Posts Tagged ‘jokes’
Competency Based Interviews – 6 Steps to Success!
Competency based interviews are intended to get the best from you, the candidate, whilst also fulfilling the needs of the organisation to get the very best person for the job. There are some easy steps to make the most of yourself and have a much better chance of success.
As long as you know the job you are going for, ask for details of what you will be measured against. Ask for a set of competencies. Ask for a job description. This sets you up to succeed, not just because you are better informed, but also because you have asked – which will impress the decision-makers, before you even get there!
Here is the time to use your own experiences to create ’stories’ which you can use in the actual interview. These ’stories’ are real scenarios that you have been a part of, which over a period of days and weeks beforehand, you write up. Maybe you will have 20+ initial ideas.
Take the very best scenarios and write them out, bullet points first. Then flesh them out, whilst referring carefully to the competencies you’ve been given. It is amazing how you can ‘tune-in’ your scenario to include many, if not all of the competencies. And if you can’t fit them all in, there will be a use for them – later!
By reading through your scenarios (and by now you should not have more than six or seven) you will familiarise yourself with the contents, so well, that they will become second nature – even in the scary experience of an interview.
There are some tactics in here too!
- Using your scenarios make just three key points about what you’ve been asked. Make them relevant and the right ‘weight’. Not too long or too short.
- After that, leave space for them to ask more – that’s what they are listening for.
- Say ‘I’ a lot – they want to know what your personal involvement and experience was, not ‘the team’ or ‘they’.
- Have fun – whilst not contrived, smile and make some simple jokes, if you feel comfortable with that – they want to employ happy as well as capable people.
- Can’t answer? That’s fine. Make sure that you reflect on your shortcomings by saying things like, ‘It’s one of the first things I want to develop in my next job – if you did your stuff on your scenarios and your competencies well enough, you will have covered 90% of the bases well and you’ll be forgiven for not being ‘perfect’. If you are really stumped – say so!
- Ask questions – relevant, about their culture, focus on developing you, opportunities – the positive ‘peopley’ things (remember it’s your chance to see if you want to work with them!).
- Also ask about current issues they may be facing – you did do your homework on them, didn’t you?
Keep the whole thing light, even as you leave at the end. Have a conversation in general terms – about anything! Do make sure that you ask them some things that are about them – they will love it if you ask them some open (what, how, when, where, who) general questions about your new job! About something nice in the building or their clothes – take as it comes and do what feels comfortable!
Remember that competencies are there to help you and they provide a guide-map for your competency based interview success!
© 2005 Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com. (Note to editors. Feel free to use this article, wherever you think it might be of value – it would be good if you could include a live link)
…helping you, to help your people, to help your business grow…
How To Become A Polished Public Speaker In Just One (1) Day
The fear of speaking in public ranks right up there with the fear of death. I had the same fear myself until I was chosen to be an electronics trainer for the Air Force. It was only then I realized just how afraid and lousy at speaking I really was. I went to my first day of the 8 week training course excited and looking forward to learning a skill that many have never mastered. I soon found out I was really terrible and needed a lot of practice.
Practice? Yes, that and knowledge are all it takes to become a really great speaker in a very short time. I even have the first video they made of my very first speech. I still look at it sometimes when I need a good laugh. I was talking about investing in the stock market, and my hands did pretty much whatever they wanted. My hands decided, for some weird reason, to perform something known well among speakers as the “fig leaf”.
Remember Adam and Eve? They were supposed to have worn fig leaves. Because I did not know what to do with my hands during that first speech, my hands decided for themselves to cover my crotch, clasped together with white knuckles. Geez, how embarassing. I never did that again while speaking!
I told you this story so you can laugh along with me. I also wanted it to help you understand some of the basics about becoming a great speaker.
1. Practice your speech over and over. There are several good reasons for this. The first reason is time. There’s nothing worse than “going over” the time limit your client gave you. Another good reason is to find out if you really know the material you’ll be talking about. Video taping yourself will show you mountains of improvement that must be done!
2. Write your speech out completely on paper first. While practicing (in front of a mirror always), slowly get away from “reading” your speech to just talking about it. Eventually, as you memorize what you’re going to say, you won’t need notes.
3. Always stand with your body (especially your mouth) facing the audience. This will feel strange at first, because your initial inclination will be to turn away from them. If you are using a presentation board or whiteboard, make sure that you write, then turn around and talk to them about it. Point to it with a pointer while facing them and speaking. So many speakers go to write on a board and end up talking to the board!
4. Your hands should exercise natural gestures while you’re speaking. Don’t flail your arms around or play “pocket pool” with the change in your pockets. Avoid nervous gestures like playing with your tie, or twisting your hair, waving a pointer around, or rubbing your nose. Speaking first in front of a mirror will help you avoid these later. While looking in the mirror, watch what stupid, nervous things you tend to do and be very aware of them always.
5. When you see your audience start to yawn or begin squirming, get your jokes ready. If you’re a natural comedian, you will be able to come up with one on the fly. If you’re not a natural comedian, have a couple of your favorite anecdotes ready to tell when they are needed.
6. Watch the audience closely. They are the most important element in your speech. If you have to, pick one person out and ask them questions to make the speech more interesting.
7. Speak with a voice that is neither too low, too high-pitched, or just plain monotone. Inject tone in your voice in every sentence. Practice this in front of a mirror so your speeches don’t become something people forget.
8. Your enthusiasm will make you memorable. The subject, I hope, is something you are very enthusiastic about, and it should show. The twinkle in your eye, the tone of your voice, and your body movements should suggest excitement and interest. It will rub off on your audience. You’ll see them sit up in their chairs and start really paying attention.
9. Look at everyone while you are speaking. Don’t pick out just one part of the room to talk to. The rest of the room will wonder if you’ve got a buddy in that part of the audience! Speak to all of them.
10. Know your subject thoroughly. Those mornings when I felt I had not studied enough the night before made me feel very uncomfortable with the electronics subject I was teaching that day. I like to study at night, sleep on it, and then I would really be ready the next day. If I tried to study just before the speech, it was never quite as effective. No matter what, knowing your subject well puts you at ease. This also puts your audience at ease.
11. Make sure you end your speech with something that sounds like a summary or ending. I don’t know how many times I have listened to speeches where the speaker just stops! There’s a long pause while the audience tries to figure out if that was it or not. Then comes some sprinkled clapping, unsure at first. How humiliating! Your ending should sound like a real ending.
If you are a writer, salesman, consultant, or any number of other business-related professionals, there will be times when you will be asked to speak in front of an audience. A lot of practice and preparation will make you great!
About The Author
Lynne Schlumpf – Author of “The Little Website That Could” Win a free copy of the book here: http://www.littlewebsitethatcould.net
