Interview Help

[Glaucus]

Arggghhhhhh next friday Got my final selection day for a sponsored masters.

Now I can say with almost certainty that one of the questions will be about my degree and why I only got a 2:2

What is the best way of handling this.
Do I tell the truth and say I wasn't really interested and I knew I didn't want to get a job in that subject and this masters will be different and talk about how I have worked for the company for almost 5 years and this is not a spare of the moment decision etc.
Or do I go for some other angle.

Also anyone got any good sites about general interview techniques and stuff.

Been on two selection days before for various stuff always do well in the tests and other aspects of the day, just have a general ability to flunk interviews.

[vix]

I think that what you said is perfectly honest and right. As you say, you have been working within the industry that you know is right for you now so this is showing that the qualification is definitely what you want.

Be yourself, be smart and confident. LISTEN to the interviewer and if you don't understand ask them to rephrase. I've done this before and got jobs, even when I've had to ask a few times. In the interview for this place they asked for three examples of something, I gave two and then went 'sorry, my mind has just gone completely blank' - and I still got the job.

And good luck! Well done for getting this far.

[volospian]

Be honest... Nothing ruins your chances more than being caught out in any stories...

Plenty of people make degree decisions that are not quite right for them. The interviewers should understand that. Your committment over the last 5 years or so shows that you are dedicated to this subject...

Any advice? Well, I've interviewed quite a few people in the last few years and from an interviewer's perspective I'd say you need to be...

Varied - Have a think about some questions you would ask if you were them, and have a few examples/scenarios to answer them. Make notes on other things you think about at the time. You never really know what they'll ask, and some of those notes may be just right. Also, your experience seems very limited if you constantly use the same project as an example. It may be the most suitable, but if you've used it once try and find another example for the next answer... you can always refer back to previously used examples to bolster your answer if it adds anything.

Interesting - It's also useful to have a wide range of potential experiences to explain. Not all answers have to be directly related to work, examples from homelife, hobbies, holidays and so on can make you seem more rounded, more socially adaptable and perhaps make you stand out from the crowd.

Confident. I don't necessarily mean ice cool and suave, just well prepared and confident in your examples. If you are solid and detailed in your explaination they will get a better idea of your experience. If you deliver in a stuttering, hestant manner, that may wonder if you are making things up, or think you don't fully understand what you are talking about.



just my penneth...

[Glaucus]

cheers guys, Just hope new suit gets here in time.