I have been employed as a Chef since 1989 and had numerous interviews over those years the interviews for this profession are pretty informal and most of the time doesn’t require any preparation. I have even had three interviews with the first question that was asked was “So when can you start”? As I am approaching the end of my university study my goal now is to apply for the Queensland Government Graduate Program. So this week’s module genuinely has had a positive effect on me and has really made me think about the preparation involved in interviews.
The one interview experience that I would like to improve on is the strengths and weakness questions I have always found this to be the most challenging. I have a lot of problems in the approach to this with regards to the strength question I sometimes feel that if I state the strengths that are highlighted in the job description I am only repeating what the advertisement stated if I highlight other strengths the employer may not be looking for those particular qualities.
With regards to highlighting my weaknesses I personally find it hard to talk about them, do I disclose personal or professional weakness? I am worried about disclosing too much information and if I do highlight professional weakness will the interviewer / employer keep that in consideration and hold it against me and not give me the position.
After reading this week’s module about succeeding in interviews the most valuable information that I learned this week was about the STAR response strategy. By using this principle in the preparation for my next interview will hopefully make me a lot more confident. Other tips this week that I found interesting and will employ next interview is the “don’t rush to fill in the blanks” as I do have a occasional problem of not thinking before talking, just taking that one breath to collect my thoughts and prepare my answers will not only improve my interview responses but also save me from “putting my foot in it” in my personal life. The “Behavioural event interview question” (BEI) by having rehearsed examples of experiences that you can recall and present is defiantly something that I will include in my preparation. The immediate feedback responses is an other area that I have never paid much attention to. When I have gone for interviews and have responded to questions I just left it at that, now that I have learned this particular skill I will be asking for the immediate feedback about my responses. Finally my questions for the employer section this is another area that is a particular weakness of mine I do ask questions but always feel that they are lacking something I found the three examples highlighted on (ch5-p13) of the study guide a good starting point for me to build on.
This weeks module has been a very positive and practical experience for me I do feel personally that sometimes university is a bit too theory based and a bit detached from the “real world” this course Industry Prac is very relevant and provides you with skills and knowledge required to face the employment challenges. This week’s module on succeeding at interview has made me aware that for the interviews from now require a lot more time, research, planning and preparation to achieve a successful outcome.
Reece
