Interview Preparation

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pricilla

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Hello, I have applied for a job in the Civil Service, and I really want it. I would like to start preparing for it now as best I can. I was wondering if there is such a thing as a person who can help you do a fantastic interview, and where would I begin to look.
I'm in Limerick.

Also I'd like your opinions about this... Is it a good idea to leave off your engagement ring in an interview?
My instinct is telling me to leave it off because they could think I'm going to be planning my wedding/going on honeymoon/having babies/going sick.
On the other hand, leaving it on might be good because it may look like I'm settled and wont be high-tailing it around the world any time soon. So, on or off? They probably won't even notice :D
 
Re: Interview help

pricilla said:
I was wondering if there is such a thing as a person who can help you do a fantastic interview, and where would I begin to look.
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Doing realistic mock interviews is probably a good idea. I'm sure that there are career advice consultancy business that offer this service as well as more general CV and interview preparation advice.
Also I'd like your opinions about this... Is it a good idea to leave off your engagement ring in an interview?
My instinct is telling me to leave it off because they could think I'm going to be planning my wedding/going on honeymoon/having babies/going sick.
On the other hand, leaving it on might be good because it may look like I'm settled and wont be high-tailing it around the world any time soon. So, on or off? They probably won't even notice :D
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Personally I reckon you should forget about such relatively trivial and irrelevant matters and concentrate on more fundamental preparation for the interview.
 
Re: Interview help

Thanks for the honesty Clubman! I'll get cracking on the preparation so.
 
Re: Interview help

pricilla said:
They probably won't even notice :D
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Pricilla, my wife once (successfully) interviewed for a bank job, to replace someone going on maternity leave. She herself was almost 6 months 'gone' and they didn't notice...;)

IMHO, if it's a CS post (i.e. potentially permanent & pensionable), your interviewers are likely to place quite a high premium — consciously or subconsciously — on intangible, personality-type considerations about how you'll 'fit in'/how easy you'd be to work with, etc. While an aggressive, 'go-getter' attitude would normally be seen as a necessary attribute in an interview for a cut-and-thrust job in the private sector/business/sales, it could conceivably work against you in a CS scenario. I'm generalising, but in this type of situation your prospective 'line manager' will often have an (unofficial) casting vote in the selection process, and may in some cases be keener on a pleasant, competent, dependable, 'non-threatening' type of individual than on a whizz-kid who's going to come in and start trying to 'reform' existing practices... :rolleyes:

Best of luck!
 
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Thanks very much for that, that is very helpful. I am in a semi-state company now and the attitude is similar. I just want to do the best I can, so any help is very much appreciated.
 
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A female friend removed her child car seat from her car when going for interview for a Senior Management position! She got the job, and is there a couple of years, despite having said she would never work for them having been quizzed at interview about whether she had children and if proper childcare arrangements were in place!
 
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How did that make a difference? Did the interviewers inspect her car or something?
 
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Sorry ... rushed my reply and knew it would elicit queries. She was thinking along the lines that Pricilla is currently thinking - don't let them know I have a life outside my job because it could affect the outcome.
In anticipation of further queries - yes they would have to look out the window as she was driving off to see the car seat - but that often happens after interview .... usually to check out what model car one is driving!
 
Re: Interview help

my2leftfeet said:
yes they would have to look out the window as she was driving off to see the car seat - but that often happens after interview .... usually to check out what model car one is driving!
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Really? I've never done it after interviewing people. And I've always taken public transport to interviews and don't think that it was ever held against me.
 
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Believe me ... it happens! As does being queried about kids and childcare at interview even though I believe that it is a total no no!
 
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I know that CARR COMMUNICATIONS definitely does interview preparation (either in a group or on a 1-to-1 basis, as I know somebody who recently took a 1-to-1 with them.
 
Re: Interview help

my2leftfeet said:
Believe me ... it happens! As does being queried about kids and childcare at interview even though I believe that it is a total no no!
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Yes it certainly does. At a recent interview I was asked the following questions:
How old was I (answer is on my CV)
Was I married (doh I'm wearing a wedding ring)
How long was I married
Did I have any children
Any plans to have children
Where did I live
Did I own my own home
How many bedrooms
What square foot was it.
How much did I pay for it.
And quite a few other questions that had no bearing on my ability to do the job.

I was totall incesced (sp) and conveyed all this to the recruitment agent I was dealing with. She conveyed my annoyance back to the guy interviewing me who couldn't understand why I was annoyed, thought we got on great and wanted to offer me a second interview:eek: ...dumb a**...to make matters worse he was in his early 30's so should have known better IMO.
 
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reminds me of the time I went for an interview when I was younger and was asked to "describe yourself" and I said I was stable and reliable (which I am!) and he said I sounded like an Oracle database so I told him to stuff it!
 
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In fairness, it has to be borne in mind — especially in a CS scenario such as pricilla describes — that the chief interviewer(s) may well have absolutely no training in/experience of how properly to conduct an interview. Half of the time, (s)he may well be looking across the table at you and thinking 'is this guy/girl after my job...?'

I probably shouldn't pontificate further; I've only ever gone for three 'proper' job interviews in my life, and got the job each time (Dr M pats himself smugly on the back...! :D ) But I do know/have heard of some appalling errors of judgement being made by inept/prejudiced interviewers, invariably to the greater cost and detriment of the company/organisation doing the recruiting.

To come back to my original ':confused:' — is it not strictly illegal, nowadays, to ask this kind of (technically irrelevant) personal stuff? Marital status, kids/home ownership or nay, (ethnic status, religious beliefs, voting preferences, etc.)? I'm amazed, if so...
 
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I didn't think that it was illegal to ask such questions although it is illegal to discriminate . Obviously proving a link between the two might be difficult though!
 
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Pricilla go for your interview. Don't push. Be yourself - answer any questions honestly. If you have the qualifications and, if as a person, they like the look of you then you are in. Good luck.
 
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If you are getting married in about 8 months or less, leave your engagement ring on. If you did not leave your ring on, and went on to get the job, then you would look sneaky, asking for honeymoon time off, and sporting an engagement ring.

If you are not getting married for a while, then you could leave your engagement ring off. If you get the job, you could always announce your engagement after a few months, and then look for honeymoon time off.

Also, a lot can depend on your age. If you are 40 and have ringless fingers, the employer might think you are too much of a go getter, which may not fit in with public sector. If you are 22, they might wonder why are you getting married so young.

I was trying to move out of my last position. Went for lots of interviews and left my engagement ring off. Then last year I went for an interview and left my ring on (wedding in a few months time). I waved my hands around during the interview as I was talking. Got interviewed by 2 people and no one mentioned the ring. In fact they offered me the job on the spot!!!!

Of course it helps that my ring has a few stones in an oval shape, and is not like the original solitaire/three stone ring. They probably thought my ring was a dress ring.

I was there a month when a relative of the owner noticed it and asked me when I'm getting married.

Wearing the ring could work for or against you. Wear the ring if your wedding is soon (as I said above) as you need to be reasonably honest at interviews.
 
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