Richards Rules #3

Richards Rules #3

Welcome again to Richard Rules as we continue our journey from being unemployed to hopefully gaining the job we want. This article will focus on the interview technique of behavioural interviewing used by recruiters in selecting the best candidate.

Interview preparation

Having secured your interview appointment/ registration we still need to do further preparation work.

Firstly review the job advertisement, circle or highlight any key attributes contained in the advertisement.  

Secondly, review any pre- issued documentation or job description, with the purpose of again identifying key attributes, competencies, job behaviours or job dimensions which should be the basis or the structure of your interview, by your recruiter.

Finally, you should always take the opportunity if the name of your potential future employer is known, to research further on the internet, with particular attention to the values or guiding principles of that organisation, thereby further allowing you to understand what is important to that organisation.

All this preparation has allowed you to identify key competencies and the opportunity to recall and be in a position to provide real-life work examples of how you have previously used or demonstrated the required competency, a questioning technique known in the ”recruiting world”, as behavioural interviewing.

Unlocking the secret to behavioural interviewing to become a STAR

The formula is simple in becoming a star, all answers to behavioural interview questions should be structured around three elements. The SITUATION or TASK in which you displayed the behaviour in question, the ACTIONS you took and the RESULTS of these actions.

The situation or task is the background or context in which you took action. Work situations in which you are required to take action and can include demands made by managers, customers, fellow workers and changes in job responsibilities in meeting job requirements.

The actions are what you did and/or said in response to the situation and how you did it. Actions commonly include steps taken to solve a problem, in making a decision, dealing with a customer or manager and these actions provide, to the recruiter, demonstrated examples of your behaviour from past work situations.     Remember the old saying, “a leopard never changes its spots”.

The results are the outcomes or effects of your actions. The results include the effectiveness, differences or changes your actions made and if appropriate.

Accordingly, to ensure a great interview, know the key competencies required, then prepare and structure your answers using the behavioural formula, situation/task, action and result, thereby giving the recruiter the information wanted.

Avoid the following, opinions, vague responses, generalisations and theoretical answers, only provide actual examples from your work history.

Use the power of the STAR approach to assist in ensuring a successful interview.

I look forward to my next article in managing the result of your application and/or interview.