Tag: Interviews

Four invaluable role playing tips
One of the regular techniques we see interviewers use is to initiate a sales role-play scenario. Employers get to see you in action and to assess how you approach different situations. It’s almost like a try-before-you-buy approach for employers, as they can see how you will interact with their customers and tackle whatever is thrown at you. To help you prepare for this, we’ve got four invaluable role-playing tips to share.
1. Treat it as a real sales opportunity
Even though it’s a role-playing situation, it’s important to take it seriously and treat the situation as a real sales call. From the second you start, use your best sales approach. Treat the sales recruiter as a sales client and take them through your sales process. We suggest using the funnel technique. Ask a number of open-ended questions. Aim to have the person conducting the role play to speak around 80% of the time.

And think about the sorts of open questions you can ask too… such as:
- Tell me more…
- How does that make you feel?
- Can you give me an example?
- Why…
- Can you describe that for me?
- How…
Be ready for objections and maybe an unforeseen circumstance or two. The interviewer will want to see how you react to a variety of situations that could crop up during a sales call.
1. Research the company beforehand
As we’ve covered previously in our Interview Presentation Tips and Essential Interview Preparation Advice articles, researching the company beforehand is always recommended. And you’ll be glad you did if you’re asked to role-play and take on the role of a recruiter at your prospective employer’s company.

Understanding what the company does, the sectors they operate in, their geographical footprint and any unique selling points (USPs) will give the interviewer a degree of confidence that you know what you’re talking about, and will subtly show that you’ve taken the time to find out more about their business.
1. Act as if the job is already yours
In sales-focused roles, confidence is an important attribute to have and demonstrate to prospective employers or interviewers. The role-play scenario isn’t just about seeing how you respond to certain circumstances, or how much you know about the business, but it’s also an opportunity for an interviewer to gauge your potential fit with their business. So by acting as though the role is already yours, you’ll be giving the interviewer a glimpse into the future with you as an employee in their company.
1. Attempt a close
As you’ll likely know, every sales call should either end in an attempt to close or should move the sale forward. Depending on the specifics of the scenario you’ve been asked to engage in, you should confirm the steps that have been agreed during the call or role play, and then propose what the next stages are in the process.

Make sure you get agreement on key pieces of information – so for candidates, this could be things like motivation for moving, notice periods, salary requirements, previous experience, etc. and if the timing is right, try to get them to commit. For clients, it could be more like agreeing a period of exclusivity, securing the next vacancy, confirming terms of business, or simply agreeing to a face to face visit.

You should have planned for the end from the outset, so your whole role-play conversation will have been geared towards this end goal. Make sure you recap on what’s discussed, ensuring there’s no confusion over any key points and then go for the close.

Being able to structure a conversation that demonstrates your capability to manage and close a sales call, have a logical flow from beginning to end, and showcasing your communication skills will help you come across well to the interviewer. As long as your experience, qualifications or other interview answers are good, you’ll be in a very strong position to secure the role you’re interviewing for.
21/10/2019
Interview mistakes to avoid
We know that securing a job interview can be difficult. In competitive markets, recruiters and hiring managers have the luxury of picking from a large pool of suitable candidates and the smallest differences can be used to choose between applicants. So in cases like these it makes sense to do everything you can to optimise your chances of landing the role you’re interviewing for.
1. Failing to explain why you want the job. Being able to tell a hiring manager why you want their job and not falling in to the trap of bad mouthing a previous employer, focusing on the financial rewards too much, or not having researched the company you’re applying to join or its culture are sure-fire ways of sabotaging your interview. You need to be able to clearly explain why you want the job, what it means for you, and perhaps more importantly what value you can add to the business.
1. Not adequately preparing for the harder questions that typically get asked in an interview. We all know that interviews will typically involve some ‘harder’ questions where an interviewer is trying to understand underlying reasons behind your application, or just trying to put you on the spot a little to see how you respond under pressure. So, questions like “What’s wrong with your current employer?” or “What are your weaknesses?” or “Tell me about a time you’ve had to work with a difficult person” – are all pretty standard questions that get asked. And they’re all open-ended questions that often don’t have a right or wrong answer. But the way you prepare for them and answer them in the interview can make a big difference. Take some time to prepare adequately for questions like this.
1. Being too verbose. Being overly chatty, taking too long to explain your thoughts or answering the interviewer’s questions with lengthy responses can often be a warning sign to an interviewer. So, don’t give monosyllabic answers, but equally be focused, ensure you answer the question you’re being asked, and give suitable, but concise background or context to your answers.
1. Saying “show me the money” too early. You might not actually say “show me the money”, but focusing on the benefits and what’s in it for you too early in the interview can be a real showstopper. Most people will be motivated by the financial rewards and benefits that a new job can offer, but be patient and ensure the interviewer has finished with their questions before you steer the conversation around to this topic.
1. Not being able to articulate your uniqueness. It’s sometimes difficult for a hiring manager to pick between closely matched applicants, so ensure you’re able to explain what it is that makes you different AND better than the other candidates.
1. Not being well-spoken. We’re not talking about regional accents here, but we are suggesting that not being able to articulate your responses in a clear and concise manner may limit your ability to secure the role.
1. Struggling with behavioural questions. Behavioural questions are typically not ‘yes’ and ‘no’ questions. They’re almost certainly going to get asked in an interview and adequate preparation means you won’t be the one struggling with them. You could use the STAR Technique to help you answer these questions, or another simpler approach is the “Experience, Learn, Grow model” or Experience + Learn = Grow. Simply explain your experience, talk about how you overcame or accomplished something, outline what you learned from the event, and how you’re now benefiting from that to add value to your current or future roles. Typical behavioural questions might be something like, “If someone came to you with an enthusiastic, yet unrealistic request, how would you handle it?” or “Tell me about a difficult situation you encountered and how you overcame it”.
In each of the cases covered here, preparation is essential. It’s rare that someone can show up to an interview and just wing it… and still come across well. You don’t want to recite answers from memory, but you do want to be able to recall good examples to support your answers without having to sit in the interview racking your brain to remember incidents that happened years ago. Being prepared will help you be concise and articulate, answer the difficult questions with ease, and giving the interviewer a sense of comfort that you’re the right person for the job.

