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HOT TIPS FOR A MEMORABLE FEDERAL JOB INTERVIEW
The Behavior-Based Interview and Your Best "Competencies" (Soft Skills)
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Hello Federal Jobseekers,
The newest Federal interview formula is the "Behavior-Based Interview." It's not a "Yes/No" Quiz anymore, but questions that lead you to talk. Yes, Talk! Enthusiastically, without repetition - targeting examples that will meet the interest of the interviewer, watching the physical cues of the listener (it's a bad sign if they look down, look at their watch, or yawn), and making sure you don't BORE them. You want to keep their interest, sell your skills, and get hired for the position!
Behavior-based interviews focus on how your past experiences have prepared you for the position at stake. The philosophy here is that past behavior predicts future performance, so if you are able to effectively demonstrate (through specific examples and stories) how you have done something well in the past that is similar to what is being sought after for the position you are interviewing for, then you will be ranked higher than someone who could not give good examples.
I know this sounds demanding, but that's the way it is. Interviewing for a Federal job is NOT easy, especially if you get a PANEL of experts! How many pairs of eyes can you look into with enthusiasm and not forget your stories that will describe and explain the relevant knowledge, skills, and abilities you will bring to the position?
If you land the interview, you are to be CONGRATULATED! Your Federal resume worked, your qualifications were good, and now you are meeting the potential supervisor. If you do a good job, and if it's meant to be, you could actually GET HIRED!
Here are some important Federal Job Interview Tips that you REALLY NEED TO MEMORIZE AND PRACTICE:
- MISSION: Study the agency's mission statement just in case they ask you this question: "How did you contribute to the mission of your (past) office?" Relate your past experience to what you know their agency is all about. This question could be a deal-breaker.
- TARGET SKILLS: Study the job announcement and position description and determine the top 5 skills they are seeking. Prepare a story/example for each of the 5 skills so you are prepared for a question like this: "Can you give me an example of a time when you had to solve a problem with a team?" This job is going to involve being on a team, so they are getting you to give a team story AND a problem-solving story.
If the job is going to involve Research/Analysis, Writing, Communications, Liaison, Teamwork, and/or Computers, get a story ready for each one of these important skill sets.
- SOFT SKILLS: Memorize a few important soft skills (called Core Competencies in the government), so that you can add a few zinger heart-warming stories about WHY YOU ARE THE BEST one for the job. For instance, if you are EMPATHETIC to team members, customers, co-workers, and even supervisors, that's GREAT - talk about it! If you are amazing at keeping DETAILS, lists, tracking information, and almost never forget anything, then get ready to give examples demonstrating how you've done those things. If you are creative in developing more efficient systems that get the job done FASTER, that's really good - be preapred to tell a story about it. The government needs efficient people BADLY!
- STORYTELLING: Try to remember your best work story – a time when you did something really GOOD! You might have saved money, saved time for your boss or a group of people, designed a new report, managed a huge project, cleaned up a back-log, started a new service, resolved a terrible problem, kept a terrible problem from occurring, created a training program... Your story or example needs to be GOOD, MEMORABLE, and SPECIFIC!
- WRITE THEM DOWN AND MEMORIZE: Write your Job Skills, Competency/Soft Skill Lists, and your Best Stories on paper. Memorize these skills, examples, and stories and practice speaking them into a tape recorder or onto a video tape.
- BE LIKEABLE: Practice being enthusiastic and likeable. I'm serious - the best candidates are attentive, positive, sit up straight, look the interviewer in the eye, smile occasionally, keep their chins up and shoulders back, and are seriously interested in HELPING the supervisor with the agancy's mission. This dedication to THE AGENCY'S NEED could swing the deal. They Want Help!
- PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE: Practice talking enthusiastically to yourself everyday for 20 to 30 minutes about your experiences and competencies. Yes, this might sound like bragging and it might feel weird, but do it anyway. You need to learn how to sell your strengths. Practice shaking hands (first impressions are VERY important) and sitting and looking at someone across the table - eye contact is important too. Look at yourself in the mirror as you answer questions, use a video or tape recorder as I mentioned above, or have a friend ask the questions and listen to your responses to give you feedback. The key is to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! Don't be hard on yourself, just practice and get better. Interviewing for a job is very important and challenging.
- THEY WANT YOU: The government managers are busy and hope to hire the best person to help them with their programs. Be confident that if you are very good at the skills they want, you simply have to communicate this. They want to hire the best person! It's you!
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FEDERAL JOB INTERVIEW AND COMPETENCY RESOURCES
- Veteran's Administration (VA)Core Competencies
Choose a few of these competencies to impress Federal supervisors in your interviews, resume, and KSAs! Details: VA's Core Competency Website.
- Resume Place Interview Coaching Services
The Resume Place interview experts can help you prepare for your interview by discussing your strengths, discovering your best stories and examples, reviewing potential interview questions, answering your questions, and even conducting a mock interview and providing feedback. You will gain confidence in yourself, knowledge of the process, and your interview will be more successful! Sign Up Here.
- The Federal Selection Interview: Unrealized Potential
Read the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) Federal Selection Interview report as further insight into the Structured Interview (Behavior-Based). Read this report here: http://www.mspb.gov/studies/interview.htm
The MSPB has numerous informative and relevant reports covering a wide-range of Federal employment topics. Check them out here.
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RESUME PLACE'S FEDERAL JOB SEARCH SOLUTIONS
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