Yakuba Vladimir Aleksandrovich – business coach in sales, leadership, management and personnel selection. Entrepreneur with six areas of activity. Business coach No. 1 in sales from the stage in the “Reality” format. The most famous headhunting specialist in Russia. Twice recognized as the best in the profession, business coach of the year.
At one of the trainings, participant Vladislav asked me a question: “What do you think, Vladimir, why wasn’t I hired at company X? I compiled my resume correctly, and I have experience...”
I looked at his resume and liked it. Then he asked several questions: “Where did you sit?”, “What questions were asked at the interview?”, “Did they call the employer by name?” Vladislav could not answer. He probably did not attach importance to such little things, and in vain, because they somehow influence the decision about admission.
My name is Vladimir Yakuba, I have already explained to Vladislav what mistakes he made during the interview, and now I will tell you about them.
What do you need to pass an interview?
Each applicant must know how to behave correctly during an interview.
The applicant must understand that for any interview you need:
- don't be late;
- dress and comb your hair appropriately for the occasion;
- behave confidently and friendly;
- prepare for possible questions;
- Prepare brief and meaningful information about yourself.
The result will largely depend on how all these points are completed.
Practical advice
So, how to behave correctly at the first interview in order to pass it successfully? For this:
- Keep calm. It is better not to use sedatives and other drugs for this. They can cause a state of inhibition.
- The day before, take a bath with relaxing oils (such as tea tree oil).
- Having a constant financial source during the interview will make you feel confident.
- While waiting for your turn at the office, take a deep breath and exhale, straighten your back and take a comfortable position.
- Look around, look at the information on the stands, pay attention to the appearance of the employees. All these points speak about the success of the company.
An important and first step on the path to work is an interview. Following simple rules will help to avoid mistakes and significantly increases the candidate’s chances of getting the desired position. Read more about how to successfully pass an interview, correctly fill out an applicant’s application form, take a test, and also find out whether you were selected or not on our website.
Job interview
If an applicant is invited for an interview, this means that the employer is interested in his application for a vacancy. The next step is to show all your best professional and personal qualities at the interview.
The candidate needs to decide for himself whether he needs a job in this company. If he has concluded that this particular job is extremely necessary for him, then he needs to make every effort to ensure that the job applicant can pass an interview with a positive result.
Often, candidates come to an interview completely unprepared, get confused in their answers, don’t know what to say about themselves, don’t ask questions, and don’t show interest in the conversation. Such employees are not interesting to the employer, since the first impression is created precisely as a result of the interview.
How to prepare for an interview
To feel confident, you need to be thoroughly prepared:
Be sure to collect as much information as possible about the company you are interested in, the direction of its activities, its products, its team, its position in the market, and its prospects.
Prepare answers to possible questions from the employer:
- What are the reasons for leaving your previous job?
- What attracted you to our company?
- What is known about our company?
- Tell us about yourself.
- What are your shortcomings?
- What are your achievements?
Prepare possible questions to be asked during the conversation.
Write a short story about two or three events that confirm your professional level.
Don’t forget education documents, qualification certificates, work records.
Try to imagine the course of upcoming events, so that later during the meeting you do not frantically look for a way out of an unexpected situation.
Employment myths
Here I would like to talk about several myths that exist around this process.
Myth 1: It is enough to send your resume to the company, and at the interview the recruiter or manager will know everything about your experience and achievements
This is not true; recruiters look through about 100 resumes every day and conduct dozens of interviews, for different vacancies. With such a volume, as you understand, it is simply not realistic to remember all the details of each resume. In addition, different people may be responsible for selecting candidates' resumes, inviting them for interviews, and holding meetings, depending on the size of the company.
Myth 2: Brevity is the sister of talent
Many candidates believe that short, one-word answers to all questions will help them pass an interview. But this is a misconception. Such behavior will most likely give the recruiter an opinion of you as a closed and uncommunicative person, and this will clearly not give you an advantage over other candidates. Therefore, you should not answer questions that require your reasoning and argumentation in monosyllables. But you shouldn’t go into philosophical reflection either; stick to the golden mean.
Myth 3: You will pass an interview if you have objective professional successes
This is wrong. And there may be several reasons for this. It happens that people with high professional achievements behave inappropriately, arrogantly during an interview, consider themselves superior to others, or their professional achievements and successes do not correspond to the given position, or they are not suitable for working in this particular company and department due to their personal qualities.
