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By Karalyn | Categories: Accounting Jobs Sydney, Career advice, Insurance Jobs Sydney | No Comments
Many Aussies struggle to sell themselves in interview. I don’t know whether it’s because of the tall poppy syndrome here, where people think that talking about their strengths is chest-beating. I do think accounting and insurance people typically struggle with this. After all, many people in both professions are more used to talking in technical terms rather than their professional achievements.
An interview however, is one place that you should do some selling of your skills. This reason is really basic. If you do not have confidence in who you are or what you do, there is no way you will inspire confidence in others.
Behavioural interviews have been popular for years. Mastering how to present your examples in a behavioural interview will do half the sales job for you – without you actually having to tell the interviewer how terrific you are.
So no chest-beating involved. Here’s what I mean.
In a behavioural interview, you need to give a specific example – for example, a person, time, project, task or thing you did. You structure your answer with the situation/task, the action, and the result. That’s the STAR approach.
A good behavioural interview starts with self-awareness. You understand what you said or did that made you successful in the example you choose to present.
Many people however, fall down here. They will just tell the interviewer what they did. But there is no point just launching into an example or just providing detail about what you did. You also need to tell the interviewer why this particular task was meaningful and challenging for you.
When you describe the scenario, think about and talk about:
- why you are presenting that example?
- what was at stake, in the project or completing the task?
- why did you personally find the task challenging?
- what did you feel like when you were confronted with that situation?
To sell your examples you also need to pick examples that are vivid for you. These are the examples where you can easily remember details – perhaps this is because you did face a challenge in completing the task.
If you pick an example where your face lights up, you can remember detail and you explain some of the challenges, when you talk about the actions you took after that, the interviewer is more likely to think every action you took was “amazing.”
You have then sold your skills without any chest beating.
No fake superlatives needed!
By Liza | Categories: Accounting Jobs Sydney, Career advice, Insurance and accounting job market, Insurance Jobs Sydney | No Comments
As we enter a truly global age in communication, chances are you may face an interview over Skype.
Skype interviews are a little weird. Yes you can see the person, and we all know communication is about the visual, but are these interviews the same as a face to face interview? And what should you do to prepare?
Be a little bit patient.
No matter how good the communication, you will find that sometimes it’s a lot slower. You will also find that it is interrupted. Try not to pull faces when this happens. It’s a good idea to wait until the other party stops speaking before you launch into your answer. In fact, that’s good advice for any interview come to think about it.
Dress professionally.
It’s probably tempting to wear your newsreader outfit – with your pyjama bottoms hidden under the desk. Please don’t do this. It’s simple really. If you dress professionally you will believe you are professional. That, we think, is an important confidence boost.
Meet people face to face.
Yes in a Skype interview you can see the other person, but you do want to see where your desk will be, who you will be working with, and who you will be reporting to. You want to be able to see that this will be a place in which you perceive that you are secure. You won’t have that sense if you cannot see the workplace.
Turn off all distractions.
You may be having this interview at home, which means other phones may ring, or your spouse, parent or child may call out and offer you a cup of tea. Shut the door. Turn off the phone. You want to appear completely professional.
In 1997, I founded Enigma HR with the philosophy: “be ethical; be professional; be friendly and serve my clients well.” We specialise in insurance and accounting placements and have been assisting professionals in this industry for over 20 years.
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By Karalyn | Categories: Career advice | No Comments
Behavioural interviews are a common form of interview. Nowadays at least one part of the recruitment process will probably be a behavioural interview, or at the very least, an interviewer will ask you to provide an example in one of the questions they ask. These tips will help you answer these questions.
Behavioural interview questions often start with: “tell me about a time,” “describe a time” or “provide me with an example.” The idea behind these interviews is well founded research that past behaviour is a reliable predictor of future behaviour, that is what you’ve done in the past, will predict what you do in the future.
If the behavioural interview is well constructed, the questions you are asked will come from some solid on the job research. Your interviewer should have benchmarked top performers in a role, isolated in detail the competencies required to perform that role, then written questions to allow you, the interviewee to demonstrate those competencies.
