Job Interviews

[-CG-]

I applied for a job online late last week where all I had to do was fill out an online form, and to my surprise I nabbed a job interview for early next week.

I'm a first year uni student with no previous job experience and the role I'm applying for, I believe, is a casual or Christmas casual position at a small amusement park.

I was wondering whether anyone had any tips for successful job interviews?

As I wasn't initially asked to attach a resume or application letter I'm assuming I'll have to take them along, and I also don't know whether it is a group interview or not...

Cheers guys

 

[gothecrows]

Being a first-year uni student with no previous jobs, they may ask to see your latest school report cards, as they usually have comments about your work ethic, etc.

Prepare answers to likely questions, such as why you applied, why they should hire you, when you can start, etc.

I've only ever had 4 job interviews - 1 at Maccas while at school (had to show report card for that), and 3 since leaving Uni. I would assume yours would be more similar to the McDonalds one, but others who've more recently had interviews at similar places might be able to help more.

 

[ShearMagic9]

Be prepared to answer:

Why do you want this job (or why do you want to work at xxx)?

What are your strengths?

What are your weaknesses?

They might also ask you about certain situations you've been in.

 

[Jackson Dredd]

Be prepared to answer:

Why do you want this job (or why do you want to work at xxx)?

What are your strengths?

What are your weaknesses?

They might also ask you about certain situations you've been in.

I recommend this...and when you get to the 'weaknesses' question, dont say your a perfectionist...its incredibly cliche

I was in the same boat as you CG. Didnt get my 1st job until 1st year Uni. If you were anything like i was, you were to busy at school to find the time to commit to employment. Use this to your advantage and hopefully impress them with your experiences away from the workforce and school environment.

 

[morell]

Relax.

I doubt you will get the weaknesses question. They just don't do it anymore. If they do pick something that is relevant to the application and something that they are already bound to know. In this example use your relative inexperience. Always remember to turn it into a positive though - say your fresh and eager to learn etc etc

Relax.

Research the buggery out of the company. Find out as much as you can. That way you can tailor your responses to fit what they want. Quite often they aren't looking for someone perfect, but rather someone perfect for the role/company.

Relax.

Be honest. Never, ever lie. Exaggerate your strengths.

Be happy, friendly and attempt to be relaxed.

Don't dribble shit. If you answer is concise and to the point then that is a good thing.

Relax.

 

[Punchy Bassett]

Be honest with every question they ask, don't try and feed them answers that you think they want to hear, cause they will see right through that. Just go in and try and be yourself as much as possible easy to say cause you will be nervous, but part of an interview is for the person/panel to try and judge your character.

 

[Punchy Bassett]

Try and use school/Uni experiences as well, you will most likely be asked about working as a team, not having any work experience try and use situations like group assignments and the like.

 

[-CG-]

Appreciate the responses thanks.

 

[magic_johnson!]

or why do you want to work at xxx

Bahahahahhahahahaha

 

[Ledger]

Relax.

I doubt you will get the weaknesses question. They just don't do it anymore. If they do pick something that is relevant to the application and something that they are already bound to know. In this example use your relative inexperience. Always remember to turn it into a positive though - say your fresh and eager to learn etc etc

Relax.

Research the buggery out of the company. Find out as much as you can. That way you can tailor your responses to fit what they want. Quite often they aren't looking for someone perfect, but rather someone perfect for the role/company.

Relax.

Be honest. Never, ever lie. Exaggerate your strengths.

Be happy, friendly and attempt to be relaxed.

Don't dribble shit. If you answer is concise and to the point then that is a good thing.

Relax.

100% Spot on

I've followed this advice and have always been successful with job interviews.

Researching the company is great advice, too many people forget this and get stumped at the interview.

Also, make eye contact - goes without saying but it's a huge sign of confidence.

The whole "give me an example of ....." question is used a fair bit, be prepared for it.

 

[Punchy Bassett]

Oh and if they ask a question that stumps you, just breathe and think, don't go um erm um.

 

[TorresIsGod]

Oh and if they ask a question that stumps you, just breathe and think, don't go um erm um.

If your interviewer is female and very attractive, do not undress her with your eyes or look at her and think you'd love to be bending her over the desk.

 

[King Elvis]

I believe, is a casual or Christmas casual position at a small amusement park.

Just taking into account the nature of it;

Make sure you very enthusiastic and friendly, and let them know you're helpful, happy and easy to get along with. Being a small amusement park (BeachHouse or something similar?) your attitude will probably be the most important thing - that you can look after parents and their little terrors without getting stressed out or snappy, with a smile on your face.

Probably the other thing will be reliability - as it's a casual job over Christmas, you'd assume it's their busiest period, and they'll need people they can count on who wont skip shifts or be difficult. I'm not sure how you can prove this without previous employment; attendance record from Uni/School might be helpful - but it's probably something you don't need to prove, just something you need to make sure they know.

I'd say those two things are the most important, and you're smart, so I'm not telling you anything you don't already know - but make sure you focus on your attributes that'll be an asset specifically in this role.

 

[bresker]

Bring a Ninendo DS loaded up with 'Theme Park' and challenge them to a game.

Seriously, think of concrete examples from your life where you have gone the extra mile/shown excellent customer service/ shown that you are a team player/ thought outside the box. If you don't have any examples, make some up. They always ask you the same crap.

