UNSW CAREERS AND EMPLOYMENT

Interview Basics
Finding Your First Casual Job

Eva Chan
UNSW Careers and Employment

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Introducing Myself
First Impression Counts!!
• Opening lines
• Handshake
• Eye contact
• Small talk
• Body language

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Activity: First Impressions Count!

Step 1: Introduce yourself to somebody - shake hands
Step 2: Have a chat to see if you. . .
• have the same career goals
• want to work for the same organisation
Step 3: Each of you then explains:
• what you are seeking in your career

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Preparing for the Interview

Know the Job and Organisation
– Organisation: structure, culture, values,
– Job: purpose, criteria, daily duties, terminology

Know and Critique Yourself

– Why do you want the job, & why in that organisation?
– Familiarise yourself with your application

Know What to Expect

– Interview format; One to one, panel, group
– Who is interviewing you? Names and roles?

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Standard (Open-ended) Questions

General questions used as ice-breakers.
• “Tell us a bit about yourself.”
• “What are your strength? And what are your weaknesses?”
• “Why are you interested in this position?”

 Address the essential criteria

 Focus on your achievements
 Ask if you should expand on any of the points made, if you are worried
that your answer is too short

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Practice Your Answers

How would you answer this question on:

“Tell us a bit about yourself.”

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Answering Behavioural Questions

Questions for you to describe previous experiences
• Describe a complex problem you have solved recently.
• Have you been in any situations where you were required to
perform as part of a team? What was the situation, what part did
you play and what was the outcome?

 Choose relevant, recent and special examples

 Use the STAR Approach: S
S ituation
T ask R T
A ction
R esult A

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Sample Behavioural Answer

Where have you previously demonstrated high-level organisational skills?

(S) I have shown strong organisational skills as a project assistant while assisting a
research team.
(T) One time, I helped the team to schedule some clinical trials.
(A) That involved booking facilities and equipments plus arranging for participants to
attend. I developed a spreadsheet where I could record and track information.
(R) Doing this ensured the trials ran smoothly, despite the tight schedule. I was invited
to join the team again when they received funding for a new project.
S
R T
A

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Practice Your Answers

How would you answer this question on:

“Do you have any experience dealing with a difficult customer?

What did you do?”

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Prepare Your Examples...

Customer Service Officer
Do you enjoy a challenging environment that encourages individuality and rewards
excellent performance? We're looking for Customer Service Officers to complement
our team. You will be:
• passionate in customer service,
• an excellent communicator, and
• highly organised.
If you have a can do attitude, we would love to hear from you, part-time and casual
positions are available.

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General Interview Tips

• How long should my answer be?
• Can I ask the interviewer to repeat the question?
• What if I don’t have the experience / skills they want?
• What’s the best way to answer a teamwork question?
• What if they ask me about how much do I expect to get paid?
• Should I ask them questions at the end? How many should I ask?

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Post Interview Activities

Constructive thinking
– Review and analyse what happened
– What went well/not so well and why?
– Use this for future reference

Follow-up action
– Quick call / Email to the interviewer
– Express your appreciation for their time
– Reinforce your interest and enthusiasm in the role in as
few words as possible

Dealing with rejections

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?
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Level 2, East Wing,

Quadrangle Building.
Ph: 9385 5429

www.careers.unsw.edu.au

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