Pure Potential - Where will your talent take you?

Interviews

• Interviews with Human Resources
• Verbal Tests
• Questions in Relation to You
• Questions in Relation to the Profession

It's not easy to get an interview so when you do, make the absolute most of it. The way you do that will vary according to which kind of interview it is. But for all types of interview, the key is to be prepared. Guy Goma would certainly testify to this.

• Interviews with Human Resources

  Generally interview series are structured so that as you progress through them you encounter individuals of increasing seniority within the company. Interview rounds are particularly relevant if you intend on entering banking or management consultancy. In this case your first round interview may be with someone from Human Resources. The purpose of an interview at this level is generally to check that you gave accurate information on your C.V. and that you are competent and could fit in with the company , and suitable to be passed on to the next level of testing.

• Verbal Tests

  Some interviewers will set you relatively simple maths or logic problems to work through on the spot. Such techniques are common in professions where numerical instinct is important, such as banking, accountancy or the Foreign Office. Solving these problems is seldom a question of mathematical brilliance, but rather of keeping calm and approaching the solution in a rational manner. A classic example of such a question would be 'What is the angle between the hour hand and the minute hand on my watch at a quarter past three.' A candidate with relatively bad spatial awareness and little common sense might immediately answer 'Nothing'. In fact the hour hand will have moved on a quarter from the horizontal. Each hour on the clock face occupies 30 degrees (360/12). Therefore the angle between the two hands will be 7.5 degrees (30/4). You cannot prepare for such problems, but you can be forewarned, and know that the actual maths involved will never be prohibitively tough - it will always be a question of calmly analysing what you have been asked to do.

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• Questions in Relation to You

  Before offering you a job an interviewer will want to get to know you. Your ability and desire to perform the job will certainly be tested, but so will your capacity to get on with your co-workers and exist as a cohesive part of office life. You should expect to be asked a few questions about your CV, not just the academic and professional qualifications you have listed but also queries on your hobbies and interests, be they sports, social, charity work or travel. Make sure to re-read the CV you sent in before the interview to refresh your memory on everything you wrote. Be prepared to discuss any interests you have given and, where possible, give a brief account of how they have contributed to your skills base and what qualities they have honed in you. If you speak with real passion about something, it will help to forge a personal rapport with your interviewer, and make you stick in their mind. You may even get lucky, and find a fellow enthusiast- many jobs have been won through a shared love of football, music or ping pong!

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• Questions in Relation to the Profession

  As with covering letters, the key to giving a good interview is knowing your target company. The better you know them and their business, the better the chance you have of adapting to what they want. Before the interview you should check their website, read up on their recent appointments and deals, and generally try to assess the image they seek to promote to the world. When discussing their company or the profession at large, specific examples are always more impressive than general commentary. If, for example, they ask you what it is about their company that particularly attracts you and you say 'Your internationalist perspective' they may be reasonably impressed. If, however, you go on to say 'Your opening of the office in Shanghai makes you uniquely poised to profit from the emerging Chinese market', they will remember you. If you go on to cite a specific deal or innovation that the move has opened up for them, you will truly distinguish yourself from your fellow applicants. It also helps to have an idea of what area of the business particularly interests you, and where you see yourself going. The choice can be fairly arbitrary and will never be binding if you get the job, but it helps to give the impression that you are committed to a long term career (even if you aren't) and that it fascinates you enough to inspire specific ambition (even if it doesn't).

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