For more invaluable advice, check out our other article Essential Interview Preparation Advice or contact us to discuss your career aspirations and how Harrison Sands can help.
31/10/2018
The STAR interview technique for recruiters
As a recruiter, you’ll no doubt develop your own style and process for running interviews with candidates. But how effective is this at getting the information you really need? And the flip side of course, is thinking about how well you fare when sat on the other side of the table and you’re being interviewed for your next recruiter role? Well the Harrison Sands team are here to help by exploring the well-regarded STAR technique and explaining how to get the best out of it.
The STAR technique, for those that don’t already know is an interview technique that’s typically used to steer a conversation along a particular structure and in the process, ensure that information about a candidates’ specific capabilities – relevant to the job they’re interviewing for – are uncovered. In brief, the mnemonic STAR stands for: Situation, Task, Action and Results – and we’ll explain more about each one below.
Situation – Just as you would do when talking to someone and trying to explain something, it’s a good idea to first set the scene and describe the situation you’re about to explore further. So, give some context and background to the situation so the interviewer can understand what you’re about to tell them.
Task – This is the particular task you were presented with in the scenario you’re explaining. It’s important at this stage to focus on the task you specifically faced or tackled, rather than talking more generally about the rest of the team and what they did. Also consider explaining the importance of the task itself, and where appropriate the impact of not completing the task.
Action – Arguably the most important aspect of the STAR technique, this is your chance to shine and explain to the interviewer what it was you specifically did. You must use this part of your answer to demonstrate what you did as a person, rather than as part of a team – so it’s clear it’s your competency you’re demonstrating to the interviewer. Use plenty of detail and remember the interviewer may not be familiar with your history, background or know the company you’ve worked for in the past. Be sure to contextualise your answers and relate them back to the question being asked.
Result – In the majority of circumstances, you’d want to demonstrate a positive outcome and show where you’ve made a difference. If you can quantify the impact you’ve had, do so. In the recruitment world metrics, particularly financial ones, will go a long way towards demonstrating capability – so don’t be shy about sharing the details of your successes.
Which questions need a STAR response?
The STAR technique can be an invaluable tool in any recruiter’s arsenal, but perhaps most importantly by adopting this approach it allows hiring managers to compare applicants in a more structured manner.
To finish, it’s worth sharing our top tips for answering STAR questions.
Be specific when answering a STAR question, try to avoid being vague and don’t just talk in generalities. Quantify numbers and improvements. For example, don’t just say that your perm fees improved year on year, explain the percentage or monetary value that they increased.
Address the question. Equally appropriate with non-STAR interview questions, it’s particularly important here that when asked to demonstrate a specific competency that you ensure you answer the question being asked. Try to avoid selecting a scenario from your past and forcing a link to the question.
Think about the timing. It’s important to find the right balance in the time you take to answer STAR questions. Try not to let your answers drag on or venture off on a tangent from the competency or skill you’re being asked about. And try and avoid rushing through your answers too quickly too.
Make it free flowing. Although we’re advocating the technique to help structure your answers, it’s best to try and avoid making it overly obvious that you’re breaking your answers down into these separate sections. Doing so can make the conversation feel unnatural and can distract the hiring manager. So just be relaxed and natural, don’t rehearse answers too much and let the conversation flow.
For more help or advice about interviews, or to find out more about Harrison Sands can help you with your next career move, contact us today.
08/08/2018