27-Apr-15

Interview Process
Dr. Mutahir
April 27, 2015

Your interview starts before you walk

into an employers door..

Types of interviews

On campus interviews
Screening interviews
On site interviews
Second round interviews
One on one
Panel interviews
Group interviews
Over a meal

27-Apr-15

Understand Yourself
Take an inventory of your attributes
1. Education
2. Experience, both paid and unpaid
3. Accomplishments and achievements
4. Skills and competencies
5. Community service
6. Clubs and organizations
7. Extra-Curricular activities
8. Work ethics
9. Values

27-Apr-15

Create Your Personal

Profile
Create a professional resume.
Look for ways to put a positive spin on your
career history.

Create a powerful, competent and experienced

image by using action words to describe
yourself and your accomplishments.

Create Your Personal

Profile
Give yourself all the credit you deserve.
Be totally honest, but dont shortchange
yourself by underestimating or
minimizing your accomplishments.
Have a professional critique of your
resume.

27-Apr-15

Know the Position

Make sure you and the position are a match.
Duties of the position
Compensation range
Location
Work schedules
Benefits

Know the Organization

Organizations name
Private or public

What products or services

Key management team

27-Apr-15

Know the Organization

Where to find organizations information:
Organizations website
Search engines like Google or Hoovers
College placement office
Networking
Library and newspaper archives

General Tips
Map your route to the interview site so youre not late.
Appropriate business attire is a must.
Refer to your achievements often before your
interview date, so theyre fresh in your mind.
Know your answers to probable questions
before you walk in the door.

27-Apr-15

BE YOURSELF, BE HONEST
The more prepared you are the easier it is to be
comfortable in this unique experience, and to be
yourself.
Always be honest. After interviewing perhaps
100s of candidates over the yearsinterviewers
are excellent at discerning sincerity, honestly and
a true desire!
Good Luck!!!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
(you can only make them once!
DO
Arrive on time (15 minutes
early)
Dress appropriately
Treat everyone you meet
well-interview starts when
you enter front door.
Have a firm handshake
Make good eye contact
Use good (nice long spine),
and attentive posture.

Smile, Connect!

Dont

Be late
Be sloppy
Look down or
disconnect during
greeting.
Bring food
Slouch
Put arms in defensive
position
Play with your hair or
face.

BODY LANGUAGE SPEAKS

Tips Regarding Attire (Men)

If possible, wear a suit to the interview
Belt and shoes should be same color
Avoid ties with elaborate patterns or too
many colors
A wedding ring and/or watch is generally
the only jewelry that should be worn
Head to Toe: Hair should be well groomed
and shoes should be polished

27-Apr-15

Tips Regarding Attire (Women)

A suit or dress is preferable
Skirts should meet at the top of the knee
or longer
The amount of jewelry should be
minimized
Make-up should be light
Avoid perfumes and scented powders

Hints

Dress for the position you want, not the position

you have
Men
Wear a white t-shirt under dress shirt
Helps with perspiration

Have someone help you tie your tie

Women
Pull hair back
Go easy on make up
One ring per hand

Different clothing types

Professional Dress
Interview outfit
Daily clothing for professional office setting

Business Casual Dress

Dress down Fridays or casual office environment
Career Fair

Casual Dress
Company picnic
Traveling for work

27-Apr-15

Womens Professional

Womens Business Casual

Womens Casual

27-Apr-15

Mens Professional

Mens Business Casual

Mens Casual

27-Apr-15

Starting The Interview

Be sure to arrive 10 to
15 minutes prior to the
start of the interview
Greet the interviewer
with a firm handshake
Maintain good eye
contact and posture
Make sure you are
energetic and
enthusiastic
Speak clearly and
articulate

General Tips
Practice, practice, practice your answers and
your delivery. Ask others to critique you.
If you have access to a video recorder, tape a
mock interview so you can see your nonverbal
communication.
The image you project and how you present
yourself will be either a deal-maker or
deal-breaker.
Think about questions you need to ask.
Write them down to jog your memory.

Copmpetencies required by X
Company

Adaptability
Integrity
Innovation
Teamwork
Initiative
Drive for Results
Know the Business
Open Exchange of Information
Makes Difficult Decisions

10

27-Apr-15

Behavioral Interview Techniques

STAR

METHOD

- situation
T - task
A - action
R - result

Responding to Competency Q

Q Give me an example of a problem you encountered.

How did you approach it. What was the outcome?

STAR response

S: Describe the situation

T: Explain the task/problem that arose
A: What action did you take?
R: What was the result or outcome?
What did you learn from this experience?

Standard Interview Questions

Would you tell me about yourself?

What is your greatest strength?
What is your greatest weakness?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
What about this position do you find most
appealing?
Why do you want to work for our company?
Why should we hire you?