Oh, and here is my hot tip, never fails:

When they ask you at the end of the interview if you want to say anything, look the interviewer in the eye and say, 'Thanks for your time. I'm really interested in this job, and I wouldn't hesitate to take it if you offer it to me.'

Then shake them firmly by the hand, stand tall, and stride out of there.

 

[Sanguinarius]

I'm a first year uni student with no previous job experience and the role I'm applying for, I believe, is a casual or Christmas casual position at a small amusement park.

I don't know which one you're applying for, but I manage an amusement arcade in Elizabeth (yes, some of the people are as you think, or worse).

I'm not sure how similar their operations are to ours, but if they're similar the pay wont be that great, but it should be fairly easy and very flexible around University (should it happen to grow into something more than Christmas casual).

Being a "people person", friendly, social but without being completely over the top. If I was hiring I'd take university study as a bonus for the applicant. Eye contact is important, being able to communicate well as the place of work is fairly noisy. Point out that you're great with kids, mention how you're babysat nephews and nieces that type of thing. Be neat and presentable obviously and polite.

This is from my point of view, but especially in an area like Elizabeth, I'll look for someone who is confident but not too full of themselves, smart and easy to get along with and especially reliable. Reliability is a killer.

As King said, Christmas is a really busy time - but not the busiest time of the year. It'll still be a tough time to learn the ropes as it usually take people around 3 months to really set themselves with a decent level of confidence.

Oh and if they ask a question that stumps you, just breathe and think, don't go um erm um.

this too.

good luck

 

[AG]

The whole "give me an example of ....." question is used a fair bit, be prepared for it.

I've had tons of those questions recently. Give an example of the time you had to step out of your comfort zone, confront a problem, a time you showed leadership etc.

Oh and if they ask a question that stumps you, just breathe and think, don't go um erm um.

Yeah, don't die due to lack of oxygen. You would become unemployable in a state of deadness.

 

[torq]

If your interviewer is female and very attractive, do not undress her with your eyes or look at her and think you'd love to be bending her over the desk.

Furthermore, don't unzip your pants and start playing with yourself. They frown on that.

 

[Gasometer]

They want to see what you would like to work with as well. Be yourself, don't take it too seriously, but dont turn it into a stand up routine. Aside from all the b.s questions, panels want to see that you will be able to fit in, get the job done, and have a pleasant nature & a sense of humour that is in perspective to the environment.

Gasi

 

[AG]

I was asked to name five weaknesses in an interview the other week.

5? That's a lot to list. I've only had 'name your biggest weakness' before.

 

[stralia]

A dab of speed is just the ticket mon.

 

[morell]

I was asked to name five weaknesses in an interview the other week.

Lame.

I would have walked out on the premise that their hiring techniques are antiquated likely resulting in a large % of spanners working for their company.

The only reason why a panel would ask that question would be to see how you react to being under pressure, which is stupid because any interview is pressure packed.

Its just so stupid. There is no good answer except - as I said to CG - to keep the weaknesses relevant to the application/role and reasonably obvious anyway.

 

[King Elvis]

I was asked to name five weaknesses in an interview the other week.

Should've named 2 and claimed that was all of them.

 

[fryingpan]

The questions that stick out in my mind when I've been to my three interviews were

- Tell me about yourself? (harder than it sounds)

- How do you work in a team and give examples of when you've worked effectively in a team.

- List your strengths & weaknesses

- Why would you like to work at our company and why should we hire you

There are other questions but I found these to be the ones I stumbled at. I learnt a lot from my first 2 interviews and came out of my third one feeling a million bucks and in turn got that job You're never going to be flawless in your first job interview so if you walk away from the interview thinking omfg got that was horrible then take solace knowing that just about everyone with a job has had a shocking interview at some point.

I've been fortunate enough to be given the responsibility of interviewing a few people for a position that came up in our company (bosses, manager were away) My manager told me what to look for and how to go about the whole interview process and I was probably more nervous than the interviewees. I leant more towards 2 of the candidates purely because they kept smiling, had a laugh and didn't take themselves too seriously. I ruled out the other 2 instantly because 1 was completely stupid (and I mean stupid, said "can we come back to that one" to over half the questions) and another because she was a robot - didn't smile & answered the questions in far too much depth .. some people like that, some don't. I was told to forget about anyone who didn't seem themselves. After the bosses went thru the candidates with me, they agreed with my choice - he wasn't as qualified as a couple of the others but he was friendly, chilled and knew his stuff about our company.

As others have said, try to relax but again it's just a job interview and I suspect you'll have many more to come just like all of us so don't stress if it goes crapola. Be friendly, fluent, study about the company so it shows you're interested & smile.

 

[rugby league man]

although this is your 1st job they may still ask you to provide them with the phone number of a personal reference, ( someone who can confirm that you are a reliable, honest, up standing person) so its a good idea to have someone in mind, maybe a past high school or uni teacher in your case

 

[vealesy]

although this is your 1st job they may still ask you to provide them with the phone number of a personal reference, ( someone who can confirm that you are a reliable, honest, up standing person) so its a good idea to have someone in mind, maybe a past high school or uni teacher in your case

no dont do this.

just get your best BS artist mate that can speak well and let him work his magic.

worked for me when I was a youngin.