When going for an interview, it is worth remembering that this is a mutually beneficial meeting, the result of which may not be this specific position, but a professional career in general, and perhaps even in a completely different company.
Possible answers to interview questions
Answers to sample questions need to be thought out and prepared in advance, so that during the conversation you don’t get confused or invent something that doesn’t actually exist. The final result – getting a job – will depend on how accurately the applicant navigates the situation, how he answers the questions asked, and provides facts.
- What are the reasons for leaving your previous job? The employer needs to find out about the factors that do not suit the applicant, and also understand what he expects from the new job. When answering this question, you should not speak badly about your previous company or former colleagues. Otherwise, an opinion will arise about difficulties with the employee’s adaptation to the team. The best option would be to say that there were no prospects for professional growth, the distance from home was no longer suitable, and so on.
- What attracted you to our company? By asking this question, the employer is trying to find out the reason why the applicant was interested in this vacancy and what caused the interest in the company. You can be a little flattered when answering this question, for example, by saying that the company has been on the market for a long time, which indicates its stable position, that you are satisfied with job responsibilities, an office in your area of residence, and more.
- What is known about our company? Talk about the information that was collected.
- Tell about yourself. This question is asked to learn more about the applicant’s education, professional level, and to draw conclusions about his character traits. The answer to this question must be thought out to the smallest detail. This is basic information about the applicant. The story should be short, but have good content about work experience using examples of successful transactions, sales, and others. Passion for sports also makes a favorable impression.
- Your shortcomings. By asking this question, the employer does not mean shortcomings in the literal sense of the word, the goal is to check how a person will react to a question that causes difficulty. You can answer it any way you like, with humor or by avoiding answering, but it’s best to remain silent about your real shortcomings.
- Your achievements. This question is asked to learn more about how the applicant’s level matches the vacancy. It is necessary to tell what was actually done at the previous job, what results were achieved.
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An interview is an integral part of employment. It is at this stage that you meet the employer face to face. By the way, an interview is not only a chance to present yourself favorably, but also an excellent opportunity to get to know the requirements and features of your future job. The number of interview stages may vary. And so that the interim interview does not turn out to be your last, you must seriously prepare.
How to pass an interview for an assistant manager. Necessary information.
— Prepare in advance the necessary set of documents (2-3 copies of your resume, work book or a copy thereof, recommendations, diplomas, certificates). — Make every effort to learn as much as possible about the company you are applying for a job: talk to acquaintances and friends, read publications in the press and the Internet, study the company’s website. — Make an approximate list of questions that an employer might ask you at an interview, think about the answers to them. — Think about what questions you have for your employer. Write them down.
[work in Zhytomyr, work in Zaporozhye, work in Ivano-Frankivsk, work in Kirovograd, work in Kremenchug]
How to pass an interview for an assistant manager position. Frequently asked questions.
So, what questions are most often asked to a candidate for the position of assistant manager?
— Could you tell us a little about yourself? There is no need to go into unnecessary details. Save your interlocutor's time. The employer will appreciate your brevity. And do not repeat the information contained in your resume; the employer has already read it. — Why did you choose this particular profession? You are expected to have a clear understanding of the essence of the profession of an executive assistant (this profession is seriously different from related ones: secretary/assistant/office manager) and complete internal readiness to respect and promote the position and decisions of the manager and at the same time always remain in his “shadow”.
— What are the reasons for leaving your previous job? You should not speak badly or disrespectfully about your previous manager or team. Employees who are conflicted and do not know how to be critical of themselves will only arouse antipathy in the employer. It’s better to talk about what attracts you to the new company than to focus on the shortcomings of the old one.
— What are your strengths/weaknesses? Emphasize especially those qualities that are important for a personal assistant. Your shortcomings should look like a logical continuation of your own advantages. Focus on the fact that you are constantly working on yourself.
— How do you imagine your career in a few years? For other professions, career growth is quite clear and obvious, for example, from an ordinary security guard to the head of a security service. By asking a similar question to a candidate for the position of assistant manager, the employer wants to identify his motivation and ambitions. Based on the answer to this question, the employer will be able to draw a conclusion about the significance of the proposed work for the future assistant - whether he sees in it an opportunity to use his professionalism and his best qualities or considers it just a springboard and intends to change the direction of his career in the future.