11

27-Apr-15

Technical Questions
what they want

There is no way they can possibly measure your skill level in all the
areas accurately in such a short time

Mostly ask basic questions

Ask about previous work

To see if you were paying attention in class

To make sure you have genuinely done it

And understood what you did

Look at impact and achievement

So they take a guesstimate

Money talks if you can put a $ amount (or time or rating number)
they are sold

Looking for process/method you use to come up with answer than

answer itself

Technical Questions
what you do

Make best use of the time to showcase your skills

Breadth and depth both are important

Your interviewer will most likely know less about your field

Breadth is important only Professors work in the area they studied

Depth is important because that is the expertise you bring to the team

You have spent years on your research while managers got out of
school a while ago
Think about impressing a pretty/handsome person from fine-arts or still
worse her father
Stay away from Jargon

Give brief answers that address the question

Dont go on and on about a particular topic

Be specific enough to not sound vague and,
General enough to keep their interest

Technical Interview what if I dont know

Can you say I dont know?

Only as a last resort after you have attempted to answer

Dont guess blindly and dont shut the door
Explain or give a process by which one can find the answer
Give an instance when you have solved a similar problem
Usually they give hints listen carefully and work with the interviewer
to come up with an answer

If doubtful of the answer ask: Did I address your question?

Think aloud so they know what you are thinking

Dont be shy to use the board/pad practice drawing pictures

Draw pictures binary tree, hash table, linked list

12

27-Apr-15

Ask questions
Make sure you ask questions when given a chance

It shows you are interested

Keep them general and/or related to your technical area of expertise but
keep them relevant to the interview
Watch out to see if the interviewer is uncomfortable with the question; if
so, move on do not persist

Do not hesitate to ask clarifying questions

Next steps, contact info, about the group business etc.

GOOD Questions
What aspect of your job do you like/dislike the most?
Which group works on cutting edge data analysis
methods?
What type of training program do you have for you
new recruits?
Does the company support continuing education?
How does the company help you manage your life
and work?
What does the typical career path look like in your
group?

Inappropriate Questions

What drives you to work here?

Do you like your managers?
Do you do any data analysis at your company?
Does your company pay for classes?
How many hours do you have to work every week?
When will I be eligible for promotion?
Is alcohol allowed at your workplace?
How many days vacation will I get in the year?
How soon can I change groups in the company?
How much do you make?

Presentations
Many companies are having their graduate candidates do
presentations

Even otherwise, it does not hurt to take a couple of pages of print to

point and show you research work pictures than text

If the presentation is scheduled, ask ahead how much time you

have and what equipment they can arrange.

Keep lots of time for questions remember unlike conferences

your audience might not know your subject

Prepare for shorter than that time and do dry runs

Stay away from complex mathematics

Could provide links or hard copies to your paper

Highlight impact address the questions:

What was the problem high level, examples

What you did and how you did it?
So what? most important think application

Legal versus Illegal

Questions
It is important to understand the concept of legal versus illegal
questions. Any company wishing to avoid charges of
discrimination knows that there are some legal minefields to avoid
with respect to interview questions they may ask applicants for
positions.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!!

Arrest or police records

Disability
Age
Military service

Race/Color
Child care
Religion
National origin
Marital status

13

27-Apr-15

Legal versus Illegal

Questions
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!!
Question

Legal

Illegal

1. Thats an unusual name. Is it Polish?

2. Would you have trouble working for a
supervisor who is younger than you?

3. What are you, about 50 or so?

Legal versus Illegal

Questions
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!!
Question

Legal

Illegal

4. Do you have children?

5. The job requires frequent overnight
travel. Will your family obligations
prevent you from meeting this
requirement?

Legal versus Illegal

Questions
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!!
Question

Legal

Illegal

6. Have you ever been arrested?

7. In what branch of the military did
you serve?

14

27-Apr-15

Legal versus Illegal

Questions
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!!
Question

Legal

Illegal

8. I see you grew up in Utah. Are you

Mormon?
9. Will your disability prevent you from
bending and stooping?

Typical and not so typical

Job Interview Questions
Tell me about yourself. (Dont ramble. Stay focused on
those things about yourself that make you best qualified
for the job.)
What are your strengths? (Make sure you know what
they are before you get to the interview. Make a list.)
What are your weaknesses? (Careful of this one.
What you say can and will be held against you.)

Typical and not so typical

Job Interview Questions
How would your current (or last) boss describe
you? (Be honest . . . They may be talking to him/her)
Describe the attributes of the worst boss you ever had.
(Treat this like a minefield. A misstep could blow up in
your face. Try to put a positive spin on the negative
attributes.)

15

27-Apr-15

Typical and not so typical

Job Interview Questions
Describe a conflict or disagreement you have had at
work and explain how you handled it.
How do you react to criticism? (This is not the time
for ego)
Give an example of a risk you took at work or
school and how it turned out. What did you
learn from the outcome?

Typical and not so typical

Job Interview Questions
What is your managerial style?
Why do you want to leave your current employer?
(Positive, positive. A prospective employer doesnt
want to hear a litany of grievances against your
current employer.)
What was your most important contribution to
your last (or current) employer?

Typical and not so typical

Job Interview Questions
What accomplishment in your life are you most proud?
Would you hire you for this job? Why?
Why should we hire you over other finalists for this
position? (Of course, you wont know their
credentials, so focus on your own.)

