Job spin-off thread: what are interviews like in your job/industry?

Submission of a brief CV and portfolio (6-8 sheets) at application stage. Then at interview stage it’s usually a single interview taking one of these formats:

Private sector:

45 minute talk through CV/Portfolio; discussion of experience, aims, ambitions; introduction to the company. Suit and tie pretty standard, even if that’s not what people wear day to day. Usually with a couple of the company directors.

Public Sector:
STAR type interview. Suit and tie, as above, usually in front of a panel of team leader, sector head and HR bod.

Strict competency-based format, with the competencies harvested from the approved job description. So a lot of “Tell me about a time when you demonstrated a drive to achieve excellent results”. Incredibly draining and uninformative on all sides, but hey it’s very fair!

“Have you got a medicine degree?”
“Yeah of course”
“Have you done brain operations before?”
“Yeah”
“Are you careful with the brains?”
“Fairly”

that’s how I got my current position

Whassat?

i just had to pull a sword out of a rock

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Situation
Task
Action
Result

How to structure your answer.

think a lot has to do with how you present/pitch stuff. All of the interviews I’ve had have involved a 10-20 minute pitch of something or other as part of it.

Also the sort of industry in which everyone suits up for the interview, but ends of wearing onsies around the office.

Not got time for your shit mate. If you wanna start again and ask me some proper, adult interview questions, by all means…

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We’re interviewing currently, I wouldn’t like to give any potential applicants reading this an unfair advantage by revealing the tricks of the trade in what is ostensibly an informal chat about association football…

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I’m free mate.

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Formal, usually with one or two people. Can be either competency based, technical or a bit of both depending on the role. Sometimes there’ll be aptitude/technical tests. I’ve never had to do more than one interview for a particular role, you tend to either get it or not on the first go.

A suit is the usual attire (with tie even though very few places require suit/tie day to day)

Alright, how do you feel about the Convatec v Smith & Nephew decision? Personally, I’m livid.

My role within the industry is very techincal so whenever I have held interviews the first half is always a few specific questions to establish the level of their knowledge around the tools we use in relation to their experience listed on their CV. Second half is then about them as a person and a full run down of the expectations of the job they would be taking on should they get it.

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^this.

like, i didn’t understand what STAR meant
so I asked on DiS
he_2 responded
now i understand?

wow, the system works!!

You know usual stuff.

How good you are with shotguns and other weapons, experience in dealing with hostile corporations, interest in experimental bio-science and herbology etc and a test where you fit random shaped objects into similar shaped holes.

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thunderbirds.gif

My last interview was smart attire, 2 interviews (talking about experience), and a task in between interviews.

My current job requires a formal interview. When I was an external candidate and last year I wore a suit and it was fucking warm. This year I wore my general teaching outfit and a tie. Always involves a presentation and questions about how you’ve solved classroom problems.

Teaching interviews generally involve teaching a class for a bit and a range of panel interviews. If you’re any good, the interview day last 9-3. They normally send stragglers home at lunch. They always provide lunch but it means eating in the student canteen.