TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL INTERVIEW

THE STAKES OF THE INTERVIEW

During an interview, your interlocutor will test:

 Your motivations
 Your competencies
 Your experiences
 Your capabilities
 Your ability to fit in the structure
 Your capability to hold the position
 Your ability to move on

To get some idea of the above points, he/she will focus on:

Verbal aspects :

 your presentation
 your professional project
 your achievements
 your answers
 your questions
Non-verbal aspects :
 your clothing
 your movements
 How you look at people
 your tone , your flow of speech

Don’t forget to reassure your interlocutor

 THE STEPS IN THE INTERVIEW
1. Welcome

 Welcome of the applicant

 Introduction of the recruiter and the applicant (‘Escalator’ Introduction)
 Presentation of the way the interview will go

2. Overall validation of the career path

 Validation of the main stages in the career path/logic/possible gaps

 Questions on the nature of the missions/responsibilities

3. Finding out the motivation

 Questions on the applicant’s professional project

 Identifying his/her motivations as regards the company
 Analysis of expectations/stakes

4. Evaluation of competencies

 Questions on the range of key competencies for the position

 Going further into each answer and reformulations (Challenging Cycle)

5. Short presentation of the company, the position

 Ask the applicant about what he/she knows and invite questions
 Answer questions clearly
 Present and promote the company

6. Conclusion

 Invite feedback from applicant

 Non committal debriefing
 Review the stage he/she is in in his/her search
 Indicate the next step in the recruitment
 Thank and see to the door
 THE VARIOUS TOPICS IN THE INTERVIEW

 EDUCATION/TRAINING

 PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES
 TEAM SPIRIT
 STRESS – CONFIDENCE

 INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
 MINDSET

 SALES CAPABILITIES

 AUTONOMY- RESPONSIBILITY - INITIATIVE

EDUCATION/TRAINING
STANDARD QUESTIONS

 To what extent had your degree prepared you for this position?

 What are you favorite subjects?

 What marks did you get?

 Why did you choose this specialization?

 Did you write a thesis?

 Why did you take this training program?

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES

STANDARD QUESTIONS

 You have served several internships, could you tell me more about them?

 What did you like most?

 What difficulties did you meet?

 Tell me about your assignments in terms of achievements and results?

 What was you best/worst professional experience?

 Tell me about the people you have worked with?

 Could you describe the position of the department you were in within the organisation?

 During your internship, what was your main contribution?

 Did they set you objectives?

 Which ones seemed most difficult to reach?

 Tell me about the issues you had to solve. How did you do this?

 How could you have improved those results?

 What did you like most in your internship? What did you dislike most? Why?

 How did you feel managed in this company?

 Among all those experiences, which did you feel most comfortable in? The most productive?

 Why did you decide to serve this internship?

PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES- Continued
 At the end of this internship, how were you evaluated?

 If you were to draw up a list of what is important to succeed in this job, what would it be?

 If you have to address the following issue……How would you go about coping with it?

 In your opinion, to succeed in this function the incumbent must master which domains?

 Could you tell me how you proceed to …..?

 What improvements did you suggest during this experience?

 If you had to make a decision….How would you proceed?

TEAM SPIRIT
BEHAVIOURS OBSERVED BY THE RECRUITER

 Says ‘We’ often and not only ‘I’.

 Mentions other people’s contribution

 Asks questions on the people, the atmosphere, and the team he/she is to join

 Shares information, cooperates with people around

 Quotes missions he carried out where he/she worked with others, or started a teamwork
approach

 Group activities or trips are mentioned in his/her CV

STANDARD QUESTIONS

 What is your favorite work environment?

 Have you had the opportunity to work in a team? What was your role?

 What do other people like in you?

 What do you like in other people?

 In your view, what are the advantages and drawbacks of team work?

 What sort of people do you like to work with most? Which ones do you find it most difficult to
work with? How do you behave in this instance?

 What type of department head or manager do you work with best?

 What are your assets when relating to others?

 Tell me about a difficult situation or conflict you have had to solve? How did you proceed?
STRESS - CONFIDENCE
BEHAVIOURS OBSERVED BY THE RECRUITER

 Speaks assertively with a steady and calm voice

 Voice flow/tone/loudness adapted to the situation

 Explains by playing things down, uses simple words, uses but a few negations.

 Seems thrown off at times/seems at ease (too much so may be )

 Sits upright, with open gestures

 Seems restless, shows signs of nervousness

 Maintains eye contact with his/her interlocutor

 Tries to justify or analyses his/her failures lucidly

 Has a positive and optimistic attitude

 Tries to get in command of the interview

 Have you had the occasion to say no to a customer, or someone senior?

STRESS – CONFIDENCE - Continued
STANDARD QUESTIONS

 What things or situations do you find stressful?

 How do manage to cope with your stress?

 Which work environments are you most comfortable with, least comfortable with?

 During your previous experiences, what difficulties did you meet? How did you cope with them?

 Tell me about an issue you have had to solve recently?

 Tell me about an irritating situation you have had to live through in the context of your
professional experiences

 Which of your partners’ attitudes stress you?

 How do you react when confronted to a partner or a colleague who attacks you?

 How do you solve conflicts? Could you give me an example?

 How would react if your boss asked you to do a major work at the last minute?

 What types of risks have you been led to take in your professional life?

 What were your major professional difficulties or failures?