— Why should we hire you? When answering this question, demonstrate your knowledge of the company's affairs. And don’t forget to mention your high professionalism in a modest manner.
— What do you think a boss should be like? By asking such a question, the employer wants to find out the candidate’s level of constructiveness and his tendency to conflict with management. The ideal answer would be a neutral answer, such as: “A competent, strong leader with a lot to learn from.”
Interview for assistant manager. What to ask?
You have the right to inquire about: the reasons why the position of assistant manager was vacant (of course, if this is not a new staff position), the structure of the company secretariat, the schedule of your future work, the possibility and frequency of business trips, in a word, find out the information you are interested in related to the future position . Thoughtful and in-depth questions will highlight your interest and help create the image of a serious candidate and professional employee.
How to pass an interview for an assistant manager. Screening interview or telephone interview.
When there are many candidates for a vacant position, HR managers often conduct a so-called screening interview. A screening interview (telephone interview) is an interview that is conducted remotely, via the Internet (meaning email) or by telephone. It should be noted that a telephone interview provides an opportunity to test the future employee’s ability to conduct telephone conversations (which is important for a personal assistant).
Therefore, just in case, make sure that you always have at hand: - Pen and paper; — Your resume; — Sample application for employment; — Job advertisement or job description; — A list of questions that interest you about the company you are applying for.
During a telephone interview, speak clearly and to the point, try not to answer in monosyllables, but you should not indulge in spatial reasoning. If the vacancy requires knowledge of a foreign language, be prepared to switch from Russian to a foreign language at any moment during a conversation. During the conversation, take notes for yourself (they will be useful at the next stage of the interview).
If you are not ready for a telephone interview, apologize, citing the impossibility of continuing the conversation, and specify when it will be convenient to call back.
How to pass an interview for an assistant manager position. Interview with a representative of a recruitment agency.
There are often cases when a recruitment agency is involved in selecting a candidate for the position of assistant manager. To check your professional level, a representative of a recruitment agency will first review the documents confirming your competence - diplomas, recommendations, certificates, and then offer to complete a number of standard tasks: - Transfer information from a multi-page text document into a table; — Create or convert a document on a computer; — Highlight the most important facts in the text of an article printed from the company’s website; — Check the correctness of the draft orders submitted to the manager for signature and, if necessary, edit it; — Translate a text or compose a business letter in a foreign language, for example, requesting information for a visa to an executive.
You may also be asked to describe in detail your actions in various situations in which the assistant manager often finds himself, for example, demonstrate a polite refusal to connect the manager with a conflicting client; explain what you will do if, due to a traffic jam, the manager is late for an important meeting with partners, etc.
Therefore, when going for an interview with a recruitment agency, make sure that you have enough time for the interview, otherwise you will be nervous and may ruin your impression of yourself and get ready for a serious aptitude test.
Interview for assistant manager. Interview with the head of the company's HR department.
For the head of a company's HR department, as a rule, the most important issue is the candidate's compliance with corporate standards and management style. Therefore, at this stage of the interview you may be invited to participate in small role-playing games, to work with situational examples - cases, various tests and tasks that allow you to assess your professional and individual personal qualities. Sometimes HR managers use non-standard interviewing methods such as stress interview, group interview, etc.
[ resume Ternopil, resume Uzhgorod, resume Kharkov, resume Kherson, resume Khmelnitsky ]
How to pass an interview for an assistant manager. Interview with the manager.
This is the most critical stage in the employment process. Since the director will have to communicate with his assistant very often, he cannot completely entrust the search for a personal assistant to the personnel service. It is important for the manager to understand whether the future assistant is psychologically suitable for him and whether he will be able to cooperate effectively with him.
Therefore, when going for an interview with a manager, you need to be prepared for any surprises - you may well find yourself invited to a planning meeting, to a restaurant, to an industrial exhibition or presentation, where you will be asked to draft the minutes of the meeting, take part in a business lunch, or act as translator However, an interview in the manager’s office can also be quite unusual.
How to pass an interview for an assistant manager position. Example of an interview with a manager.
