Interviewing: purpose, process, and preparation

1. Interviewing: purpose,
process, and preparation
February 4, 2016
CEO Session #4
Joe Bucher, Assistant Director

2. Agenda
• Purpose
• Process
• Preparation
• Navigating interview questions

3. Today’s goals
-Knowledge
-Skills &
Abilities
-Confidence
-Chances of
interview
success
-Stress
-Anxiety
-Uncertainty

4. “What you do speaks so loudly, that I cannot hear what
you say.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

5. Non-verbal impact on the interview
• Attire/grooming
• Body language
• What you brought to interview
• Posture
• Hand shake
• Eye contact
• Facial expressions

6. Employer Purpose
Identify the match between
employer/team and the
candidate.
Meta-questions:
1. Why should we hire you?
(skills)
2. Why do you want to work
here? (interests)
3. How will you fit and
contribute? (values)

7. Potential Employee Purpose
Identify the match between you
and the team/organization.
Meta-questions:
1. Will I be satisfied by what I
am doing?
2. Will I enjoy how I do it?
3. Is there a match between the
demands of this job and my
values?
4. Does the style of the team
(supervisor) match with
my style?

8. You are the recruiter (again)
Goal:
In a team of 3, develop three
interview questions that you
would want to ask of a
potential hire.
Steps:
1. Form a team of 3
2. Review the job description
3. Make note of specific skills,
duties, and experiences
related to the role.
4. Create questions and
report back to the group.

9. Process: types of interviews
-Phone/Skype/Video
-Individual
-Panel
-Group
-Behavioral
-”Casual”
-Case study
Where might internship and full-time jobs differ?

10. Preparation: Research them
• Glassdoor
• LinkedIn, Twitter, web site, blogs
(http://www.fiercebiotech.com/)
• Google alerts
• Informational Interviews
• Job Description
• Possible competitors or similar organizations

11. Preparation: Know yourself
• What is unique to you
and why is that of
benefit to them?
• How are you a match
with the department?

12. Preparation: Asking questions about the process
• How long will the interview be?
• Who will I be interviewing with?
• How many rounds will there be?
• Is there anything that you would like me to bring to the
interview?

13. Types of interview questions
• Tell me about yourself (resume screen, open-ended)
• Why haven’t you/You seem to lack…(stress)
• Highlight a specific time (behavioral)
• What would you do? (case/simulation)
• What is your #$#$##$? (abstract)

14. Behavioral Interview Questions:
SAR Model
• Situation
• Action
• Response

15. Tips
• Be prepared to answer with specific examples
• Focus on YOUR actions with examples that highlight your
thought process, experience, and skills
• Review common questions and think of stories
• Practice and get feedback
• Don't be selective in how you read job descriptions.

16. Your questions for them

17. Next Steps
• Examine potential interview questions and prepare
• Practice and receive feedback
• Develop a “bank” of responses for behavioral questions
• Appointment with the SoMCC for a mock interview
• Ask others about their interview experiences
• Create a shared doc of questions with others

18. Questions?
School of Medicine Career Center
http://med.stanford.edu/careercenter/