Interview

Guide:
Prepare
with
TRIUMPH
TIPS TO PREPARE
FOR A SUCCESSFUL
INTERVIEW

YOUR LEGACY IS OUR BUSINESS

Build a career, leave a legacy
You have the ability to make an The good news is there are some principles that can guide you through
impact and leave a professional your career and help you to leave a lasting impact.

legacy!
We suggest you start with understanding your WHY, this will ensure
you connect with the purpose behind your career.
Think of your current or future
workplace; how do you want Consider your personal branding and about how you are perceived,
viewed, thought and spoken about.
people to talk about you after
you’re gone? Ensure you have a learning mindset which will help you to see changes
as opportunities or growth even when it’s stressful or challenging.
A professional legacy is not
defined at the end of the road Finally, legacy builders are mindful of the opportunity and the
responsibility to serve the advancement of others, through networking
but rather by the contributions,
and mentoring.
innovations and decisions made
in the workplace by you and at To succeed and create an extraordinary career, you must make
different points in your career. decisions and take certain steps to continually develop and learn new
skills. At Peopleconnexion we are more than your specialist recruitment
partner. We want to support you and help you make the right career
It is the small things you do now moves to build your legacy.
that can lead to real impact -
this is your professional legacy. Over the last 15 years the Peopleconnexion Team have built a business
that now operates throughout the APAC region with offices in Brisbane,
Gold Coast, and Port Moresby in PNG. We have a track record of
positively impacting the business we work with and have touched the
careers of over 5,000 candidates in this time.

From all of us here at Peopleconnexion Recruitment, good luck for the

adventure ahead!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to us via your
consultant or at: [email protected]

Contents of this guide:

Preparing for your interview
How to answer interview questions
Preparing for your Interview with
TRIUMPH

T
Congratulations on
landing your interview!
iming
Job interviews can sometimes be

R
daunting, but they don’t need to
be, especially if you have prepared
well in advance.

We will take you through the

esearch
interview basics and some of our
tried-and-tested interview tips with

I
the TRIUMPH method, to help you
master your upcoming interview.

mpressions count

U nderstand the role

M aster your interview

with STAR

P
repare for questions

H ave confidence!
Speak from the heart
 Timing
If your interview starts at 11am,
don’t arrive at 11am.

You need to ensure you arrive early, with

enough time to find the venue, receive
security clearance and fill out any
application or visitor forms. We always
suggest that you get there 15 minutes
early.

But, its not just about time…

Before you leave, you should ensure you

are prepared and you have everything you
need, including:
The name, address and telephone
number
Resume
Prepared questions

Research
Besides boosting your confidence, researching
the company shows you are interested in the firm.

Find three facts about the company that resonates with

you, so you can demonstrate your interest.

Take time out to research the following:

Position description
Key performance indicators
Key accountabilities / responsibilities

The company:
Your interviewers (LinkedIn or website)
The company’s values
The organisational structure
Company’s digital presence
LinkedIn
Google
Facebook and other socials
Website
Impressions Count
DO
Dress professionally – regardless of the job
Greet your interviewer with a firm handshake and direct eye contact
DON’T
Maintain regular eye contact with your interviewer Chew gum / betel nut
Avoid signs of nervousness – fidgeting, slouching or chewing nails Have mobile phone on
Speak in a measured voice – not too loud or soft DO NOT TAKE CALLS!
Smile and look relaxed Arrive late
Concentrate on your breathing and remember to take deep breaths Be rude
Appear disinterested or
be shy

Understand the Role

From your research in the previous step, you would have
researched about the organisation and the role.

Pair this with the role description and your application which
addressed the requirements.

Start by thinking if you were in the role, what would be required of

you on a day to day basis and think about how your core
behavioural competencies and experience would align with this.
This is an important stepping stone for the next part where you will
begin to structure how you would answer questions in an interview.
Master your Interview with STAR
The STAR method is the best approach to
demonstrate how you have the skills and
competencies for the role.

You should use the STAR method when answering all

scenario, or competency-based interview questions.

Following understanding the role in the previous step, think of

Situation
situations where you have demonstrated a core competency Use an example from your current or previous
and plan your answer using STAR. job which would be relevant to the role you are
applying for.

Choose an example that demonstrates the

significance of your experience.

Task
Briefly describe what you were tasked with,
your responsibilities and assignments for
the situation.

A sentence or two is sufficient.

Action
This is the most important part of your answer.

Describe what you did in the situation and the

task at hand - describe all of the actions,
detailing each stage in the correct, logical
order. Don't be afraid of being overly
What makes an effective descriptive in this section.
STAR example?
Result
Relevant:
Talk about what you accomplished, what you
Make sure that the example is relevant to the role and
delivered in terms of benefit, what you learnt
relates to the competency being explored.
and if appropriate, what you would do
differently next time.
Complex:
The task or project should have been long enough in
Give evidence to prove success and this can
duration and complex enough in terms of actions
be in the form of figures or numbers, anything
completed to adequately demonstrate the skills
that will show just what a winning outcome
required at this level.
you delivered.

Impact: The result can also be what you learned.

Choose an example with impact in terms of scale, Use this learning to help evidence your
reach, growth, results delivered or improvement made competency for the role and how you would
for example. apply the learning to this role.
 Prepare for Questions

Tell me about yourself?

