Interview help

[mayerling]

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if all you knowledgeable PSers could help me with a job interview I have coming up. It's with a major organization that promotes culture. Could any of you come up with possible interview questions I might get?

Thanks.

 

[AP1976]

I think we need more information about the company, I don't really understand a "major org that promotes culture." Can you be more specific? Interviews are a mixed bag, I've had some very difficult ones where I was sweating, and ones that were very straightforward and easy! Maybe if you tell us a little more about the job we can come up with some questions. Like what position are you interviewing for - will you be in a management position, dealing with the public...etc.

 

[minousbijoux]

I'm sure we can come up with many good questions for you, but would really need to know more about the organization and its particular focus on culture - which culture for example?

 

[Ally T]

I don't know what industry you are looking at, but in my Life-Before-Babies I was a senior manager. What always impressed me towards the end of an interview, was if the candidate asked a well researched question about my company & showed an in-depth knowledge of my business. It showed a genuine interest

 

[mayerling]

It's a part of the civil service focusing on projects relating to education and culture. I'm mostly interested on what they might ask me, not what I would ask them.

 

[VRBeauty]

The job announcement pretty much tells you what they'll be asking you. They'll want to know about your related experience and the skills you'll bring to their position. They'll want to know how familiar you are with the software etc. they use. They'll probably ask why you're interested in working for them, and will expect you to have a reasonable understanding of what they do.

For each of the skills and attributes listed on the announcement, you should be able to answer a question that starts with:

Tell us about a time that you... (had to deliver a product in a less than optimal timeframe, had to deal with a particularly difficult customer, developed a spreadsheet to manage a large amount of data, etc...)

What would you do if...

Give us an example of a work experience that demonstrates your ability to...

One of my co-workers uses a written or oral quiz with lots of technical questions to help assess candidates for technical positions. (I think this is the exception rather than the rule though.) We emphasize clear communication in my group, and most of my interviews include a written test component that may or may not have a technical analysis component.

 

[mayerling]

Thanks VRBeauty.

However, I don't think this interview will focus on what I could bring to the post. From what I understand, it'll be more in the format of an oral exam on the issues of culture, education, the age of information, etc. So I was wondering whether all you knowledgeable PSers could come up with good 'essay type' questions relating to culture to help me prepare.

 

[mercoledi]

Hi there,

I previously held a civil service job promoting science (rather than culture) and the most difficult question I had was

"why is there an office/team/network that fills this function?"

Others along the same lines were

" What does success look like for science promotion?" (culture, in your case!)

"Why would a government fund this type of activity and what is the benefit to the taxpayer?"

"What defineable outcomes would you anticipate from a project?"

"What is the financial benefit/impact, if any, of this work to the government or society?"

Based on what you've shared, you might want to be prepared for thing like:
"what are the defining characteristics of our culture"
"How is our culture perceived internationally? Is that good or bad? How might that be improved or modified, and how would you do so?"
"What events in our shared history have most shaped our current culture?"

Best of luck!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

I just had an interview, and got the job (yay! ) in a completely different field. However, the HR guy had a sheet with pretty basic/generic questions and then wrote down my answers. He asked things like when was a time I was a team player, what is an acceptable reason for missing work (laughed when I told him pink eye), why I wanted a job with their company, what was my greatest asset, that kinda stuff. Very strengths based I noticed. I was expecting some questions on ethical situations but there were none. Then my interview with the supervisor was VERY informal. She only wrote down my counseling style. I was with her for 90 mins and it was very comfortable.

Good luck on your interview! Just be yourself!