How to answer hard interview questions ...and everything else you need to know to get the job you want Charlie Gibbs howtobooks Visit our How To website at www.howto.co.uk Atwww.howto.co.ukyoucanengageinconversationwithourauthors –allofwhomhave‘beenthereanddonethat’intheirspecialistfields. Youcangetaccesstospecialoffersandadditionalcontentbutmost importantlyyouwillbeabletoengagewith,andbecomeapartof,a wideandgrowingcommunityofpeoplejustlikeyourself. Atwww.howto.co.ukyou’llbeabletotalkandsharetipswithpeople whohavesimilarinterestsandarefacingsimilarchallengesintheir lives.Peoplewho,justlikeyou,havethedesiretochangetheirlives. Peoplewho,justlikeyou,havethedesiretochangetheirlivesforbetter –beitthroughmovingtoanewcountry,startinganewbusiness, growingtheirownvegetables,orwritinganovel. Atwww.howto.co.ukyou’llfindthesupportandencouragementyou needtohelpmakeyouraspirationsareality. Youcangodirecttowww.how-to-answer-hard-interview- questions.co.ukwhichispartofthemainHowTosite. How To Booksstrivestopresentauthentic,inspiring,practical informationintheirbooks.Now,whenyoubuyatitlefromHow To Books,yougetevenmorethanjustwordsonapage. How to answer hard interview questions ...and everything else you need to know to get the job you want Charlie Gibbs howtobooks Published by How To Content, A division of How To Books Ltd, Spring Hill House Spring Hill Road Begbroke, Oxford OX5 1RX Tel: (01865) 375794. Fax: (01865) 379162 [email protected] www.howtobooks.co.uk How To Books greatly reduce the carbon footprint of their books by sourcing their typesetting and printing in the UK. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or stored in an information retrieval system (other than for the purposes of review), without the express permission of the Publisher given in writing. The right of Charlie Gibbs to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First edition 2008 Second edition 2009 First published in electronic form 2009 © 2009 Charlie Gibbs British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 1 84803 362 7 Produced for How to Books by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock Typeset by Pantek Arts Ltd, Maidstone, Kent NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good faith for general guidance and no liability can be accepted for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying in particular circumstances on statements made in this book. Laws and regulations are complex and liable to change, and readers should check the current position with the relevant authorities before making personal arrangements. CONTENTS PREFACE xi 1 FINDING THAT JOB 1 Fillinginyourapplicationform 2 Curriculavitae 3 2 PREPARING FOR THE INTERVIEW 5 Assessingyourself 6 Personalratingsandcompetencies 6 Levelsofcompetence 10 Researchingtheorganisation 31 Timingiseverything 34 Planningwhattowear 35 WhatshouldItakewithme? 38 Outsidethedragon’sden 39 3 LEGISLATION THAT EMPLOYERS NEED TO COMPLY WITH 40 Legislationaffectingrecruitment 40 RehabilitationofOffendersAct1974 41 SexDiscriminationAct1975 41 RaceRelationsAct1976 44 TradeUnionandLabourRelations(Consolidation)Act1992 45 DisabilityDiscriminationAct1995 45 AsylumandImmigrationAct1996 48 PoliceAct1997 50 EmploymentEqualityRegulations2003 51 DataProtectionAct1998 51 Theemploymenttribunal 51 V VI • HOW TO ANSWER HARD INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 4 UNDERSTANDING THE EMPLOYERS’ PERSPECTIVE 54 Preparation 54 Conductingtheinterview 55 Theimportanceofinterviewnotes 56 5 CONDUCTING YOURSELF AT THE INTERVIEW 57 6 COMMON INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ... AND HOW TO ANSWER THEM 60 Questionsabout... ...yourdriveforachievement 60 ...yourstrategicthinking 67 ...yourrelationshipbuilding 71 ...yourcommercialawareness 75 ...yourleadershipofchange 79 ...yourleadershipskills 82 ...yourcontinuousimprovement 86 ...yourcustomerawareness 92 ...yourdecision-makingskillsandjudgement 95 ...yourinfluencingskills 97 ...yourdevelopmentofselfandothers 101 ...yourteamworkingskills 105 The‘...andfinally’questions 109 7 QUESTIONS YOU CAN ASK AT YOUR INTERVIEW 113 First-roundinterviews 113 Final-stageinterview 115 8 QUESTIONS ASKED BY READERS 117 Searchingforinformation 117 9 AFTER THE INTERVIEW 122 Learningfromrejection 122 Resigningfromyourcurrentjob 127 CONTENTS • VII 10 TELEPHONE INTERVIEWS 130 11 FURTHER TYPICAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 133 Driveforachievement 133 Strategicthinking 136 Relationshipbuilding 137 Commercialawareness 138 Leadershipofchange 140 Leadershipskills 142 Continuousimprovement 144 Customerawareness 147 Decision-makingskillsandjudgement 149 Influencingskills 151 Developmentofselfandothers 154 Teamworkingskills 156 Specialistknowledge 157 Appendix:Thejoke’sonHR 159 Indexofquestions 165 Index 169 This page intentionally left blank ForEllieGibbs