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Job Interview, what to bring (1 Viewer)

Wild Dan Hibiki

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hey guys i have a job interview on monday and i was wondering wat i have to bring to the interview. also can someone post some of the usual questions that are asked in interviews cause i remember when i had a mock interview i just froze for like 5 minutes when the dude asked a question.
 

neuro_logik

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Give a firm handshake and look them in the eye.
Be confident! When you first step in the place you want to look like you are confident to everyone, the other people working there, etc.
Dress neatly!
Don't say anything bad about yourself during the interview.
Stay calm, they are not going to shoot you.

Thats about all that I know, good luck!
 

Wild Dan Hibiki

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umm i meant wat to bring as in resume and crap. oh wells thanks for the tips anyways
 

Wild Dan Hibiki

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ok thats it right? cause i have to change my tax file details and i was like scared some stupid crap will happen
 

LeftrightOut

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Find out how many are on the panel and make X amount of photocopies so each can see your portfolio at the same time. Even though they might have a copy of these already with your application if they don't it's bad having to wait for someone to finish reading something and means one person will always be reading and not paying attention.

You didn't mention what type of job you were going for, a higher level job usually has harder questions than an entry level one. Some even have exams.

Some usual questions i've had:
Why do you want to work for us?
What do you think your strengths are?
What do you think your weaknesses are?
What do you know about our company?
What do you know about the position?
What kind of salary would you be looking for?
Why did you leave your last place of employment?
What makes you think you would fit in with our company culture?
Have you ever worked for someone you disagreed with? How did you handle that?
If you found an employee stealing what would you do?
If you were asked to act in an unethical or illegal manner by your supervisor what would you do?
Describe your ideal job.
Do you have any questions you would like to ask us?

They usually ask open ended questions and you have to sell yourself the best way you know how by answering. Make sure you stay positive, if you think you have a weakness show how it can also be a strength and how you are working to fix it and so on. For example if your weakness is you like to take your time making decisions then say this shows you are thorough and like to avoid mistakes the first time around instead of having to fix things later. Then go on about you are adaptive enough to handle mistakes which is a strength but if given the choice you'd like to avoid them. Say that with a slight smile, most times the interviewers will nod in agreement or even give a chuckle because everyone has been at the hands of someone incompetent who rushes in.

Use humour and tone to keep it light hearted but don't treat it like a stand up comedy act.

Think about what the interviewers are looking for, if they can identify with you it is harder for them to say they have a bad vibe. Read the job description so you know what is expected, also do a little research on the company. People hate it when you apply for a job and have no idea what it's about or who the employer is because it makes it look like you just sent your resume to everyone and didn't really care enoguh to do research. Make sure to think of answers to the other questions above. Think up justifications for each answer as well, a yes/no or one word reply doesn't cut it for most jobs, they need to know you can think on your feet and talk if needed.

The more interviews you do the easier it gets :)
 

LeftrightOut

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neuro_logik said:
Give a firm handshake and look them in the eye.
Be confident! When you first step in the place you want to look like you are confident to everyone, the other people working there, etc.
Dress neatly!
Also make sure to look at everyone when answering your questions, don't just talk to one person even if it is the person who asked the question. If someone has a huge growth on their face don't go staring at it.

neuro_logik said:
Don't say anything bad about yourself during the interview.
Stay calm, they are not going to shoot you.
If you have nothing negative to say they might consider you to be too up yourself and not realise that everyone has faults. It also makes them more suspicious about what you have to hide. Don't dwell on it, make sure that you turn it into something positive but be honest enough with them that you do have something negative like everyone else. Pick out your negatives before the interview.

And afterwards ask if you could get some feedback on the interview at some stage. It can help you get the job because it looks like you actually care how it went or how you can improve your technique.
 

Wild Dan Hibiki

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:eek: i thought it was just going to be a one on one interview. it's gonna be at dick smith so i guess its an entry level job. i hope it isnt though
 

Wild Dan Hibiki

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some lady called me up so i dont have a job description. i vaguely remember her saying something about data entry and carrying boxes :confused:
 

LeftrightOut

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Should be easy then :) So is it a sales or warehouse position? Will you be up front selling to people or out back moving stuff around all the time?

If it's an up front job then you need to feel confident in the interview and mention your people skills because they don't want someone who will freeze when talking to customers. If it's warehouse then mention strong work ethic and so on.

Either way you will need to mention you work equally well in groups and alone unsupervised, they love to hear things like that.
 

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LeftrightOut said:
Use humour and tone to keep it light hearted but don't treat it like a stand up comedy act.
hahahaha, i don't know why that's funny, but it is :uhhuh:
 

Wild Dan Hibiki

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shit i gotta find out how to get there. does anyone know the number to call for info on when buses come and stuff?
 

Wild Dan Hibiki

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eh? LOL maybe i should've made my question more understandable. i meant how long do you think my responses to their questions should be?
 

LeftrightOut

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Wild Dan Hibiki said:
eh? LOL maybe i should've made my question more understandable. i meant how long do you think my responses to their questions should be?
hehe sorry bout that :)

Did they give you any idea how long the interview might take? You will be able to see for yourself when there they all vary but my guess is they will mostly be easy ones. At most maybe 3 minutes if you think it's a really big question but usually just 1-2 minutes for the easy questions that you just want to add a little bit more than a yes/no to. Don't go looking at your watch though, they might think you are bored. Just answer each question with how you have handled something similar in the past or how you will be able to add value to something to do with the question and they will move you onto the next question when they feel you are ready.

Let the interviewers control the speed, if they feel they want you to talk about something in more details they will usually ask a question if you could elaborate or something similar.
 

toisthbe

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i use to bring all my shit, certificates and highschool crap. but when you're at my stage, where you realise, and you have the mindset that, the employer WANTS you, not the other way around, then all you need is your resume.

So I just bring my resume, bank details, and TFN and some ID.
Confidence is it.
 

LeftrightOut

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toisthbe said:
i use to bring all my shit, certificates and highschool crap. but when you're at my stage, where you realise, and you have the mindset that, the employer WANTS you, not the other way around, then all you need is your resume.
Just curious as to what kind of jobs this is for? I know if all I turned up for an interview with is my resume then i'd be in deep crap, but then again I am used to seeing people bring laptops with presentations into interviews to showcase skills and prior work.

All your attendance certificates and simple stuff you can drop but the majors you should still bring along with photocopies.

Then again i've never had to take my bank details and TFN to an interview, that is usually handled prior to employment down the track.
 

toisthbe

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LeftrightOut said:
Just curious as to what kind of jobs this is for?
well telemarketing($13+comm) or specialised direct sales($15+comm) or data entry jobs($16+)?
i dont apply for retail shops, food stores and big stores like bigW and woolworths anymore.
 

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