My other half is off to another interview/assessment this Friday as part of her jobhunting, these days these things seem to include:
- Personal interviews
- Problem solving
- Monitored groupwork
- Business analysis and presentation
What struck me is how much preparation is really necessary for these things and how much they mimic a typical workday and short-term project.
She's been given 2 days to prepare and I'm proud to see her bear well under the pressure.
Champagne flutes at a wedding, London, United Kingdom
For anyone else in the same situation, here are some tidbits of advice for each of the points above:
Personal Interview: This one's usually the easiest, be calm and composed. Keep good eyecontact with the interviewer(s) and try to keep your hands passive and well aired; it's never nice to shake a sweaty palm ;-)
Problem Solving: This is hard to prepare for, you're never quite sure what they'll throw at you, but you somehow know they're going to try to catch you out so I can't emphasise this enough:
be certain you understand the question thoroughly. They will be looking not just for a correct solution, but also for a logical and methodical approach to finding it. Breaking the problem down into chunks that are easier to solve is usually a good approach. Once you're there, be creative! Creative solutions will highlight your ability to think laterally (or *shudder* outside-the-box).
Monitored Groupwork: This one's interesting in that the final solution reached/decided by the group is usually only incidental to the interactions you display while the activity is in progress. You should aim to maintain a professional attitude at all times and to make sure you play an active part in the task. It's surprisingly easy to identify the Mice and Dictators in such situations and most businesses want neither.
Business Analysis: This is similar to the previous one, except you'll often be given the subject ahead of time. Armed with this, it's always a good idea to research everything the company makes available to you (website, printouts, google searches, contacts) and to approach it from more than one perspective. It's usual for business/client perspectives to be requested but it never hurts to prepare others.
Presentation: Tied to the analysis is normally some type of delivery of your research, be it to a group of your fellow interviewees or to a fictional Board of Directors. Be sure to tailor your language and delivery in a fashion appropriate to your target audience. One aspect that should be underlined is the structure that all presentations should take:
- Introduction: I tell you what I'll tell you about
- Material: I'm telling you what I'm telling you about
- Conclusion: I'm telling you what I told you about
The key aspect is repetition, repetition, repetition. Oh, and don't forget to practice and keep it concise, you'll likely have only about 10mins to deliver it. For time management, know that you should be spending about 2.5mins per slides (if you use them), so factor that in.
And take heart! Most people go through a number of interviews before finding a job that suits them ;-)
To all the jobseekers out there, good luck!
