Interview skills

1. Interview Skills

2. Workshop Objectives
 Typical Interview Structure
 Behavioral Interviews
 Interview Preparation & Practice

3. Typical Behavioral Interview
Component Time
 Introduction/Greeting 2 minutes
 Employer questioning 15-20 minutes
 Applicant prepared questions 5 minutes
 Closing 3 minutes

4. Introduction/Greeting
 First impressions count
• Appearance is important
• Good eye contact
• Firm handshake
 Introduce yourself
• Slow, clear pronunciation of name
• Make small talk
 Practice

5. Employer Questions
Will
 address items on your resume
 ask about behavior/skills you have
Will not
 be personal

6. Behavior Based Interviewing
 Previous behavior predicts future
behavior
 Recruiters ask for examples that
demonstrate your level of skill with a
behavior that is important to the firm.

7. How to ace behavioral interviews?
 Work on your STARs
• S ituation
• T ask
• A ctions
• R esults
STAR provides an outline
for answers

8. STAR QUIZ
Review the question and answer provided
 What skill is the question addressing?
 Did if follow the STAR format?
 Could the answer be better and how?

9. Effective STAR response?
Q: Give an example of when you had to persuade
others to your point of view.
A: I was part of the negotiating team for my
department when we negotiated our last
contract. Let me tell you the bargaining on this
one was tough; no one wanted to give an inch.
But in the end we got them to agree to most of
our demands.

10. A Better STAR
ST: I was part of the negotiating team for my department.
The supplier wanted a large increase of 8%
A: I listened carefully to the supplier’s needs
A: I collected data to support my argument on why 8%
was unreasonable
A: I presented analytical data to support our position for a
4% vs. 8% increase
A: I also worked with management to change some requirements, so
it would be less costly for the supplier
R: The final agreement was for only a 5% increase, saving us $500,000. I
learned the importance of really listening to the supplier, collecting and
analyzing relevant data and getting management support of my plan.

11. Effective STAR response?
Q: Give me an example of your ability
to use analytical skills?
A: I’m good at Excel and have created
several spreadsheets to improve
processes.

12. What is missing from this STAR?
 Didn’t describe the Situation/Task
 Actions are missing
 Results are vague
Interviewer will likely ask follow up
questions

13. Prepare your STAAARs
 Understand what skills the company considers critical to
success there
 Write Out STAAARs for each skill on your resume
 Some common areas covered in behavioral interviews:
• Leadership
• Teamwork
• Initiative
• Analytical Ability
• Creativity/Innovation
• Problem Solving Skills
• Customer/Client Relations

14. Other Common Questions to Prepare For
 Tell me about yourself? or Walk me through your
resume
 Why did you decide to go to the Kelley School of
Business
 Tell me about a time when you had an opportunity to
lead others. What did you learn from it?
 What are your strengths/weaknesses?
 What achievement are you the most proud of?
 Why do you want to work for ______ company?

15. Tell me about yourself?
(Walk me through your resume)
Include
 Tie your story to their business needs
 Demonstrate 2 or 3 strengths related to position or why
you chose IU
 How you can contribute to company
Don’t include
 Personal/family information
 Politics
Create a 60-second sound byte

16. Why did you decide to go to the
Kelley School of Business?
 What skill are they accessing?
 ST – Looking for X in a school
 As – Steps you took to determine criteria
was met
 R – Based on X(s) KSOB was best
choice

17. What are your strengths?
 Relate them to the job
 Give examples of where you have
demonstrated them
 How were they developed

18. What are your weaknesses?
 Admit you have one
 Identify what you are doing to improve or
learned from this weakness
 Detail the results or time frame expected

19. Need more time?
 Good question, let me think about that a
minute.
 So, you are asking if…..
 Can you repeat that question, please?
 No one’s ever asked me that one
before…
 Silence is okay, too

20. How to prepare for an interview?
 Research the company
 Review your resume
 Prepare STAR responses
 Prepare questions for interviewer
 Prepare yourself

21. Research the Company
 Know the industry
 Know the company
 Know the job duties

22. Review your Resume
 How do your career goals align with
position?
 Do you have succinct stories for each
point on your resume?
 Anticipate questions

23. Prepare your STAAARs
 Understand what skills the company considers critical to
success there
 Write Out STAAARs for each skill on your resume
 Some common areas covered in behavioral interviews:
• Leadership
• Team Work
• Initiative
• Analytical Ability
• Creativity/Innovation
• Problem Solving Skills
• Customer/Client Relations

24. Prepare Questions for Interviewer
 Consider multiple areas
• Corporate values
• Anticipated responsibilities
• Employment trends
• Measures of work performance
• Work environment
• Quality of work
• Personality factors
 Demonstrate your knowledge of the industry
and company

25. Don’t ask if they hire internationals
 Your goal is to convince them you are
the best candidate, so Visa isn’t an
issue.
 Assure them that for internship/1st year
they have no obligation

26. Closing
 Always thank them for the interview
 Clarify if they haven’t told you next steps
 End with you are looking forward to
hearing from them and really enjoyed
talking to them.

27. Prepare Yourself
 Appearance
 Firm Handshake/Eye
Contact
 Smile appropriately
and nod
 Be confident

28. Summary
 3 P’s
• Prepare STARs
• Prepare questions for interview
• Practice delivery

29. Questions
 Any questions?

30. Evaluation Questions
A – Strongly Agree; B-Agree; C-Disagree; D-Strongly
Disagree; E-Don’t Know
1. This session increased my knowledge
on what to expect and how to prepare
for an interview.
2. The presenter was well-prepared.
3. This session should be repeated in
future semesters.