How are you assessed in a behavioural interview?
You are judged on the “quality” of the example you provide.
In general under each competency is a set of behaviours that the interviewer will physically or mentally tick off as you answer each question. You may be asked the same question in different ways to check that your skills are well developed and that you’ve used them consistently. You’ll be assessed highly if you demonstrate all the behaviours required in each competency. Interviewers like this method of assessing people because it’s structured and clear and a good answer is obvious to all.
The challenge for interviewers in this scenario is for them to elicit the best answer out of you to enable you to demonstrate your skills. Your challenge is to understand and clarify the intent of the question properly.
STAR interviewing technique
How do you answer STAR questions: “tell me about a time” or “describe a time” in a behavioural interview?
Describe the situation you faced or the task ahead. Describe how you handled that situation and describe how it turned out. Think of it like a story. The interviewer wants you to give an introduction, describe what you did and what happened in the end.
ST = situation and task. Think of this as “the challenge you faced”
A = the action you took to meet that challenge
R = the result
You need to be specific in answering these questions. Not what you would do. Not what you usually do. Not what you do every day. But something you have actually done, and preferably an example from your work environment.
Why such specifics? If you can provide recent examples that you can easily recall, you are actually demonstrating, rather than just claiming, you have the skills the interviewer is looking for. The more easily you recall these examples the more convincing you’ll be.
You also need to cover all areas however the bulk of your answer should focus on the situation/ task and the action.
How much detail should you give in a behavioural interview?
As you tell the story you need to provide detail about how you achieved something, but don’t provide so much detail that you lose track of what you are talking about. Give enough to be credible which will reassure the interviewer you have the skills they are looking for. If you are confused, remember interviewing does not need to be a one way interaction. You can always ask the interviewer if they need more detail or how much detail they need.
If you think you are providing too much detail, check with the interviewer. Or use your cue from the body language of the interviewer. If they stop writing, then it’s a good idea for you to stop talking, and check back in.
What if you can’t think of an example in a behavioural interview?
It’s not a great idea to pass on too many questions. However it is easy to freeze up under the stare of an interviewer. Don’t put pressure on yourself by trying to think of your best scenario. If you can’t think of your best example, then think of your most recent. Many people take for granted the skills they use every day, yet if you are doing these things every day, you may under rate your competency in that area.
Can you use a general example in a behavioural interview if you can’t think of a specific example?
For a behavioural interview the short answer is no. Try not to. It’s too text book, and just not convincing. You could have made it all up and you will sound just like the next person in line.
What if you can’t provide examples based on a similar role to the job you’re being interviewed for?
One of the beautiful things about behavioural interviews is that they allow you to showcase competencies. You may have developed these skills in a role unrelated to the position for which you are applying. So listen carefully to the question and provide an example that answers that question, regardless of where you have gained that experience. Again if you are not sure whether you can present an answer from another context, ask the interviewer.
Sample Behavioural Interview Questions
To prepare examples, look at the key competencies listed on the position description. Prepare at least one or two examples to demonstrate your skills.
Example behavioural questions are:
1. Tell me about a time when you managed a customer complaint
2. Tell me about a time when you went out of your way to help a custome
3. Describe a time when you worked under pressur
4. Tell me about a situation at work where you had to unexpectedly change what you were doing to work on something else?
5. Describe a time where you were criticized at work
6. Tell us about a time when you met a goal
7. Can you give me an example of a team that you have managed?
Questions to ask if you’re asked for any questions
Why has this position come about?
1. How would you describe the company/ team?
2. What do you see as the key challenges of this role?
3. What are the plans over the coming year?
4. What will be the next step in the process?
These tips were brought to you courtesy of www.interviewiq.com.au
By Liza | Categories: Career advice | No Comments
Most people do get nervous in interview. It’s a big occasion! However if you start with some thorough research, you can build some confidence as you start to build a case in your own mind about why you should be sitting in that interview room.
We will give you a thorough briefing, but here are some interview preparation tips to take away with you. You’ll note that we don’t tell you to be on time and have a firm handshake. We’re all adults here.
We assume you know basic rules of courtesy.