Besides preparing for Most people really battle when asked this question.
questions which require
Think of your experience like an executive summary and start with your main
you to demonstrate your
headliners. Begin with your most recent work experience and work back, your
competencies, you will be response should take about 5 minutes. Don't know how to pitch yourself?
asked some other questions Check out our guide.
which traditionally can be
difficult to know how to
answer appropriately. What are your greatest strengths?
One of the most common interview questions.
Here are some examples.
Prepare for this by identifying which of your strengths are most relevant to the
role. If you feel uncomfortable when thinking about this, ask a friend or
colleague what they think you are good at. Use the STAR model from the last
activity, to effectively articulate why you believe it to be a strength. It is really
important that you prepare well for this question – it will be asked!

What are your weaknesses?

Think of the role that you are applying for and if there is an aspect in the job
description that you don’t meet, this would be the right time to address that.

These could be aspects of the role where your experience is not strong, a lack
of industry exposure or unfamiliarity with a new technology or software. Create
an action plan you can present to the interviewer addressing how you will
improve these weaknesses.

What are your salary expectations?

Our best advice is to try and defer this question back to us.

Often this is important because you can be disregarded simply because the dollar expectations are too high or too
low. When you work with one of our consultants, we will handle the negotiations for you to make sure you are
marrying your expectations with market worth to get a fair deal.

Are you applying to other jobs?

It is common for candidates to be keeping their options open and meet with
more than one company or be looking for a new position before having resigned
from their current role.

Hardly anyone expects a candidate to say ‘no’. You can say you are in the
process of exploring several openings to find a fit for your potential, but try to
avoid stating you are already weighting several offers.
What else might you be asked?

What interested you Describe the type of culture

or motivated you to apply you prefer to work in
Think about if you prefer to work
for the role?
best in a collaborative
Be sincere, positive and enthusiastic
environment or prefer to work
when answering. Mention how your
solo. Do you prefer face-paced
skills and experience align with the
environments or structured ones?
role and what you are looking
How would your answers align
forward to doing the most.
with the company's values.

Why did you leave your last

How do you handle stress?
role? Or why are you looking to
Give an example of how you have
leave your current role? handled stress in a previous job.
Do not bad mouth your manager or Don't use examples where you put
company. Answer this by explaining stress onto yourself, rather when you
if you are seeking to expand your were working to tight deadlines or
skill set, progress your career, or had competing priorities.
looking for a new opportunity.

Do you think you are too

Why should we hire you? qualified for this role?
Answer this question by Identify areas where the role
emphasising your skills and how might challenge you so even if
they will offer value to the role, you are over-qualified in skills or
the team and the business experience, you can address
overall. different opportunities the role
presents.
 Have Confidence!
Speak from the Heart

Have confidence and to believe in yourself!

While it may seem uncomfortable to be ‘selling’ yourself for

something, don’t forget that these are all things you already
know how to do, you have been in this role and it is just
about having confidence with your skills, competencies
and aligning them with what the company is looking for.

An important part of having confidence is speaking from

the heart and just being your natural self.

Start by taking deep breathes and giving yourself positive

affirmations or messages such as ‘I have got this’.

Speaking from the heart is not just about

the words you say but engaging with your
emotions and using the right tone to
deliver what you want to say.
Start now!
Identify a core competency required for the role and consider a time you may have addressed
that competency. Use the STAR method below to prepare for an answer.

Example questions and competencies

Adaptability Maintaining effectiveness in different situations, environments and cultures
Question: How is your present job affected by factors beyond your control? How do you deal with this? Give examples.

Initiative Engaging in proactive behaviour and seizing opportunities

Question: Have you found any ways to make your job easier or more rewarding? Give examples.

Tenacity Repeated and enduring efforts to overcome obstacles and/or to complete tasks
Question: Have you ever submitted good ideas to your superior and they did not take action on them? What did you do?

What was the situation?

What was the task?

What action was undertaken?

What was the result/outcome?

 Build great teams that last.
Unlock success throughout your entire
employee lifecycle, with Peopleconnexion's
suite of talent solutions.

RECRUITMENT SERVICES
Peopleconnexion started as a recruitment
company in the Engineering and Technical
Industry and has grown in capacity to
provide a variety of recruitment services
across Australia and the Asia Pacific.

Permanent recruitment
Contract recruitment
Executive search

PAYROLL MANAGEMENT
Peopleconnexion runs a Payroll Management
system, which can manage your contract
workforce for you, efficiently handling
everything from onboarding, all insurance
and OHSE through to timesheets, leave,
expenses and compliance requirements.

Contractor management
Payroll and invoicing
Onboarding and HSE

HR & TRAINING SOLUTIONS

Our tailored training programs are designed
to accelerate leadership development,
maximise team effectiveness prepare your
organisation for the challenges of the future
of work.

Coaching and Mentoring

Engagement Surveys
Outplacement Services

Email Brisbane (HQ) Gold Coast Papua New Guinea

[email protected] Level 7, 320 Adelaide Street 6/75 Railway Street Ground Floor, United Church Building
Brisbane, QLD 400 Mudgeeraba, QLD 4213 Douglas Street, Port Moresby, NCD
Phone
Australia Australia Papua New Guinea
+61 3333 1511 (Australia
+ 67 5320 2185 (International)

peopleconnexion.com