You’re Hired! Interview Skills that Make a Difference

Snježana Linkeš, Career Counsellor

M.Ed. (Counselling Psychology), CCC, CCC-S

slinkes2@uwo.ca

http://www.success.uwo.ca

January 9th 2015

Your expectations from the workshop?

• What do you know about interview?

Interview skills

Non-verbal communication

Interview formats

Interview questions

Presentation Overview

Your Personal Experience

What is your biggest concern and fear regarding self-promotion?

Confirm the impression gathered from resume, cover letter, references

Showing :

If you have skills and competencies of doing the job?

Showing :

Are you motivated to do the job and do

it well?

Showing : Are you the person with whom they will like working; do you make good addition to the team?

The Interview is the most important stage in the selection process

Developing Interview Skills

Interview skills must be learned and practised

Interviews are challenging, and often stressful

situations

First impressions are critical: you will “make or break”

your opportunities within the first few minutes of the

interview

There is no substitution for being prepared

•Commitment to students and student learning • Professional knowledge • Professional practice • Leadership in learning communities • Ongoing professional learning

Standard of Practice for the Teaching Profession Framework of principles that describes the knowledge, skills

and values inherent in Ontario’s Teaching Profession:

Screening Interview

Panel Interview

One-to-One Interview

Interview Formats

Teaching pool – as the first phase of selection

Eligibility to be hired

Pool for contract and occasional teaching position

Interviewer is often done by 3-6 principals

Identifies candidates who have the minimum qualifications stablished for a position

Shorter interview (15-20 minutes)

First impression

Screening Interview

Panel Interview

•Also known as Board Interview (30 minutes long) •Interview conducted by 2 or more interviewers at the same time (principal, vice principal, department head) •Meant to reduce individual bias in the final selection •One member may ask all questions OR panel members will take turns •Maintain eye contact with the person asking the question

•Often conducted by a direct supervisor (principal) •Be thoroughly prepared for this interview

– Know the job and know yourself

– This one person may be the only one deciding whether or not you

have what it takes to be successful in the position or role

One-to-One Interview

Strategies for Interview Success

Know yourself (personal, experience, skills, qualifications, curriculum, teaching strategies, classroom management)

Research the position

Research the school (reputation, location, size, number of employees, number of students)

Choose the “professional interview outfit”

Arrive early (5-10 minutes)

Before the

Interview

Non-Verbal Behaviour

Practice: Hand shake, eye contact, introduction, posture

Eye Contact • Indicates interest, confidence and sincerity

Facial Expressions • Smiling indicates warmth and friendliness

Posture • Good posture shows confidence and power potential

Gestures • Should be minimal, natural and meaningful

Space

• Interviewers become uncomfortable if their personal space is invaded

• A meter is a common “social zone” for more extraverted people while more space may

be required for others

Messages Implied by Body Language

Openness and Warmth open-lipped smile, open hands with palms visible, unbuttoning jacket upon

being seated

Confidence leaning forward, chin up, upright posture, eye contact

Nervousness

whistling, pinching skin, fidgeting, jiggling pocket contents, running tongue

along front of teeth, clearing throat, running fingers through hair, wringing

hands, biting fingernails or other objects

Untrustworthy/Defensive

frowning, squinting, tight-lipped grin, arms crossed in front of chest, backing

away, chin down, darting eyes, looking down when speaking, clenched

hands, gestures with fist, etc.

Exercise in moderate and regular amounts,

Eat well,

Establish regular sleeping patterns if you can,

Positive Self Talk,

Breathing exercises – abdominal breathing (practice)

Relaxation, Meditation, Visualization,

Some anxiety is helpful – it gives me an edge

Preparing for a stressful situation

Know what is appropriate

Your outfit should be more conservative and formal than the outfit you will wear if you secure the position

Usually, business casual or business formal is appropriate

Include:

Clean, polished shoes (no running shoes) Well-groomed hair and nails No fragrance (may be disallowed at the workplace) Rule of 3 for jewellery No gum, or distracting items (e.g. change in pockets)

Dress for Success

Dress for Success Women: Dark, conservative suit or pantsuit; Avoid bold patterns;

Use makeup conservatively

Rule of 3 = Jewelry

Men: dark, conservative suit, keep tie conservative, plain shirt with

contrasting tie, solid colour suit (gray, black, navy), polished shoes;

cologne-minimal/none

Greet with firm handshake, eye contact

Think positively and interact with confidence

If you don’t understand a question – ask

Before you answer, organize thoughts (pause)

Story telling – STARS

Near the end of interview, reinforce your interest

Ask appropriate questions

Thank the interviewer at the end of interview

During the Interview

Structured the most reliable for comparing

candidates (same set of questions in the same order

Semi-structured plan set of questions +additional

questions

Unstructured-rare no planned sequence of

questions

Types of Interviews

Behaviour Description Interview

Situational Interview

Comprehensive Structured Interview

Structured Employment Interview Techniques

Interviewer asks for specific example from past experience to determine if you can provide evidence of your skill in a certain area