Interview Tips #1 Do your research on the organisation
An interview is a two way process. Think of us as your lens into what makes the company tick. We know our clients, so we can tell you all about the company structure, why the role has come about, the company values and working culture, plus what you’ll need to do to make an impact.
However look online as well. It sounds so basic to say this, but the web is such a wealth of facts. What you need to do, though, is turn this data into information. Look at annual reports, media releases and product guides. Google indexes the latest media news and references from other sources. There are also online directories. Use sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook as resources as well.
With all this information, you should be looking for reasons that you want to work for that employer. You’ll really impress the interviewer if you have some compelling reasons as to why you want to work for that employer and that employer only.
Interview Tips #2 Research the job
When you look at a job advertisement it’s easy to think of it in terms of a series of bullet pointed tasks. What you really want to know is what you will be doing every day, the challenges of the role, and the expectation the employer will have of you, three, six and twelve months out.
Ask us anything at all about the job and we’ll be happy to tell you.
Interview Tips #3 Research yourself
For many reasons employers want you to be self aware. They want a whole person doing this job. Have a long hard look at what you have achieved, the way you went about achieving that result and the skills you developed or demonstrated along the way. This reflection will help you understand your strengths. That should also give you confidence.
Interview Tips #4 Understand the process
You may be interviewed by your potential direct manager, HR, a team member, one on one or in a group. You may have a coffee meeting, or an over the desk meeting. Remember that any meeting is an interview, and the interview does not stop until you leave the building – by yourself, that is.
As a general rule, The HR person can be the procedural expert. Their job is to ensure the organization meets its legal requirements. They may have set up the recruitment process. They will have a strong attachment to ensuring it is working. You will probably face a more structured interview from them, than you will from a line manager. As they are often the employer’s first screener, they may need to sell you further, depending on their position and influence within the organisation.
A line manager who is your direct manager will be the person who is most concerned about filling the job. They may be a person down or not meeting their organisation’s objectives. In the interview it will probably be the line manager who has the greatest sense of urgency about filling the role. Work hard to build a rapport with them. They will be assessing your fit for their team.
Treat each interviewer as if they don’t talk to each other and know anything about you. You’d be amazed at how little communication sometimes goes on between each party.
Don’t be afraid to quiz us on the recruitment process as well. We can tell you who will be doing the interview, the style they use and where they stand in the process. Look your interviewer up online as well. Most people have a LinkedIn profile nowadays.
Interview Tips # 5 Practice makes perfect
Most large organizations now use behavioural questions as one weapon in their armory. They will expect you to provide specific examples of where you have demonstrated the skill they are seeking. We have some tips on behavioural interviews below.
Practice for the interview. Talk your examples out loud until you sound confident. We do not suggest you write your answers out then learn them. You’ll then sound over rehearsed and like you have written a speech. However you do want to make some bullet points of the important points and talk through those.
Interview Tips # 6 Be nice to your interviewer
Be likable and people will like you. Funny that!
Assume the interviewer is on your side. Any negative attitude on your part means you may misinterpret questions the interviewer asks you, in a negative way. I have seen this happen before.
Good interviewers are not interested in tripping you up. Many of them are on your side, or are at the very least they will be approaching the interview in a professional manner.
Interview Tips # 7 Give yourself plenty of time
Rushing breeds panic. No matter what excuse you have, lateness is noted.
Interview Tips # 8 Be yourself
That is please be yourself. You’ll do yourself no favours if you try and suppress your personality, or pretend to be something that you aren’t.
Interview Tips # 9 Relax and breathe
While you think this may be the perfect job for you, it may be that it’s not. If you keep this in mind then you’ll remove some pressure from yourself that this is your only chance to perform.
If you think the interview is going badly, relax and use it as practice for the next one.
Interview Tips #10 An insider’s tip
Each and every interaction you have with your future employer feeds into their impression of you. Use this knowledge. Be polite and friendly with whomever you meet in the process from the very first phone call to the last goodbye to the receptionist on your way out.
The best tip is last….Call us now
If you have any questions at all before your interview, call us. That’s what we are here for. You can reach us on (02) 8221 0553.
