Webinar on Interview

Techniques
12 March 2020

Centre for Future-ready Graduates

Ace the Interview: Learning Objectives

• Different Interview Formats

and Other Assessment
Methods
• Organise, Analyse and
Research
• Answer interview questions
using frameworks & ask
good questions
What Is An Interview?

Two-way conversation
& flow of information,
not an interrogation

Opportunity for
both to find out
more about each
other

Platform to
showcase
communication
and presentation
skills
Different Interview Formats

Phone Digital
Interview Interview

Panel One-to-One
Interview

Assessment Networking
Centre Session
Gamified Assessments: Pymetrics

What is it?
• A set of 12 neuroscience-based games
that take about 20-30 mins to complete.
• Games include matching face photos to
emotions, inflating/popping a balloon to
collect money and building towers.
• Candidates receive a personalised report on
90 cognitive and emotional traits e.g.
“attention duration”, “processing consistency”,
“memory span”, “distraction filtering agility”.

Things to look out for

• No right or wrong answers.
• Do take it seriously as your results may
be used when you apply for other
companies, meaning that you may not
get another chance to do the test again.
Aptitude Tests: What are recruiters looking for?

• Numerical proficiency
Numerical Reasoning • Basic data driven analysis and conclusions

• Comprehension
Verbal Reasoning • Logic, inference, deduction
• Analytical skills, critical thinking

• Strategic thinking and Problem Solving

Situational Judgment
• Specific company related skills/values:
& In-Tray Exercises ‘Customer first’, ‘Innovation’

• Working style, motivations & values

Psychometric • Traits (e.g. drive, diligence, risk taking, etc)
• Cognitive abilities

• Emotional Intelligence
Role Plays / • Teamwork
Simulations • Communication
Video Interview
What is it?

• Collects info on facial expressions, eye

& body movements, clothes, nuances
of voice to predict the future job
performance of the candidate.

Things to look out for:

• Prepare as you would for a face-to-face interview.
• Check the technical connection.
• Pick the appropriate attire.
• Maintain eye contact with the camera lens.
• Enunciate words clearly and avoid stutter or long pauses.
• Watch your facial expressions & body language.
• Rehearse & Practice – record & watch yourself.
Technical Interviews

FORMAT WHERE TO PRACTICE

• Phone Screening

• Online Coding Challenge

• Onsite Interview/Whiteboard Challenge

EXAMPLES OF TOPICS
• Recursion and Dynamic
• Arrays and Strings Programming
• Stacks and Queues • Sorting and Searching
• Trees and Graphs • Scalability and Memory Limits
• Bit Manipulation • Databases
• Object-Oriented Design • Threads and Locks
 Which factors are most likely to influence an employer’s
first impression of a candidate?

Punctuality - 96%

Interview Preparation - 93%

Eye Contact - 82%

Attire/Grooming - 73%

Quality of small talk/conversational skills - 60%

Strength of handshake - 55%

Source: Monster (2015). Job Seekers Have Just 385 Seconds to Make a First Impression
Beckman Institute Study (2012). Science reveals the power of a handshake
Male: Interview Attire

A B C D
Personal Grooming - Male

Neat & professional haircut.

Facial hair neatly trimmed.
Limit the cologne.

No jewellery, simple watch.

Coat or Blazer:
Solid Colors: Dark grey,
Navy, Black.
Neat and cut nails. Fitted colour should
match with pants.
Well-ironed, fitting long- Leather belt, colour
sleeved shirt and pants. matching with shoes.
Shirts: Solid light colours.
Pants: Dark colours.
Professional file / folio.
Clutch satchel
Dark socks, mid-calf length. (if you need a bag).
Black or dark brown shoes
(clean). Avoid backpacks and
duffels.
Female: Interview Attire

A B C D
Personal Grooming - Female

Light make-up
Neat hair.
and perfume.

Simple
jewellery. Avoid
Blouse need large dangling
not be white. earrings, bulky
Light-coloured necklaces and
blouse to offer pendants.
contrast to
dark suit.

