Set yourself apart with strong interview skills
A winning face-to-face job interview can take you from candidate to new hire. Good preparation takes the pain out of the process. As you get ready, follow these tips:
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Bring Your Resume to LifeThe person interviewing you generally uses your Resume as a guide to learn about you and your abilities. It is up to you to transform yourself from a piece of paper to an exciting candidate with a track record of adding value to organizations. |
When going through the interview questions and answers, be prepared to tell two-minute success stories that demonstrate the competencies you are asked about. Good interview preparation starts with the SOAR model. SOAR helps you tell crisp success stories, and works for both behavioral and competency based interviews.
S = Scenario
O = Ownership
A = Action
R = Results
S = Scenario
Practice makes perfect. Using the SOAR model, rehearse success stories until they flow easily and naturally.Begin by briefly describing the scenario to set the scene for the listener. For example, this interviewer is interested in learning about your experience managing a small team.
Question: “Tell me about a time when your team members were not working well together.”
Answer (Set the scene): “I was managing a group of five marketing people who generally worked on separate accounts. In this case, they needed to work as a team for a national launch of a new product. When a critical deadline was missed, I discovered that 2 staff members were keeping vital information from one another, and were creating tension in the wider group.”
O = Ownership
At this point, demonstrate your influence in the scenario. Use an appropriate pronoun so the interviewer is clear about your role. Continuing the example,“It was my responsibility to immediately resolve the situation as the revised deadline was one day away.”
A = Action
Present the actions you took sequentially and identify key steps without excessive detail.”I called a quick staff meeting and reassigned the task to two people I knew worked well together. I gave the team members in conflict separate tasks that required no collaboration. I also made appointments to meet with each of them later that week.”
R = Results
Give the outcomes of your actions.“The new deadline was met and tension was eased, as soon afterwards, the issue between the team members in conflict was addressed and resolved.”
Know Your Potential Employer
Interview preparation is not complete until you thoroughly research the organization. Look for trends, study financial, know about recent developments. Do not forget to check out the competition!Do research by reading industry publications, annual reports, company websites and marketing material, talking with your networks and so on. Learn as much as you can, and use the information to develop insightful questions.
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