Office Professionals, Administrative Professionals, Administrative Assistants, Virtual Assistants and Executive Assistants supported by Deskdemon with tools and information to help empower them in their careers.

CVs and Interviews

Interviewing others

Not sure what to ask when you’re interviewing?

I think that you need to find out their outside interests and how they deal with other people, i.e:

Do they play sport and if so are they captain of a team?
Do they do charity or volunteer work?
Are they involved with children or youth clubs?
How do they relax, what do they get up to in their spare time?
Do they get involved in organising events or nights out for friends?

I have done this a couple of times with potential employers and it has resulted in me getting the job. They just want to see how you react outside of an interview situation. Also note if they arrived at the venue on time!

Gee4 (from The Hub)

In an interview

Need help beating interview nerves? Remember that you’re interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you…

They have your CV before them and would not have asked you to the interview if they were not interested (unless they are going through some politically-correct ritual of "we must interview people even though we are going to appoint Ms X from the mail room"). Additionally, you KNOW what YOU can offer THEM - why else would you be sitting there? How about what they can offer you? In addition to the usual questions about pay and conditions, I often ask my interviewers, at some point in the interview, the following questions: What are the positive aspects of working here? What are the negative aspects? What attracted you to work in this company? People generally like to talk about themselves. These questions never fail to press the right buttons.

Raindance (from The Hub)

Preparing for an interview

To help get over your nervousness, you may check around and see if anyone in your area is offering sessions on getting jobs. Most of these that I've seen are free and include practice interviewing, where one person is the 'employer' and one the 'interviewee' and then you switch roles. If you can't find anything like this, get with a friend and have them ask those difficult questions. Go into it like it was real... get gussied up, bring your portfolio, etc, whatever it takes to make it seem as real to you as possible. Go over interview question possibilities and what your answers would be, so that you have ideas in mind for these questions already and don't have to try to think on the spur of the moment. Also write out questions that you want to ask them.

If you don't feel that you really look the part, get someone to help you put together an outfit for interviewing. I have one suit that I wear, because I feel professional and powerful in it. And it doesn't have to be anything that costs a lot. Hit the sales racks, put something together from your closet, or combine with what you have and only 1 or 2 other pieces to mix-and-match for any weather contingencies. The main idea is that the more you practice, the more you do it, the more confident you'll feel and present yourself.

CountriGal (from The Hub)

You’ve just completed a temp assignment, and the boss is too busy to write you a reference. They say that you can write it yourself, and they’ll sign – where do you start?

Take what you do, insert adjectives to describe how well you do it, and presto! And if your boss has given any feedback (i.e. you're just so organised, I really appreciate that about you), then incorporate that into it. Take time to write it well, checking spelling and all that, since you are getting the chance to actually ensure that what goes into your reference letter makes you look the best you can.

CountriGal (from The Hub)

What to say when asked for your weaknesses…

Interviewers are looking to see how well you evaluate yourself and your work. Keep your weakness work-related, and give a positive spin (don't say it's getting up in the morning, even if it is true!) Mine is that I want to do everything myself because otherwise it tends to get done wrong! But let them know that you are working to correct your weakness - if it's one that should be corrected. i.e. "One of my weaknesses is delegating work to others. To help with this, I've written detailed notes on the specific job that I'm giving to another person, so that I know it will get done correctly."