 SHRM Presentation
"Interviewing
techniques and
strategies from a career planning perspective"
October 4th at 3:30 in
PH349-Meghan Pfaller
What this means to me is how can you do a job
search in your field and land an interview!
If you are an accounting major you don't want to
work in sales or if you are a Management major
you don't want to end up in Financial Planning.
If you want to work in HR you don't want to end
up NOT in HR!
INTERVIEWING TECHNIQUES AND
STRATEGIES
 1: Interview for as many jobs
as you can
-Let's assume you have focused your search on
certain types of jobs and types of employers.
-Some seem close but others don’t quite fit.
-But limiting your job search limits the
possibilities.
-Once you create too many filters and
requirements, you can easily overlook
opportunities. -
-You never know when an interview for a
“not-quite-right” job will result in a
surprising match.
Why you should interview as much as
possible:
You need the practice.
Interviewing will refine your job search.
Interviewing will make your network stronger.
Interviewing may lead to unexpected
opportunities.
2: Develop a compelling story
-The way your life has evolved; the things
you’ve learned; your achievements, failings, and
dreams—these things are unique to you and much
more interesting than you realize.
-Sharing your well thought out story is a
powerful interviewing technique.
-So learn to tell your story and tell it
well, especially for interviewing and networking
purposes.
Your stories:
-Give you confidence
-Increase your self-awareness
-Bring humanity to your resume
-Make you memorable and set you apart
Developing your story for job interviews
-What emerges as your passion? Mentoring others,
doing research, helping a specific type of
client, advancing knowledge in your field? What
gives you joy? Are you a teacher, a leader, an
entrepreneur, a risk taker?
-Practice makes perfect
-Once you’ve developed your story, the next step
is to practice telling it—saying it out loud,
ideally to others.
-The ultimate test will be the next time someone
says, "Tell me about yourself."
3: Tailor your story to the
job
-Lining up the stories that apply to the
opportunity at hand is critical.
-You should also think about stories you can
tell in the interview that reveal your skill
set.
-Don’t rely on your ability to think on your
feet. Anticipate the questions and have answers
at the ready.
You may want to start by developing your
stories around these areas:
-State times where you either made money or
saved money for your current or previous
company.
-Focus on a crisis or two in your life or job
and how you responded or recovered from it.
-A time where you functioned as a part of a team
and what that contribution was.
-A time in your career or job where you had to
deal with stress.
-A time in your job where you provided
successful leadership or a sense of direction.
-The failures you faced in your job and how you
overcame them.
-The seminal events that happened during your
career that caused you to change direction and
how that worked out for you.
4: Be prepared
-The better prepared you are, the more
comfortable you will be when the questions start
coming your way.
Job interview preparation tips:
-Do your research. Gather information about the
company and the position available. Try to
specifically relate your experience to the
duties the job opportunity entails.
-Practice interviewing.
-Record your practice sessions. Pay attention to
body language and verbal presentation. Eliminate
extra movements and verbal fillers, like “uh,”
and “um.”
-Handle logistics early. Have your clothes,
resume, and directions to the interview site
ready ahead of time, to avoid any extra stress.
-Don’t forget about your references
-Don’t let your references be the last to know
about your job search, or even worse, get an
unexpected call from a potential employer.
-Are your references relevant to your current
job search?
5: Anticipate likely questions
-Employers often turn to behavioral
interviewing, an interviewing style which
consists of a series of probing, incisive
questions.
Sample behavioral interview questions
include:
-Describe a situation in which you didn’t meet
your stated goal, how did you handle it?
-Tell us about a situation in which you
encountered resistance from key people, how did
you convince the person or people to do what you
wanted?
-Describe a situation in which you took the
initiative to change a process or system and
make it better, how did you identify the
problem? How did you go about instituting
change?
Preparing good interview answers
-Review your research about the company and the
position.
-Make a list of key attributes for your desired
job.
-Write sample interview questions that are
likely to uncover the attributes you identified
as important.
-Create answers to the sample interview
questions based on a template such as “Situation
– Action – Result” with specific details from
your work experience.
-Practice answering the interview questions and
follow-up questions so that you are very
familiar with several detailed examples/stories.
Rehearse key points.
-Learn how to communicate better and have more
confidence
6: Ask questions during the
interview
-Being prepared and asking great questions about
the position and the employer shows your
interest during the interview.
-Try to be thoughtful and self-reflective in
both your interview questions and your answers.
-Be prepared to talk about which areas would
present challenges and how you would address
them.
Questions to ask potential employers in
job interviews
-The people who do well at your company: what
skills and attributes do they usually have?
-What do you like best about working at _____?
-What results are expected?
-What specific problems are you hoping to solve
during the first six months?
-Who are the key internal customers? Any special
issues with them?
-What happened to the person who had this job
before?
-What communication style do you prefer?
-What is your philosophy regarding on-the-job
growth and development?
-What are your goals for the department?
7: Focus on commonalities
If you set out with the intention to discover
how you and the person interviewing you are
connected and what you share, you will discover
commonalities much faster. And the interviewing
process will be much less intimidating because
of it.
Tips for discovering commonalities with
your interviewer:
-Do your research.
-Listen and pay attention.
-Lead with your interests and passions. How you
introduce yourself and talk about yourself in
the interview matters.
-Find common ground in the context. There is a
reason why both of you find yourself at this
unique place and time. Why are you both in this
business? Do you know the any of the same
people?
-While searching for commonalities, avoid
pummeling your interviewer with a series of set
questions.
-Once you do, the world will feel like a
smaller, friendlier place and your anxiety over
interviewing will shrink.
-Click
here for 46 Interview Techniques and Tips
THE INTERVIEW
 Give
paper and pencils and write down your biggest fear of interviewing
Click
here for
PP
Click
here for interviewing videos
Click
here
for Do's and Don'ts
Click
here for what to wear.
Click
here on what NOT to wear!
Questions
you should be prepared for-click
here
Situational or Behavioral questions-click
here
Sample questions from you-click
here.
Interview Jitters?-Click
here.
FEARS:
 Being
stumped by questions
Not
being dressed appropriately
Having
a bad interviewer
Arriving
late
Not
being qualified for the job
Looking
not as though I "fit"
Other:
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