Your Interview
Interview
Hints and Tips

Your selection/interview

After the closing date for the post, the recruitment and selection panel will read all the applications thoroughly and decide which applicants best meet the criteria specified in the person profile. If you are one of those applicants we will contact you as soon as possible.

If you are not successful on this occasion you will receive notification of this via a message on your homepage. If you do not have regular access to your homepage, please note that if you do not receive any contact from us after three weeks, your application will have been unsuccessful. However we hope this will not stop you from applying for another job with us in the future.

If you are invited to the selection stage we will contact you to confirm all the arrangements (date, time etc.). If you think you can’t attend on that day or time, please contact us immediately to re-arrange, or indeed to confirm that you will be coming along.

We will let you know what you are required to bring along, such as proof of qualifications.

The selection process itself may contain a number of assessments depending on the level and complexity of the job. This could include: 

• Interview
• Presentation
• Written exercise
• Personality questionnaire
• Ability test
• Job related test

Don’t worry it is very rare we use all of these together! And we will give you as much information as we can to allow you to prepare yourself.

All our recruitment people are specially trained and ‘authorised’ to carry out the selection process on behalf of the Council. They will try and put you at ease and also be friendly and fair.

A minimum of two people will be involved to ensure fairness. However for more senior posts there may be more.

The important thing to remember is the selection stage is very much a two-way process. It’s as much about you finding out if working with us would work for you as us deciding if you’re right for the role.

So please ensure you’ve read through everything carefully and are prepared to both answer and ask questions about the role and your suitability for it. We understand that it can be a nerve-wracking experience, so please read our Hints and Tips and follow some of the links we’ve provided which offer excellent advice and guidance on how to prepare for and make the most of your job selection process.

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The interview

The interview is probably the most important part in the selection process and the most commonly used method for selection. From looking at your application form we already think you might be able to do the job but the interview will give us a chance to ask you questions and find out whether you actually can. It is your chance to convince us that you can, and that you are the best person compared to the other people we might be interviewing for the job – so be prepared.

It also gives you the opportunity to ask us any questions you would like answering

To help you prepare:

• Think about the questions we might ask you to find out how well you can do the job. Most of them will be around the criteria in the person profile so use that to prepare. What questions would you ask if you were carrying out the interview? Think about how you will answer those questions. If you can, get someone to ask you the questions you think might come up, and practise saying the answers out aloud
• Know your positive points. What can you tell us about yourself that might make us choose you for the job? What skills, knowledge, experience or expertise do you have that will help you carry out the duties of the job.
• Try and think of examples in your past experience when you have utilised your skills, knowledge and expertise

At the interview:

• Relax and pay attention and try and keep eye contact with the interviewers
• Concentrate on the question being asked so as you can answer appropriately. Don’t fall into trap of answering the question you hoped they would ask you!
• Speak clearly and keep you answers full but concise – don’t ‘waffle’ and go off the subject
• If you do not hear a question properly or don’t understand it – ask for it to be repeated or further explained.
• Be ready to ask your prepared questions if they have not already been answered. It’s a good idea to write them down beforehand so as you don’t forget.

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Hints and Tips

Applying for the job of your dreams can be an anxious experience – wanting to get everything right to make the very best first impression and move into the career opportunity you want is often a job in itself! So here are a few tips on how best to tackle it:

• All roles will require you to fill out an application form. The application form will ask you to give specific details about why you’re right for the job opportunity you’re seeking, so make sure to check your skills and experience against the job profile and person profile and fill in the appropriate information. Also make sure that you submit your form in plenty of time for the application deadline – it may not even be looked at if you don’t.
• If you get through to the selection stage, now you really need to put some work in to ensure you make the right first impression and bag that job! Ensure that you’ve done some research on the role you’re after – check out the website links at the end of this section for more information on how to prepare for the selection process. But the key things to do are: make sure you’re exactly sure of where you need to be and plan your route either by car or public transport; ensure you’ve read everything related to the role thoroughly and start thinking about what questions you may be asked in your interview or as part of another assessment and how you’ll answer them; ensure you’re fully prepared the night before with what you’re going to wear; and also prepare a few questions that you want to ask about the role, from the training, development and career progress opportunities to the culture and even dress code of the department you’re applying to join. Last but not least, get a good night’s sleep and arrive early for your appointment so that you feel refreshed and relaxed.

http://careerplanning.about.com

http://sector1.net/jobseeker/careeradvice/

If you have a complaint

You have the right to complain if you feel that you have been unfairly discriminated against in any stage of the recruitment and selection process because of your sex, marital status, age, race, disability, sexuality or religion, or if you feel that we have not dealt with your application fairly. You should first contact the HR Service Centre on (01709) 334141 who will look into the matter for you. All enquiries will be dealt with in confidence. If you still feel that you have a cause for complaint, you may use our complaints procedure. You can make a complaint in person, over the phone, in writing, by fax, by e-mail complaints@rotherham.gov.uk or by visiting our website www.rotherham.gov.uk You can get a standard complaint form from our offices and from public buildings if you want to put your complaint in writing, but written complaints do not have to be on the standard form.

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