, telling with the help of a story
• You can go through some of the most common interview questions
• Go through the situation in your mind
• If, for example, it is a group interview
• Make use of previous interview experiences
Me

18. During the interview
(Usually) the interviewer wants you to succeed!

19. • The employer seeks an answer to the question: Why would we recruit this particular applicant?
• An interview is a negotiation situation with two parties
• Arrive on time
• First impression, handshake and eye contact
• Time management: take your time to answer but don't steal the interviewer's time
• Be yourself, nervousness is allowed (even required)
• Show interest
• ask about the task, goals, colleagues, not the salary
• own ideas about work development are good
• Put things in a positive light
• you should not voluntarily present negative information (e.g. lack of experience)
• However, be prepared to examine your own areas of development honestly
During the interview

20. • Do not criticize your previous jobs / employers
• Even though they might “deserve” it
• Answer more than "yes" or "no", justify and give concrete examples
• Be prepared to answer in a foreign language as well
• Bring your CV, application and work and study certificates
• Be prepared to ask something at the end, e.g. what happens next and how the process
progresses
• It is always possible to return to a question that went badly - at the latest at the end of the
interview
• Finally, it's good to say thank you and even express your motivation in some way
• A handshake
During the interview

21. • Tell us a little about yourself.
• Tell me how you survived a problem situation/failure.
• Which is more important to you, goals or rules?
• What is your greatest achievement?
• Do you usually read work-related emails or other messages in your spare time?
• Mention two of your areas of development.
• Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
• You can also tell more general guidelines, goals, important things for you instead of a precise target
• How does this job help you in that direction?
• Commitment to this work?
• Tell me about a situation where you had to deal with some rapid change.
• Have you applied for other similar positions?
• What do you know about us?
• Do you have any questions? You should have.
Examples of job interview questions

22. The employer may not ask the applicant certain things during a job interview. According
to the law on the protection of privacy, the employer may only ask for and process the
employee's personal data that is immediately necessary for the employment
relationship.
Questions that cannot be asked in principle are:
• Do you have children/ Are you planning to have children?
• What is your marital status?
• Have you completed military or civilian service?
• Do you have a serious illness?
• What religion do you represent?
• Are you politically active/ Are you a member of a party?
• Are you a member of a trade union?
• What kind of ownership, business and/or business relationships does your family have?
Illegal interview questions

23. • Can you tell me about the team I’ll be working with?
• What can you tell me about the job apart from what was in the
description?
• What are the most immediate projects that need to be addressed?
• Is this a new position? Where is the person who held this job
moving on to?
• What are the current goals that the company is focused on, and
how does this team work to support hitting those goals?
• What are the next steps in the interview / hiring process?
Questions to ask from an interviewer

24. • Ensure the technology: lights, image and sound quality,
equipment, calm and neutral space, viewing angle
• Ask technology-related questions when you receive an
interview invitation (link, program, etc.)
• Use notes! Maybe some key words in Finnish?
• The idea of ​​a remote interview?
Video interview (remote interview)

25. After the job
interview

26. • A thank you message?
• Go through the course of the interview in your mind - it will help you in future interviews
• If you don't hear anything from the employer, you can get in touch in a couple of weeks (unless
another deadline has already been given)
• If you are selected, you can still consider whether to accept the position and negotiate the terms
(e.g. salary)
• If you are not selected, there can be many reasons; the fault is not necessarily with you or the
success of the interview
• Sometimes the second or third place also gets a job
• Ask for feedback
After the job interview

27. • As part of the job search process, an aptitude test or examination may
be carried out
• The testing aims to find out how the applicant and the job being applied
to fit together
• The tester gives a summary of the test results to the employer
• Jobseekers always have the right to receive the same feedback or
summary of their own results
• The results should be asked afterwards directly from the evaluator
• Self-knowledge increases and you get valuable information for future
interviews and tests.
Aptitude tests, personal assesments

28. • The employer is simply looking for an answer to the question: Why would this
particular applicant be the most suitable for the job?
• Think about what you want the interviewers to know about you anyway (related to the
job)
• It is always possible to return to a question that went badly - at the end of the interview
at the latest
• Learn to know your own manners so you can stop focusing on them
• Interviewers (usually) want you to succeed
• Preparation is the key to success in an interview!
• Being a little bit nervous is normal, almost mandatory
In a conclusion

29. Career Q&A
Get to discuss and ask your questions regarding job
seeking and working in Finland in our on-site
Career Q&A sessions in November!
The sessions are loosely bound to the following
themes:
• 15 Nov at 14.00-16
Work life culture in Finland
• 22 Nov at 14.00-16
Job seeking and networking
• 29 Nov at 14.00-16
What employers look for
The sessions are held on campus (Calonia) by the
Career Services.
Register: Career Q&A | University of Turku (utu.fi)