16

27-Apr-15

Typical and not so typical

Job Interview Questions
What motivates you?
How do you motivate others to achieve their
personal best? (Keep in mind that motivation
is internal. You can only motivate yourself.)

Behavioral Interview Questions

Give me an example of a problem you encountered & how you handled it?
Give me an example of a time when you faced a lot of obstacles to
achieving a goal
Talk about a stressful situation youve experienced
Tell me about a time when youve been a team player..
Tell me about a project or role that youve taken on that is outside your job
description.
Tell me about a situation when you took the ball & ran with it.
How have you handled situations in which you had to deal with something
that you're not totally comfortable with?
How do you build your confidence?
Give me an example of how youve failed
Tell me about a time when youve had to challenge authority...

Behavioral Based
Interviewing
Behavioral
SKILL: Coping
QUESTION: Describe a high-pressure situation you had to handle at
work or school. What happened, who was involved and what did you
do in terms of resolution?
SKILL: Tolerance of Ambiguity
QUESTION: Give an example of a time when you had to deal
with frequent and unexpected changes. What does this say
about your ability to work in an ambiguous or unstructured
circumstance?

17

27-Apr-15

Behavioral Based
Interviewing
Behavioral
SKILL: Versatility
QUESTION: In work situations, as in life, we sometimes have to
compromise to make things happen. Tell me about a time when you
felt it necessary to compromise your own immediate interests in order
to be flexible and tolerant of anothers needs.

Behavioral Based
Interviewing
Leadership
SKILL: Energizing
QUESTION: Give an example of a time when your positive attitude
caused others to be motivated or energized into action. Be specific.
SKILL: Team Building
QUESTION: Building a team spirit to get results is often difficult.
Tell me about a time when you had your greatest success in building
a team spirit. What specific results did the team accomplish?

Behavioral Based
Interviewing
Leadership
SKILL: Influence
QUESTION: (1) Give an example when you first used fact and
reason to persuade others to take action. Be specific. (2) Give an
example of a time when your communication skills were powerful
enough to enable you to influence the way others thought or acted,
even in a very difficult situation.

18

27-Apr-15

Behavioral Based
Interviewing
Problem Solving
SKILL: Analytical
QUESTION: Give an example where you actively designed several
solutions to a single problem.
SKILL: Creativity
QUESTION: Give an example of a situation where you were
inventive and explored new ways of thinking. What was the
outcome?

Behavioral Based
Interviewing
Problem Solving
SKILL: Decision Making/Decisiveness
QUESTION: (1) Give an example of how you reached a practical
business decision by an organized review of the facts and weighing of
options. (2) Give an example of a situation when you had to stand up
for a decision you made even though it made you unpopular.

Behavioral Based
Interviewing
Personal Work Habits
SKILL: Commitment to Tasks
QUESTION: (1) Describe a time in which you were able to be
very persistent in order to reach goals. (2) Give an example of
any specific time in which you found it necessary to give long
hours to the job.
SKILL: Goal Setting
QUESTION: What has been your experience in defining
long and short-range goals? Tell me what specific goal
was set, how was it set, and how successful you were
in its achievement?

19

27-Apr-15

Behavioral Based
Interviewing
Personal Work Habits
SKILL: Organization and Planning
QUESTION: Many positions have well-established, standard
methods to help you do the job. Give an example of a time
when you found a systematic method for solving work problems
to be a good routine to follow. How did your planning help you
deal with the unexpected?

Behavioral Based
Interviewing
Communication
SKILL: Interaction
QUESTION: Being skillful in dealing with others on the job is an
important factor in being productive. Describe a time when you
were successful in dealing with another person because you built
a trusting and harmonious relationship.

Behavioral Based
Interviewing
Communication
SKILL: Spoken Communication
QUESTION: Careful listening and effective communication go
hand in hand. Tell about a specific time when your ability to listen
helped you communicate better. Tell about a specific experience
of yours that illustrates your ability to influence others verbally.
SKILL: Written Communication
QUESTION: In some jobs, it is necessary to document
work thoroughly. Give an example of a project you
completed that required detailed written documentation.

20

27-Apr-15

Follow-Up

Be sure to send a
thank you after you
have interviewed
A hand-written card is
preferred
If you feel you have
poor handwriting, then
a typed letter may be a
better option
Mail the card or letter
on the same day as
your interview

The verdict
4 Job is offered to you

Thank you for calling, Ill

get back to you with my
decision by the end of the
day..
4 Job is not offered
Thank you for taking the
time to interview me..
4 Professional/polite

Summary
You know yourself and what you have to offer.
You know you and the position are a match.
You know the organizations history and the
benefits you would bring to it.
You have prepared a professional resume.
Youve practiced, practiced, practiced
your delivery.
Youve selected appropriate attire.

21

27-Apr-15

Summary
You know answers to probable questions, including
behavioral-based questions.
Youve practiced your smile, eye contact,
and firm handshake.
Youve made it to the interview site on time.
This organization couldnt live without you.

Interview Marking Sheet

Name

Mark-max 100

Communication Skills

Max 30

Problem Solving

Max 20

Team Fit

Max 20

Relevant Experience

Max 20

Project Management

Max 10

Total Marks

22