Search Results for 'Questionnaire construction'

WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY?

Q: My friend is going for an interview in a fortnight as a community development worker with a youth organisation. The role will involve helping young people growing up in difficult circumstances to get involved in activities such as sport, drama, art, volunteering and the like. She is newly qualified in this area but hasn’t a breeze what kind of questions to expect in the interview. I’ve agreed to put her through a mock interview next week and would like to have an idea of questions I could ask her - and possible answers for them in general terms? (LC, email).

Q: My friend is going for an interview in a fortnight as a community development worker with a youth organisation. The role will involve helping young people growing up in difficult circumstances to get involved in activities such as sport, drama, art, volunteering and the like. She is newly qualified in this area but hasn’t a breeze what kind of questions to expect in the interview. I’ve agreed to put her through a mock interview next week and would like to have an idea of questions I could ask her - and possible answers for them in general terms? (LC, email).

Q: I have put huge work into preparing for a job interview next week. It is a position I really want to get as it will set me up for the next ten years or so of my career, either in this role or in another one that will almost certainly evolve from it. I've read everything about the company, figured out the people on the interview panel as best I can, and put my ideas down on paper so that I can easily remember them on the day. Is there anything else you would advise? (DL, email).

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Q: I felt the questions didn’t suit me, as Larry Gogan was fond of saying on the Just-a-Minute quiz many moons ago. They didn’t really ask me what I’d bring to the role – they were totally fixated on what I thought about the position. How could I have handled the interview differently? (TH, email).

Q: I'm always asked at the end of the interview if I have a question for them. I can never think of what to say. I'm generally dying to make my escape. Any suggestions? (EK, email).

Ask questions. Seriously. “I ask the questions around here, not you” might be the smartass interviewer’s response. But the enlightened one will see questions as your effort to learn more so that you can use your answers to meet their needs. An interview should tend towards a conversation: in conversation, we ask questions. (Just make sure you ask good questions, but that’s another day’s column).

When you’re preparing for interview, it’s always a good idea to practice answering some typical questions you may be asked, but don’t forget to prepare for that all-important, yet lesser-spotted question: ‘Do you have any questions for us?’ By asking the interviewer excellent questions, you will not only prove yourself a strong contender, but glean a deeper understanding of what’s involved, writes HEATHER HAMILTON, CAREER COACH, SLI NUA CAREERS.

By the time you reach the end of the interview, all you want to do is get out the door as fast as you can. However, that could be a mistake, and asking the right question or questions might just help you to secure a job offer, writes SABINA TRENCH, CAREER COACH, SLI NUA CAREERS.