In 1997, I founded Enigma HR with the philosophy: “be ethical; be professional; be friendly and serve my clients well.” We specialise in insurance and accounting placements and have been assisting professionals in this industry for over 20 years.
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By Liza | Categories: Career advice, Recruitment advice | No Comments
We often receive this question from people we interview. “They say we go into a consultancy about one role, and end up talking about another. Did the job exist? Why does this happen?”
This happens all the time when you are looking for a role. Here are five reasons you might experience this.
1) Other agencies are working on the job. So the time you visited the agency the job was almost filled. The consultant did not want to waste your time and has other opportunities they can discuss with you.
2) There was a job, but the job was not that agency’s exclusive property. For example, the agent called that company as part of a business development exercise. The company has talked about the role that they have on at the moment, then said “if you can find someone send them in.” The agency then puts an advertisement up. Enter you.
3) The consultant decided that you were not a good match for the job they had on offer, but decided you were a good prospect for one of their clients. If this is the case, you do have the right to ask the consultants the reasons that they would not put you forward to that role.
4) The consultants want to place you, and are falling all over themselves to get you into their clients. So they’ll talk to you about a few things they have on offer.
5) Scenario 4) but the consultants neglected to talk to each other, so you end up confused. You would be surprised at how common this is.
No matter what the reason for the confusion, the thing for you to remember is that you have a choice about what you do. If you think you’re being sold to, or even if you’re not, you need to do your own due diligence on a role.
We encourage you to ask many questions about the role, to help you make a decision. As an agency it is in our best interest to ensure that you are a solid long term match for that role and that company.
We want to know that you as a candidate are making a solid decision as well.
Our reputation is at stake, along with yours, if you leave a role too early.
In 1997, I founded Enigma HR with the philosophy: “be ethical; be professional; be friendly and serve my clients well.” We specialise in insurance and accounting placements and have been assisting professionals in this industry for over 20 years.
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By Karalyn | Categories: Career advice | No Comments
Many people freeze up in interview due to panic and nerves. Most of us can relate to that experience. But did you know that your nerves can actually make you do other things apart from forget your answers?
It’s a harsh reality, but some interviewers see the way you handle yourself in interview, as an indication of what you will be like under pressure in real life. The theory is that you give at your weakest points.
Here are a few things we’ve seen our candidates do when they are nervous.
To be honest on our side of the desk, this behaviour can be quite distracting.
Jumping in to answer a question before an interviewer finishes asking it
This is annoying. We read this as poor listening skills, or that your desire to impress is bigger than your desire to listen. Think of it like this. If you are having a normal conversation with someone, and they interrupt you, it feels like a verbal knee-capping – both unexpected and painful.
Not answering the question
If we as interviewers have to repeat the same question in several ways, we figure you don’t understand the question, or don’t have the skills we are looking for.
Talking too much
Some people don’t seem to breathe in interview. This is all good if you are engaging, amusing and can confidently tell a good tale. However remember to check in to see if the interviewer is actually listening to you.
The tricky thing here is to know whether your interviewer is a person who likes detail or who a person who likes bullet points. It’s also difficult to know if interviewers are actually listening. Some interviewers, particularly experienced interviewers, are professional at looking like they’re listening.
If you are worried about this, you can always ask if an interviewer needs more detail, or invite them to stop you talking if you think you are giving too much.
Odd phrases
Are you guilty of these: “Like,” “like you know,” “do you get what I mean?”
This kind of verbal stuffing can completely detract from your appearance as a competent professional. The public speaking group, Toastmasters, is good for eliminating this kind of thing, in a very gentle way. So is recording yourself in an interview practice session.
Forgetting to listen
Sometimes people launch into an answer that they want to give, rather than listening to what a question is actually asking. The danger in this is that it may take the interviewer a couple of minutes to realise you are off-tangent. If your interviewer is short on time, or simply impatient, you may have missed your chance to present the best of yourself.
Are you guilty of these? Leave a comment below and we’ll see how we can help.
By Karalyn | Categories: Career advice | No Comments
Should you talk about your weaknesses in interview?