Some managers simulate this situation... The head of the personnel department takes the candidate to the office of the general director, sits him down at a table on which there are various test materials (tests to test written language literacy, tasks to assess the level of knowledge of office work, etc.). The manager does not pay attention to those who entered and continues to deal with the documents lying in front of him. Several minutes pass like this. In fact, the manager has not forgotten about the interview and is carefully observing the candidate’s actions - one will begin to study the tasks in front of him; another will meekly wait for attention to be paid to him, while looking around the boss’s office with curiosity; the third will begin to show irritation, etc. So, even before the conversation begins, the leader forms a certain opinion about the person. The director apologizes for the delay and... either moves directly to the interview, or politely says goodbye to the candidate under a plausible pretext.
Interview for assistant manager. A few words about “formalities”. Remember, a candidate for the position of assistant manager is always assessed comprehensively: how he speaks, looks, and presents himself. Therefore, be sure to adhere to the basic rules of an interview: punctuality, switched off mobile phone, moderate makeup, neat and discreet manicure, appropriate business-style clothing in classic colors, skillful use of accessories and jewelry, clean shoes, light (neutral) perfume, self-confidence, energy , openness and, of course, a smile!
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What questions can you ask during an interview?
The applicant, by asking questions, gives the impression of a person interested in getting a job. Conversely, a candidate who does not ask a single question during the interview may be denied the position for this reason.
Therefore, questions need to be asked, but at the right time and as the answers arrive. You cannot interrupt your interlocutor, wave your arms or speak loudly. Everything should be in moderation.
What questions should you ask?
- If everything that interested the candidate was said during the conversation, it is necessary to clarify some details. Indeed, the situation is not so bad as to take on any work without finding out the details.
- Find out about career prospects, showing that this is an important point.
- Ask whether a new position has been created for this vacancy or whether this is the position of a resigned employee; if the second option - then for what reason the dismissal occurred.
- What influences salary increases?
- Are there opportunities for professional development?
- How does the company treat the manifestation of personal initiative?
All these preparation tips will help the applicant pass a successful job interview.
The most important thing is that before the interview it is better to put everything aside, have a good rest, get yourself in order, so that tomorrow you can show yourself confidently and with dignity. Success will not take long to arrive.
What should a job seeker do without experience?
Passing an interview in this case is quite difficult. It is important to know that the number of people willing to get a job is much greater than the number of vacant offers. In this regard, you need to behave modestly and not raise the bar by demanding high wages and special conditions.
Attention! When interviewing, pay attention to what the employer is offering you. Offers are not always reasonable. Often, employers offer training without paying for it, or arrange it in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation only after a probationary period.
Everyone should know that this is a violation of labor laws. Never accept a job without drawing up an employment contract.
The main thing that needs to be shown and emphasized to the applicant during the interview is all the important advantages and positive qualities. It is very important to be confident.
Failed interview
To have a good interview, you need to be well prepared.
Many job seekers have been looking for a job for a long time. They often go to different interviews, but each time they are refused a job.
In this case, there is no need to despair; it is better to try to understand the reason for the unsuccessful attempts and analyze what is happening at the interview. Most often, the reason lies in the fact that the applicant was not able to reveal all his qualities. In most cases, failure haunts those candidates who do not know how to properly interview to get a job.
Mistakes you shouldn't make during an interview
- Exaggeration of one's merits. When answering questions, try to provide, if possible, reliable information about yourself and your professional abilities, otherwise you may find yourself in an unpleasant situation.
- Excessive display of energy. If a candidate considers energy to be one of his main strengths and demonstrates it excessively, he may create the impression of uncontrollability and conflict.
- Excitement. The applicant must learn to cope with his anxiety. A shaking and nervous job applicant does not inspire confidence in the employer.
- Details of personal life. You should not let your employer know about your problems; if he asks a question regarding your personal life, it is only to find out if there is anything that will interfere with work.
- Appearance. You should not come to an interview extravagantly dressed or wear a lot of expensive jewelry. This is annoying and prevents you from forming a correct opinion about the candidate.
It is during the interview that the employer tries to find out whether the candidate is suitable for filling the vacant vacancy and what his working and personal qualities are. A company representative determines whether the applicant will be able to join the company team. Therefore, after an unsuccessful interview, it is necessary to draw conclusions and adjust your attitude towards the job search.