Knee-level
Neat and
skirt or dress.
clean nails;
avoid
colourful
ones.
Closed-toe
shoes.
 How quickly do interviewers reach a
decision on a candidate?

A. Within 1 minute 5%

B. Within 5 minutes 30%

C. Between 5 and 15 minutes 52%

D. Between 15 and 30 minutes

Source: How quickly do interviewers reach decisions? An examination of interviewers’ decision-making time across applicants; Journal of
Occupational and Organizational Psychology (2016), 89, 223–248, Rachel E.Frieder ,Chad H.VanIddekinge and Patrick H.Raymark
 Your Abilities
Skills,
Competencies

Skills and Experience:

What do  Market & Brand

Interviewers Analysis
Look for?  Digital Marketing

 Market Reviews

 Organising events
 Your Culture Fit
What do Personality,
Values, Ethics
Interviewers
Look for?
We are seeking students
who are leaders who make
things happen, analytical
thinkers, problem solvers,
and who demonstrate
creativity, innovation and
initiative
What do
Interviewers Your
Look for? Commitment
Interest &
Passion

Think about:

Why do you want to work for the

company?
What can you contribute?
What would you bring to the role?
Research the Company
Where to look?
• Job descriptions
• Company website
• Company reports
• Google news search
• Google news alerts
• Personal network
• LinkedIn profiles
• Glassdoor
• FACTIVA
Research the Company and Interviewers
on LinkedIn

The People The Company

Read their Latest Posts on LinkedIn, Twitter
& Search for Company and Industry news
Discover the Inside Details of a
Company at Glassdoor
Find out Company and Industry Information via
Factiva at NUS Libraries e-resources
Main Types of Questions & Rationale

Personal Narrative (Getting To Know You)

• “Tell me about yourself.”
• “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
• “Why should we hire you?”

Industry Awareness (Have You Done Your Homework?)

• “What do you know about the job/company?”
• “What are the challenges facing this industry?”
• “How can you contribute to our organisation?”

Behavioural (How Will You Do It Next Time?)

• “Tell me a time when you have to resolve a conflict in a team.”
• “Have you dealt with difficult customers before?”
Main Types of Questions

Hypothetical/Situational (What Is Your “Operating System”?)

• “How would you manage a situation if you have no precedent to
follow?”
• “If you witness unethical behaviour, what would you do?”

Skill-based and Technical

• Can you describe the principles of “Next Generation Sequencing”?
• List out some of the best practices for data cleaning.

Curveball (Can You Think On Your Feet?)

• “How many traffic lights are there in Singapore?”
• “Why is the man hole round?”
Applying Techniques For Different Questions

Present-Past-Future

S.T.A.R. Framework
Situation
Task
3-Points Technique Action
Result (Reflection)
 Personal Narrative
What The Interviewer
is Looking For:

“Tell me about yourself.” • Your ability to describe yourself

succinctly and communicate your
potential value

• Your ability to describe your

relevance to the company and role

Common
Mistakes
Sounds easy but is actually not.
Interviewers form a first impression • Too lengthy or too brief
of you based on this question. • Irrelevant details
• Going through your life experiences
in chronological order
Answering using "Present-Past-Future”
“Tell me about yourself.”

Present:
• “I am an NUS UG majoring in XXX. I am keen on the Market Research
Internship…

Past:
• “In my previous assignment, I used both qualitative and quantitative
research methods to analyse Southeast Asia's youth consumption
patterns.

• I also served as Head of Marketing for the ABC Society, where I was able
to attract more than 800 participants to our annual conference…

Future:
• “I hope to use my market research skills to help businesses be more
targeted and customer-centric.”
Answering using “3-Points”
“What are your strengths?”

Firstly: “I am strong in analytical skills. I used both qualitative and

quantitative research methods to ...”

Secondly: “I am a creative and resourceful individual. As the Head of

Marketing for the ABC Society, I …”

Lastly: “I am an effective leader and work well in a team. Having served

as the Head of Marketing, I ...”
Mindset Shift from Student to Employee
“Why should we hire you?”

