INTERVIEW PREP

Interview Prep - Rafa

1. What role are you applying for? What do you need help with? What do you dread the most in an interview?

2. Practice Questions / Before or after?

3. Break down of interview

4. STARR method

5. Filler sentences

6. Questions to ask at the end

7. Enthuasim - wanting the job and being the best in the room

Interview Structure

It's more simple than you think - every single question can filter broadly into 3 'WHY' questions:

1. Why you?
2. Why this company / industry?
3. Why this role?

Interview Structure

1. Why you?

• It is OK and desirable to be ‘human’; not too 'jokey' but show that you are confident and personable
• Match your qualities to what they list and are looking for in the job description

2. Why this company / industry?

• How would you fit well within their company ?
• Know and research the basics: Who is the CEO? Who are their main clients? What is their culture?
• If you put in a different firm, does it work ? If YES - then it’s too vague

3. Why this role?

• This has to be the most genuine answer; dig deep to find your 'why'
• It can equally be why things haven't worked out in the past; draw from your past experiences

SITUATION

TASK

STARR method

A concise way to structure questions asking about your competencies and skills. Absolutley key technique - (Luisa noticed it when interviewing for her assistant)

RESULT

ACTION

Quantify this in numbers

REFLECTION

* Most important section

"To complete my studies, I had to write a 15,000 word dissertation"

"I studied a demanding Politics degree at the University of Manchester"

STARR method

Example in practice

"Out of 500 essays, I was awarded the Prize for Best Politics Dissertation in my cohort"

"I independently analysed over 50 sources, extracting relevant information to construct a powerful thesis about why Bolsonaro won the 2016 elections.

"Looking back, this experience has been instrumental in developing my strong written, communication and analysis skills which a skill of paramount importance for lawyers. In house lawyers constantly have to analyse and research information to present back to the client. I think I would be well equipped for this due to my time at university.

Filler sentences:

• Hard questions are inevitable - but there are ways to not feel the pressure

• It's OK to take time to think for certain questions. That is better than a 'throwaway answer' and shows you are confident.
• Don't buy time to think if it should be an obvious answer e.g. 'why do you want this job' - you need to research beforehand and know these inside out prior to the interview

• Preparation is absolutely key but even the most prepared candidates may not have an answer to everything.
• Employers throw curveball questions on purpose because they want to see how you will handle it.
• In these cases, it is important to show proactiveness to learn from mistakes/shortfallings.

IF YOU HONESTLY DON'T KNOW

BUYING TIME TO THINK

"That is a really good/interesting question. No one has asked me that in a while so let me take a minute or two to think. [PAUSE]. Having reflected, I think....

"I'm not too familiar with X although I have heard about it briefly. If I had to make an educated guess based on what I already know, I would say X. I'll definitely look into this further post-interview.

Stock questions to ask at the end

• It is instrumental to ask questions at the end if they give you the opportunity to do so.
• It shows are you interested in the company and want to learn more.
• People love talking about themselves - don't feel awkward asking questions about their career/the company.
• Have these 'stock questions' ready before the interview.
• The questions will be different depending on whether your question is with HR first or with the employer directly.

RECRUITER/HR

EMPLOYER

1. I have heard that the culture at X is Y.. would you agree? What do you enjoy most about working at X? 2. Can you explain to me the company structure in greater detail? I have read that X has offices in A, B and C but how do they work together? Is there much interaction between them? To cover up a deficency in the interview: 3. I noticed that potentially I don't have as much knowledge about Y.. do you have any courses/articles that you recommend to enhance my learning on Y?

1. Are there any other interns in the department currently? 2. Will there be a period of training prior to starting work? 3. What are the next steps in the interview/hiring process?

* This is really important. If you ask a question about the company itself - make sure you lead with some research you have ALREADY done on it. Otherwise, it can backfire and make you sound unaware.

Attitude

• It may sound cheesy... (sorry in advance) but it's true! 🧀
• When I asked my boss several months after why I got the job, he said.. "You wanted it the most". (Hired above people with Masters, law degrees, more legal work experience than me)

• You need to be enthuastic, human, personable
• Prepare before to feel relaxed and confident (I filmed myself answering questions - speak to the mirror, in the shower etc)

• Go into the interview with the mind frame that you ARE the most qualified, best fit and keen for the job
• If you don't know specifics but have good attitude, people will be more willing to take you on and train you because you have a 'moldable' and have a positive 'can-do' outlook
• Don't be intimidated by a lack of experience in a certain sector - service jobs, customer service-facing jobs and even just being involved in soceities at school all have extremely TRANSFERABLE skills, which you can twist to be very valuable in any work setting and above all, it will set you apart.

Practice Round: Questions & Feedback

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself
2. What interests you about this internship? What are you hoping to gain?
3. Curveball question: E.g. Who is our biggest competitor?
4. This intership requires a lot of X - can you tell us about a time you showed X?
5. Do you have any questions for us?

Anything else I can help with? Message me anytime 📨