Face to Face Interviews

Interviews

Interviews can be a daunting process for some people, but handled correctly they can be a valuable learning!

The more interviews you go to, the more skilled you will become at handling situations and understand what to expect. If you are a younger or less experienced candidate, you may feel that you have no control over the situation! But you do!

There are several ways in which an interview can be carried out, which does not make it any less nerve wracking! The information here may give you some guidance. 

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Preparation

Whatever the interviewing method, preparation is vital…know about the position and property you are being interviewed for. Think about yourself. Have knowledge of yourself!

Make sure you know what position you are being interviewed for!

This may sound like a silly thing to say - of course you would know what position you were being interviewed for!

But there is more to this statement than first appears!

• What is the job title?
• What duties do you think the position entails?
• Which department?
• Think about the career progression that is possible with the role

Do some research on the position – do you have prior experience in this sort of role? If not, how are you going to prepare yourself? How will you sell your attributes?

• Think about the job process and skills that you would use in the position
• If possible try to obtain a “Job and Person Specification” and “Job Description”

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Make sure you know about the property/company

Again – not as silly as it sounds!

Do some research! The internet is a very valuable resource. Ask other people if possible. If you have time before the interview get a brochure about the property/company.

Have they won any awards?

If applicable

• How many restaurants are there?
• How many rooms?
• Do they have conference venues?
• Do they have any affiliates (i.e. Sheraton belong to Starwood)?
• Use your research to ask some questions during the interview

Even if this information is not used during the interview, it is important because it builds up your product knowledge. In turn, you will have an underlying confidence that you would not have, had you not of researched the position/company/property.

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Know yourself!

Answer some key questions about yourself!

• Why do you want the position you are being interviewed for?
• Why do you want to work for the organisation?
• What are you good at? (Think about what others have told you that you are good at)
• Think about the things that you are not so strong at…what are you doing to fix this? Do you need to fix it?
• Why should they hire you?

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Know your resume!

By now you must be thinking – are you serious? But – there are many people that don't know the contents of their own resume!

Why? Perhaps they are lying? Or, perhaps they have exaggerated their skills or experience or are not fully prepared for the interview?

There is nothing wrong with promoting your experience and skills – but try to put everything into context.

If the interviewer asks a question such as: “Tell me about your work experience” your internal voice is probably saying “look on my resume”!

NEVER say this! 

Yes, perhaps the interviewer should  be asking better questions, but it is not up to you to point this out! They may be trying to encourage you to talk – and get a deeper understanding of your previous experience and personality!

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Find out who will be interviewing you

Always try to get an understanding of who will be interviewing you.

Is it a representative from the Human Resource /Personnel Department? Is it a department head?

If you can find out, it may give you a clue as to what questions to prepare for. Generally speaking Human Resource representatives are more experienced at interviewing and will be trying to get an understanding of you, how you fit the organisation and your experience.

A department head will be more interested in your technical skill and experience. They will want to know if you will fit into the department. What you will add to the department? They may ask you questions about process and technique. Make sure you are ready!

There is no point describing the sequence of service for a silver service restaurant when you are being interviewed for a Banquet Position!

Just in case – prepare for both scenarios!

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Have questions ready for the interviewer

At the conclusion of most interviews (or during) it is usual practice to be asked if you have any questions. Some questions may naturally arise from the interview but if they don’t, have some prepared.

Not asking questions shows lack of interest and a unique or informed question may make you stand out from the rest of the applicants.

During the interview, if the interviewer inadvertently answers a question from your prepared list, cross it off. If you forget and ask it, it will seem as if you were not listening.

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Face to face interviews

Face to face interviews can be daunting! But it is a good format as you can get an instant reaction to your application and ask questions.

Some tips to remember!

• Grooming – always go dressed appropriately - dress to impress! 
• Arrive at least five minutes before your interview time – arriving too early is as bad as arriving late!
• Turn off your mobile phone!
• Take a copy of your resume with you
• If you are nervous take a few deep breaths and try to focus (remember the acronym STOP and in your head do the following!
  
  
  • S = Stop
  • T = Take a step backwards
  • O = Organise your thoughts
  • P = Proceed
    
• Make eye contact with the interviewer – this will help develop a good rapport
• Take your cues from the body language of the interviewer! Are they bored? Are they listening to you?
• Lean forward slightly to express your interest. Shoulders back and head up shows confidence. Avoid fidgeting, as it will make you seen nervous or insecure.
• Speaking quickly may indicate nervousness – conversely speaking more slowly tends to indicate comfort and confidence

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Telephone Interviews

Telephone interviews have their advantages and disadvantages.

They are good because you can be comfortable in your own environment and the interviewer cannot see if you are nervous, however can also be difficult as you have no visual cues from the person interviewing you which makes it difficult to know if they are bored, disinterested or distracted!

Some tips for telephone interviews:

• Make sure you are in a quiet room with no other distractions. Make sure your mobile is off.
• Have your resume and any other relevant information with you.
• Don’t always feel the need to fill in gaps in the conversation – you may over explain yourself.
• Speak clearly and slowly – the same rules apply as to face to face interviews.
• Breathe deeply and relax. Speak clearly and with purpose.
• Smile, it changes your speech and the person on the other end can sense it. You can tell when a person is smiling on the phone – and no one else is with you so it doesn’t matter what you look like!
• Tell the interviewer if you are nervous!
• Do not hang up until the interviewer has hung up.
• Remember to thank the interviewer and ask what the next step is or when you will be likely to hear from them!
• Think about some of habits you have – they become more apparent on the telephone! Do you say “erm” or giggle a lot? Be clear with your pronunciation.
• If possible ask someone to do a mock telephone interview with you.
• If you do not understand a question – be honest – ask for clarity.