Why yes, you should.
Here’s why.
People want to hire people they can relate to and who are self-aware. Interviewers do know that you are not going to reveal your worst character flaw. But they do want to get a sense that they are talking to a real person, not an automation who cannot talk about anything other than their strengths.
For any of you who are tempted to Google “perfect interview answers to the weakness question” – please don’t. Interviewers can actually tell if the answer you are giving has been pulled off the internet. They also don’t really want to employ someone who dodges the question with a cliché answer.
Think about it this way.
You are in an interview because the skills and strengths you have lend themselves to that profession. A weakness you may have may not actually be the huge deal-breaker you think it is. We all know software engineers, accountants or analysts who are not people-people. They are not being hired for that. They are being hired mainly for their technical skills.
So our advice is to keep it real.
If for example you’re an analyst and your role is to get deep into the numbers and standing up in front of a group of people and presenting is not your first favourite activity, then you can actually tell the interviewer that. You can then talk about what you are doing to improve your skills, and how you know you have.
In the workplace, team work rarely runs smoothly.
Employers would rather hire people who understand their both their strengths and their weaknesses, rather than someone who does not acknowledge where they may have issues and is not prepared to work on those.
PS: Please don’t ask say that your weakness is that you care too much about the job, or you eat too much chocolate. We get kind of cranky!
By Karalyn | Categories: Career advice | No Comments
Second job interview tips
We all know the interview process can be lengthy these days. Given the economic uncertainty, we can confirm that our clients are taking their time to make their hiring decisions, particularly the big ones.
We don’t blame them.
In any economic time, hiring people is risky. If you’re looking for a job you may well find that you’ll go through an interview with us, and most likely at least two interviews with a client.
So why do clients do second or third interviews?
Clients do second interviews for many reasons. Hiring is not an exact science. Apart from testing your skills, employers will want to see how well you fit their team and their company culture. Culture we all know is difficult to define. So for your fit alone, a few perspectives are useful.
Second Interview Tips #1
Treat each interview as if it is the first.
Prepare to sell yourself each and every time you are interviewed. Do not assume that the interviewer knows much about you, even if they have your resume and our briefing. You would be surprised by how little communication can happen between internal parties in large organizations, pre-interview. Sometimes, if employer’s interview processes are sophisticated, they do what’s called a “data-integration process.”
This means each interviewer will gather separate data on you. They rate it, and come together to a mutual conclusion post interviews. But they won’t speak to each other about you prior to your interview. So our biggest tip here – is to prepare for each interview as thoroughly as if it was your first. Plus be prepared to go over old ground if the interviewer requests it.
Second Interview Tips #2 Use your first interview to ask as many questions as you can about the role, the employer, their expectations, possible career-paths, challenges, priorities etc. Use this information, not just for making up your mind about a role, but to think more deeply about relevant examples you can present in your next interview to highlight your skills.
Second Interview Tips #3
Preface your answers in the second interview, with the insights you have gathered from the first interview. That way you show you have listened and understood.
For example, you could answer a question this way: “I understand from my first discussion with so and so, that one of the challenges in this role is abc – I have actually worked on something similar in a previous role…”
Second Interview Tips #4
Be patient.
We know this is hard when you are anxious about a role, but for everyone’s sake, including yours, you want you and your future employer to make the right decision. It’s better to get things wrong at this stage, than when you start a role. Please don’t ever say to a second interviewer “we’ve already discussed that!” or “I told so and so that.” Respecting the interview process and showing some flexibility will take you a long way towards securing a role.
Second Interview Tips #5
An interview is always an interview, even if it doesn’t feel like one.
You’d be amazed at how people make hiring decisions, and some of the tricks of the trade interviewers use to try and make you feel relaxed.
One of our clients assesses your small talk in the reception and lift. She says that’s because her current team are “people-people” who need to quickly build rapport with almost anyone. So she asks a few random type questions about current affairs or the news as she is bringing people up to the interview meeting room.
Another employer we know shuffles his interview papers at the end of the interview as if to say the interview is over. Then he slips in a few questions when the interviewee is off-guard. He thinks he’s more likely to get an honest answer that way.