• Your industry has great growth

• I’m curious to learn more about
potential and I will like to contribute
this industry.
my skills and ideas to it.
• I want to gain more experience.
• You are looking for a candidate with
… skills and I have demonstrated
• I’ve taken relevant modules.
competency in them.
• I’m really, really passionate!
• Your business venture into … is
something I can contribute to and
value-add to.
 Industry Awareness
What The Interviewer
is Looking For:
“What do you know
about our company?” • Your knowledge of the job scope,
the employer’s products and
services, strategies and latest
concerns and developments

Common
Mistakes

• Regurgitate answers from the

employer's website
• Mention facts that are easily
available, which does not
show in-depth knowledge or
insight
Research the Company

Industry Organisation People

• What role does it play • What products does it • What types of people
in the industry? produce or what and skills are
• What are the services does it offer? required?
opportunities for • What is its main • What is the culture?
growth? business model? • What do employees
• Who are its • What are the mission like about working
competitors? and objectives? there?
Example: Economic Development Board
Example: Micron
Example: Roche
 Behavioural What The Interviewer
is Looking For:
• Your future behaviour/plan of action based on
past performance/ experiences
• Your ability to use a real experience to
illustrate a skill and what you learned from it
“Tell us a time when
Common Mistakes
you had to resolve
conflict in a team.” • No self-reflection or evaluation of
experience
• Focusing too much on the negative
• Too little/irrelevant details

How To Answer:

• You can use the S.T.A.R. method

• Share the process of how it resulted in
a positive outcome or learning points
Answering using S.T.A.R. Framework
"Tell me a time when you had to resolve a
conflict in a team."

Situation: “In my Year Two, I was the Head of Publicity of the ABC
Society…”

Task: “I was leading a team of 6 members to work on a networking

event. Two of them had constant arguments ...”

Action: “I spoke to both of them and discovered a previously

unresolved misunderstanding. As the team leader, I mediated between
them ...”

Result: “As a result, our meetings went smoothly after that. The Forum
was well attended by more than 200 students.”

Reflection: "In retrospect, I learned that I could have ..."

 Hypothetical/Situational
What The Interviewer
is Looking For:
“What would you do • Your values/ principles, your knowledge of
if you witness the role, thought process
• Your ability to understand cause and
unethical behaviour effect behind situations, and evaluate pros
in the workplace?” and cons

Common Mistakes

• Applying linear logic and considering only

one course of action
• Not stating how your actions are guided
by your values or principles

How To Answer:

• You can use the S.T.A.R. or 3-Points

techniques
• Demonstrate an understanding of possible
scenarios and what you would do in each
scenario
 Curveball
What The Interviewer
is Looking For:

• Your ability to maintain your composure

and think on your feet
• Your logical and (sometimes) numerical
“How many traffic reasoning based on assumptions
lights are there in • Your creativity

Singapore?”
Common Mistakes

• Giving specific answer without articulating

your thought process

How To Answer:

• No wrong or right answers

• Share your thought process, including
your assumptions and rationale for them
Good Questions to End the Interview with

Success In Understanding Corporate

The Role Company Needs Culture
Looking at people who What projects would I be What do you like
have filled this role before, working on in this role? best about
what differentiated the working here?
most successful ones from What are some of the
the rest? pain-points your clients How would you
need help with? describe the
What are your work culture?
expectations of this role in What are the biggest
the first 1–2 months? opportunities and
challenges facing the
How will you measure the department now?
success of the person in
this position?
Interviewing Etiquette
• Let the interviewer
• Arrive at least 15-30 take the lead
min before • Be prepared for
• Behave small talk
professionally as • Don’t interrupt
soon as you enter • Avoid Qs on salary
the premises or benefits, unless
asked
• Phone on airplane • Paraphrase or clarify
mode, out of the question if
sight necessary for you to
collect your thoughts

• Firm Handshake
• Use gestures • Follow up with a
• Good posture thank you email
• Eye contact
• Smile!
CFG Intelligent Platforms
For career preparation & sourcing for opportunities

Talent Connect
Practice Your Video
Interviews

VMock
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& Scoring
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