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The Panel Interview

Sometimes interviews will be conducted by more than one person – and this is known as a Panel Interview.

Interviewing is conducted this way when there are several interested parties or perhaps company policy dictates this. They may be conducted like this to ensure fairness and/or equity.

There is generally a chairperson of the panel and this person will conduct all of the formal proceedings like introducing each member of the panel and their role.

When in a panel interview:

• Give each member of the panel equal consideration and make eye contact.
• Try to remember their names and use them – you should have paper and pen with you.
• Try not to be intimidated by any one person.
• Try to create a rapport with as many members of the panel as possible.

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Do…

• Accept that the person interviewing you will not know EVERYTHING about the organisation!
• Accept that they may not meet ALL of your expectations
• Accept that the position may not be suitable for you!
• Learn from the interview!
• Talk about how you are going to benefit the organisation – not how the organisation can benefit you!

Do not….

• Try to prove to the interviewer that you how clever you are...and do not try to intimidate the interviewer! Do you really need to know what the latest financial results are…or how their Mission Statement has been developed? These are important things for the organisation – but NOT at your first interview!
• Talk badly about companies / people you have worked with or for!
• Get discouraged if you know the interview has not gone well – try to learn from it so you can manage the situation more effectively next time

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Reasons for not getting the job?

“You are over qualified”

This is a hard thing to hear and quite often the immediate reaction is to think that they are just saying this! But think more carefully about it!

• Yes, it could be an excuse

or…

• It may be true!

They may think you will get bored very easily!

You may be thinking that you just want the experience!

In reality, if you take a position that is below your skill and experience level you may get bored and frustrated. At this point you will forget all of those promises you made in the interview!

From an employer’s perspective, it is very expensive to recruit staff. Think about it…advertising, training…how long is it before you are a productive member of the team? If you are bored you may have a negative impact on other members of the team and ultimately leave the company.

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Interview questions to help you prepare

Below are some questions that you may get asked…of course this is not exhaustive but may give you some guidelines

• Tell me about yourself
• Of which personal accomplishments are you most proud?
• What are your strengths? / What are your weaknesses?
• Tell me about the worst or best Supervisor you have had
• Describe a problem you have encountered in the workplace and how you handled it

Remember the rule about saying nothing negative about past employers or co-workers

Focus on accomplishments, and do not blame or say anything negative about your supervisor/colleagues

• How do you handle conflict? Tell me about a time that you have had to handle conflict – what did you do?
• How do you react to negativity or gossip from co-workers?
• If you found out a co-worker was/is dishonest, what would you do?
• If you were unable to meet a commitment or deadline, what would you do?
• How do you handle complaints from customers?
• Why should we employ you?
• Do you prefer to work alone or in a group?
• Describe how you motivate your staff or fellow team members.
• How would your staff or team members describe you?
• How would your current Supervisor describe you?
• Where do you want to be in five years?

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Psychometric Testing

Psychometric testing is common in organisations and their use in the hospitality industry is increasing.

As psychometric tests are most commonly timed tests, taken under examination conditions, some people find them a daunting prospect and become nervous at the thought.

So what are they?

Psychometric tests are designed to provide a measure of people’s traits, abilities, skills, and interests. By measuring these characteristics an organisation can make decisions about recruitment and selection, individual and team development, organisational change and career direction.

They are not only used for the interview process…they can be used to asses and develop the team or individual too.

As the name suggests, psychometric tests are generally designed by psychologists and help form the employer's overall profile of you and, importantly, of how you may operate in their workplace. They are not used in isolation – rather they help in the decision making process and form part of the overall assessment of an applicant’s suitability for a position.

Testing may be conducted on the premises of the organisation, over the internet (timed and with a password) or less frequently, it may be a series of questions over the telephone.

Primarily psychometric tests are designed to:

• Observe how often a candidates indulges in specific kinds of behaviour,
• Discover the candidates power of self-observation,
• See how the candidate reacts in certain situations.

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Other Testing Methods

Personality Tests

Personality testing is used in the belief that personality traits and characteristics can be measured. This then assumes that the presence or not of certain traits will make you more of less suitable for a particular position.

Your answers are analyzed and a profile of you developed. This will then be compared to the profile of the person the employer is seeking.

Aptitude Tests

Aptitude (ability) tests are relatively simple written tests and are used to assess your numerical, verbal, comprehension, and abstract or spatial reasoning skills. They have a built in “anti cheat” factor which allows a very clear idea of the individuals abilities.

Often aptitude tests are used to narrow down the number of “apparently” suitable candidates when a large number of applications have been received. The tests are normally carried out in a controlled environment.

Things to remember about testing

• Don’t answer by saying what you think they want to hear,
• Obtain as much information about the position prior to sitting the test,
• Ask for the results of the test so you can analyse your abilities and the traits that the test shows.

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