The Interview: A view from the other side of the fence.

You’ve put your CV forward, you’ve applied for the job; quite possibly you’ve had a telephone screening conversation with the recruiter.

The next step, is the interview. You'll have been told no doubt that it’s a Behaviour based interview, all good so far? Ok, let’s stop and take stock. Start preparing early, understand not just what a Behaviour based interview is, and how to prepare for it, the research to be done before you get to the interview, but also how you can be best prepared to answers questions that will not only sell your skills but also sell your achievements. These are the 'do's'. The don’t is simple, don’t go into the interview unprepared

Why Behaviour?

Because your past performance, or more specifically your past behaviour, is the most likely indicator of your future performance.  To put it another way, the skills, habits and experiences that you developed, and made you successful in your previous role, are going to be those that make you successful in your new role.

The interviewers will ask questions that start with 'Tell me about a time, or give me an example of when…’ then they’ll expand, probe and dig deeper into your answers with questions focused on why, who and when. These won’t be hypothetical questions. You won’t be able to answer with a 'well I would do this etc.’ or a yes or no answer. Those aren’t the answers the interviewer is looking for. They want you to explain how, when, with what and where.

At GE we have a set of Beliefs that we use as a guide to enable us to work together, to make decisions, inspire, empower, innovate and simplify our working lives:

Here’s one: Customers determine our success, and to anchor that belief and bring it to life, we could well ask a behavioural question such as:

? 'Describe a time when you developed a long term relationship with a customer?'

On the surface an innocuous question that could be quickly answered. If only it were that simple! If by now you’ve read, digested and understood the job description, and understand the culture of the company and its goals, it should be evident that while the question may be simple, the information the interviewer is looking to glean from you is not.

Before answering (however), pause and think 'STAR';

? Situation: What was happening? Give some context in your answer, and make it interesting.

• Task: What needed to be done? What issues did you face?
  ? Action: What did you do? And why did you do it?
  ? Results: What happened? What was the outcome, was it successful? What lessons did you learn?
  
  The objective of the interview:
  
  Before we answer the question, let’s keep in mind the objective of the interview. It’s twofold: for the candidate to have a forum in which to prove their ability to fulfil the role, and for the employer to be in a position following the interview to say “yes great! Make an offer”. Now here’s the rub “proving your ability to fulfil the role” back to the question.
  
  ? Describe a time when you developed a long term relationship with a customer.
  
  Rehearse and practice your answer, use the STAR methodology, provide the context, bring it to life tell the story, impart the detail and facts and results:
  
  ? What was the situation?
  ? What were the time scales, the issues?
  ? Who did you have to talk to and have to influence, how do you influence?
  ? How did you do it? Presentations, demonstrations, corporate events, face to face meetings?
  ? What barriers did you have to overcome? geographical, managing expectations? cultural? poor market perception?
  ? Did you put a plan in place? Time lines, dependencies, costs, dispersed team members.
  ? What tools did you use? MS Project, a Gant Chart?
  ? Results, don’t forget to end the example with the results, the achievements of your endeavours and lessons learned! How much money did you save did the customer place an order?
  
  You can quickly see, that by providing the objective detail in your answer you have not only answered the question in a structured, and hopefully concise manner, but you’ve provided evidence of utilising some core competencies, such as influencing, clear communication, clear thinking, team work and planning and organising.

You’ve demonstrated that you can be a positive addition to the team, that you can add value, contribute and be an integral part of the organisations success.

Top Tips:

If you’re nervous, a good tip is to keep a pen in your hand. Don’t forget the body language, look people in the eye, be prepared for the hand shake, lean forward adopt a listening position, ask for clarification of the question if required, pause before answering, ask if you have been clear, pause, don’t rush reflect, before you answer. Don’t ramble stay on track, a long conversational interview is often not a positive interview, despite having had an enjoyable chat!

The more preparation you do, the more confident you will be.

A confident well prepared candidate has a big advantage.