In coffee interviews, we’ve heard of people looking at the way you speak to waiters as an indication of your people skills and how you might treat people who report to you in your team.
Second Interview Tips #6
Sometimes with a second interview, you will find that the interviewer does all the talking, but asks no questions. They tell you about the company structure, the future direction, who is in the team, the challenges and priorities of the role and so on and on.
With this kind of “interview” go back to point 5. It is still an interview. We suggest you take this opportunity to learn as much as you can, and if the interviewer appears in for a chat, seize the opportunity.
Remember, not all interviewers are trained in interviewing. They may think they are interviewing you, even if they are just giving their information. However you may be being judged on the quality of the questions you ask, so fire away.
Second Interview Tips #7
Ask to see where you may be working. While talk is talk, we much more absorb by looking, feeling and visualizing. If you can actually see yourself at the desk, in the role and in the working environment, you’d be surprised how much more real it feels.
Second Interview Tips #8
If you really want the job, then tell the interviewer that – and why.
When it comes down to it, it might come down to a choice between you and someone with exactly the same skills. If that’s the case the person who wants the role the most, who shows the most enthusiasm, is the person who will get it.
Second Interview Tips #9
Remember you can always ask us what you can expect from a second interview. That’s actually what we are here for.
Does any of this sound familiar? We’re keen to hear what you have experienced or any of your questions.
Please feel free to comment below.
By Karalyn | Categories: Career advice | No Comments
There are lots of questions around the questions that we as recruitment consultants ask in interview. We thought we would lift the lid on why we ask the questions we do.
Why did you leave your last job?
Fundamentally our role is to determine whether you match the roles we have with our clients. We ask three questions of any candidate when we are considering them against a role on offer:
- Can you do the job?
- Will you do the job?
- Will you fit the team?
We ask why you have left a role for a few reasons.
We want to better understand what you are looking for in your next role. If you left because you didn’t like the company, the work, the size of the team, the limited career opportunities and so on, then we are not going to offer you an opportunity or a role with similar conditions.
We will also dig deep on this question to understand whether your reason for leaving “makes sense.” So when you give us a reason, we ask ourselves is that consistent with what we know of that company, that type of role and the market place.
If you have many short stints on your resume, we will also probe – particularly if you are with a company less than three months, which is the standard probationary period.
What are your salary expectations?
There’s no sinister intent behind this question. We would prefer to understand what you are looking for, so we can negotiate in good faith on your behalf.
Many of our clients have salary bands meaning they can only offer salaries within a range. We want to know whether your salary expectations match the range of roles we typically have on offer.
We work in this space all the time.
We know what salaries are typical for particular types of roles. We can tell you whether your expectations are realistic, and we do understand whether you are under or overpaid in your current role.
We invite you in for one role, but we ask if you are interested in another.
We can often do this.
We can only tell so much from your resume. From our discussions in interview we may discover that you are a better fit for another company. If we do not think you are appropriate for one role, based on what you have told us what you want – and our client needs, then we will not put you forward.
We will tell you why, however.
If we have other roles that will suit you, we may well talk to you about that role in interview, or call you and discuss it at a later date.
What are you up to? We have no decision the job yet….
Often the decision to hire or organize a second interview can take time. Here are a few reasons why:
- someone internal comes out of nowhere
- someone internal makes a referral and the client wants to interview them
- the business restructures and changes the role descriptions
- the employer likes you, but is not confident they have seen the best in the market
- the employer does not have their paperwork in order and forgot to get sign-off
- you are being hired for a newly created role. If an employer is hiring for a role they have already established, then they have a more tangible sense of the opportunity cost or the cost of lost productivity. Often for newly established roles there is less urgency as an employer has less sense of what they are missing out on.
- the employer wants someone more senior to see you and that person is simply not available
We are well aware that delays in the hiring process can impact your level of enthusiasm, and ultimate attachment to a company, and that a professional hiring process can inspire greater confidence in a company.
We will always keep you in the loop about what is happening and the reasons for it.
Please let us know below what else you’d like to know about our hiring processes.
