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EXPERIENCE:
INTERVIEW SKILLS In today’s competitive job market, hiring organizations are spending a great amount of time, resources and money to ensure that the screening, interviewing and selection processes deliver high-quality candidates that will produce desired results for the organization. Research has shown that job performance, job satisfaction and retention increase significantly if an organization hires the “right fit” for the organization. Targeted selection is a behavioral-based interviewing process, which provides hiring employers with specific data that allows them to predict future behavior on the job. Employers want to collect information on the knowledge, motivations and behaviors needed to do a job successfully, and they will determine if you are the “right fit” based upon your previous experiences. In other words, what you have done in the past, is a predictor of what you will do in the future and how you will perform on the job. Most often, behavioral-type questions are included in the interview process. This requires preparation and practice in advance of the interview. When a recruiter gathers examples of behavior in an interview, he/she wants to get the “real story.” An easy way to give the recruiter the “real story” is to use the word STAR to describe a complete behavioral example. Responses to the questions should be framed with the STAR model in mind. Elements of a STAR
What has been your proudest accomplishment? Situation/Task: When I was a junior in college, I was having difficulty with calculus. On my first test, four weeks into the class, I received a C- on the test, and I was really discouraged. This was the first time that I had received a C on any test. I knew that I had to do something differently, because I knew that the class was going to continue to be tough. Action: I had always heard that tutoring was available to the students, but I had never taken advantage of the assistance. One day after class I asked my professor if she could give me some information about how to acquire the assistance of a tutor. I went on to tell her that I was struggling with the class, and wanted to strive for at least a B average. As luck would have it, she told me that she would be my tutor. We started meeting that week for two hours a week. Result:
Beyond the two hours that I spent with my professor, I also
carved out an additional three hours to study on my own. This
really helped me. On the next test, I received a B+, and on
the final exam I received an A. For the final grade, I received
a B+. Describe a work decision you have made that you wish you could do over. Situation/Task: Last year I miscalculated a big project. I had assigned a high visibility project to one of my project managers. This person came to me and asked to be reassigned, because he didn’t believe that he could do what was required by the project. Action: I thought that the project manager was more than ready for the challenge, and I convinced him to continue on with the project. My thoughts were that this individual needed more support and direction on the project, and I was certain that all of us would prevail. What I really underestimated was the difficulty of the project, because the project called for someone with outstanding technical ability and negotiating skills. No one on my team had this skill set. Once I came to this realization (four weeks later), I pulled the project manager off the assignment, and sought the assistance of an outside consultant. Result:
We lost eight weeks on the project, but I delivered a top-notch
end product. Once I realized the full scope and complexity
of the project, I was able to quickly and effectively turn the
project around. In the end, the project delivered what the
organization needed, and I received positive reviews from my
director. Write
a response to the following questions based on the STAR model.
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