SERVICE MINDED
BEHAVIOURS OBSERVED BY THE RECRUITER

 Adopts a relevant behaviour and moves in an open, smiling and friendly way

 Expresses himself/herself with understanding and benevolence

 Does not show any sign of annoyance or irritation

 Adapts with flexibility to your own way of operating without any obsequiousness

 LISTENS carefully and asks relevant questions

 Offers to help spontaneously

 Has pleasure in helping you

 Uses reformulation to make sure he/she understands your expectations and that he/she is well
understood as well

 Shows spontaneous interest in other people

 Association/society activities are mentioned in his/her CV

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

BEHAVIOURS OBSERVED BY THE RECRUITER

 Presentation : smile, eye contact, politeness

 Speaks freely

 Reformulates

 Answers questions well

 Puts himself/herself easily in other people’s shoes

 Sticks to the schedule suggested for the interview

 Asks relevant questions as regards what he/she has been told

 Listens to the answers he/she has been given to his/her questions

 Is attentive to your points or interrupts you

 Takes your remarks into account

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS - Continued

STANDARD QUESTIONS

 How would the people who know you best (colleagues, friends, spouse, family) describe you?

 How do live with conflict?

 How do you go about solving a conflict with someone (customer, colleagues, friend..)?

 You wish to go on holiday with a friend, but your opinions differ, how do you react? Could you
give me an example?

 What sort of people do you get along well with? ..have most difficulty in getting along with? How
do you react?

 How do you react to the failure or success of one of your relatives?

 What would you do if you saw one of your colleagues being dishonest?

 In your opinion, what are the competencies required to succeed in this occupation?

 Starting from one of his/her centers of interest, ask him/her to convince you of your own ability to
achieve the same things
FONCTIONNEMENT INTELLECTUEL

BEHAVIOURS OBSERVED BY THE RECRUITER

 Gives direct, clear and well supported answers

 Focuses on the issue and brings solutions

 Gives a structured presentation of his/her career path, and puts forward what he/she thinks is
important for his/her interlocutor

 Has an intuitive way to analyze data, sometimes with very few facts available

 Goes straight to the point

 Takes facts into account

 Described things in a precise way

 Asks questions on how the interview will run

 Makes notes

 Has anticipated questions and prepared answers

 Does not indulge in chit-chat or digressions

FONCTIONNEMENT INTELLECTUEL- Continued

STANDARD QUESTIONS

 Tell me about your career path in terms of training/education and experience

 What conclusions have you drawn from this experience?

 Which competencies have you acquired during this experience?

 For what reasons have you chosen this position?

 How do you go about starting a new activity?

 When faced with a new project, how do you manage? What do you give priority to? (thinking,
consultation, action)

 When you have to make a decision, how do you proceed? What do you give priority to?
(thinking, consultation, action)

 How do you prepare for your exams?

 What is your method for meeting deadlines?

 Which type of knowhow was useful to you in your last experience?

 Why did you choose this training path? What do you think of this school? What did you like
most? Would you recommend it to other people? Why? If you were to take up studies again,
which track would you follow today?
SALES SKILLS

BEHAVIOURS OBSERVED BY THE RECRUITER

 Adopts open, friendly and smiling attitudes and movements

 Speaks with ease, with a clear and assertive tone

 Does not show any sign of annoyance or irritation

 Adapts flexibly to your own mode of operation without being obsequious.

 LISTENS actively and asks relevant questions

 Reacts and argues with efficiency and conviction

 Gives clear and well supported answers

 Uses reformulation to ensure he/she understands your expectations and that he/she has been
well understood.

 Has well prepared his/her recruitment interview and does not allow himself/herself to be put off
balance

 Has researched on your occupation, your company and the competition

 Has a good understanding of the sales stakes of the occupation

 Shows spontaneous interest for sales activities

 Behaves with you as if you were a customer, and has sent you a quality letter and CV, consistent
with the vacancy to be filled

 Has already looked for activities, internships or functions with a sales aspect

 Uses but few negations and uses simple words

SALES SKILLS - Continued
STANDARD QUESTIONS

 In your opinion, what characterizes a good salesperson?

 What is important in order to close a sale?

 In your opinion, which qualities are a must to sell?

 What are customers’ expectations in general?

 Tell me about products you have sold? How did you go about it?

 What types of customers do you prefer? Which ones do you have most difficulty with?

 What do customers like in you? What feedback did you get recently?

 Give me an example of a situation when you had difficulty in getting an idea accepted? How did
you go about it?

 How do you go about convincing a difficult customer?

 How much do you know about our company, our market?

SALES SKILLS - Continued

STANDARD QUESTIONS

 In your opinion, what is important when presenting products or services?

 What are the main challenges of this position?

 What are the objectives of this position?

 Which elements go well in the service or the function right now?

 What should be changed?

 What is the main priority?

 What are the main responsibilities?

 How is the team organized?

 What are the locations, the position on the market with respect to the competition, the evolution
of the turnover…? How are you organized ?

 What will the next step be in the recruitment process?

AUTONOMY - RESPONSIBILITY - INITIATIVE
BEHAVIOURS OBSERVED BY THE RECRUITER

 Handles his/her search for an internship of a job in an active and inventive way

 Uses entrepreneurial vocabulary

 Says ‘I’ and not only ‘they’

 Knows how to go further and take initiative during the interview

 Has served many internships and not only those that were mandatory

 Takes significant professional or association responsibilities

 Does things with desire and dynamism

 Likes to do new things, knows how to go out of the box

 Acts quickly when faced with a situation, knows how to adapt to an unexpected situation

 Quotes spontaneously situations where he/she sought or took responsibilities.

 Analyses his/her failures lucidly and does not blame others

 Knows how to evaluate results and is sensitive to customer satisfaction

STANDARD QUESTIONS

 On which type of projects have you worked?

 What was your role in the team?

 How does your creativity show?

 In your opinion, what qualifies a good manager

 How did you proceed to find an internship or a job?