Past behaviour is a powerful predictor of future behaviour

The more recent the behaviour, the better its predictive power

The more long lasting the behaviour, the better its predictive power

The interviewer will probably be taking descriptive notes throughout

the interview

Research probable skill areas that the employer will be interested in

and will therefore be likely to ask about in the interview

Behavioural Interview

Examples:

1. Describe your most successful team experience.

2. What was your most difficult situation in a class and how did you handle it?

3. Give me an example of a student from whom you learned the most.

4. How did you handle a student who refused to work in your class or do what you asked?

5. Describe a teaching strategy you used to maximize the learning potential of all students.

6. Define cooperative learning and give an example of how you have used it.

Behavioural Interview (cont’d)

Tell stories based upon your:

•Practicum experience •Volunteer work •Participation in activities (school/community) •Part-time/summer jobs •Study/work/travel •Internships •School projects

Story telling

Storytelling Technique

When telling your story use the STARS method:

S Situation Where you were

T Task You were facing

A Action What action you took

R Result The outcome of your action

S Summary Remind interviewer of the skill, strength, lesson

A highly structured interview in which hypothetical situations are described and applicants are asked what they would do

Interviewers use a scoring guide consisting of sample answers to evaluate and score each applicant’s answers

Interview is geared to solving problems

on the spot

Designed to assess logical thought processes, general

knowledge, creativity and communication skills

Situational Interview

Examples:

1. What will you do if a parent of your student approached you with concern that his son was bullied on the school bus on his way home?

2. What will you do if you haven’t seen your student’s parents and you have been unable to reach the parents during the first 3 months of school?

3. Some students always finish their assignments early. How would you deal with the free time that they have?

4. How do you accommodate a student with special needs?

5. How do you challenge a gifted student?

Situational Interview

Examples: •Philosophy of teaching •Variety of teaching methods that you use •How do you prepare lesson plan? •How do you track student progress? •How do you collaborate with parents to improve student learning? •Your approach to school discipline •How do you individualize your teaching? Combines situational interview, job knowledge, job simulation and worker characteristic questions Answers are compared to a scoring guide and candidate is rated accordingly

Comprehensive Structured Interview

Tell me something about yourself.

Why have you chosen a teaching career?

What are your goals? Where would you like to be in 5 years?

Why should we hire you? What is unique about you?

What are your experiences working with children?

What are your strengths? Weaknesses?

Questions: Basic Ones

How has your personal background influenced what you are today/your career progression or your interpersonal style?

How do you define success? How successful have you been?

What mistakes have you made during your career?

What is the most adverse situation you have had to deal with in your personal/professional life? How did you deal with it?

What was the outcome?

What is the difference between a good teaching position and an excellent one?

Questions: Tough Ones

By asking questions you show interest in: - the students’ backgrounds, -the school and its staff, - the community, - district policies and - Resources Questions to ask an Interviewer: http://success.uwo.ca/careers/get_a_job/interview_preparation/questions_to_ask_an_interviewer.html

Do you have any question for us?

• Make comprehensive notes

• Overall assessment of the interview

• Questions you answered effectively

• Questions with which you had difficulty; prepare a good answer for next time

• Name of the interviewer

• Notes for future interviews

• Consider sending a thank you letter/e-mail to each person with whom you had contact during the interview process

After the Interview

What else do I need to bring?

Usually requested at the end of the interview

2-3 are ideal (e.g. 2 work-related, 1 academic)

Supply full name, title, company name, business address, contact information (phone, e-mail)

Tip: contact your references prior to the interview to keep them

up to date with your plans

An additional support which includes work samples representing

your skills, accomplishments and past experiences

Include: evidence of lesson planning, unit-building, results

of practicum experience

References

Portfolios

In Canada, employers may NOT ask:

Race, colour, ancestry, place of origin

Religion/creed

Citizenship

Sex/gender

Sexual orientation

Age

Marital status

Family status

Record of offences

For more information, visit Ontario Human Rights Commission http://www.ohrc.on.ca/english/index.shtml

Be Aware of Your Rights

Attitude

Motivation

Lack of energy

No flexibility

Not prepared

What are some common reasons for not getting hired?

We are here to help you with career decisions and employment

Location: 210 UCC

519-661-3559 www.success.uwo.ca

1:1 Career counselling session

WERC

Online and print resources (books, InterviewStream http://uwo.interviewstream.com/ Workshops (request own)

Mock interviews

Interview Preparation

http://success.uwo.ca/careers/get_a_job/interview_preparation/index.html

Interview question formats and answer strategies

http://www.quintcareers.com/intvres.html

Your rights at an interview

http://www.ohrc.on.ca/english/index.shtml

Additional Resources

One thing that you learn from today’s workshop!

Take away

THANK YOU

For your interest and

participation

Snježana Linkeš

slinkes2@uwo.ca

http://www.success.uwo.ca