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Interview Basics
for Candidates
Interview Basics
What is an An interview is used to assess your skills against a certain job. It is a chance for
interview employers to gain more detail on your previous experience and for you to gain
for? more information about the organisation. This is a 2-way process.
What is the The interviewer will be trying to make sure that you have the knowledge, skills,
interviewer experience and personal qualities to be successful in the job. Enthusiasm,
expecting? positive body language, listening, thinking quickly and talking clearly will all
impress your interviewer.
Types of Interviews
Telephone Interview
Phone interviews are used by employers in the early stages of an interview process to check
for basic requirements. It is important to take a phone interview as seriously as an in-person
interview, as it's your chance to make a great first impression.
Competency Based Interview
The interviewer asks structured questions to assess you against key knowledge and skills or
requirements of the job. The interviewer will ask you to give examples of challenges or
scenarios you have dealt with in the past.
Technical Interview
If your role requires technical skills and knowledge, your employer might assess these
separately, or as part of a competency based interview. A typical question could be: “What
approach or methods did you choose to use and why?”
Types of Interviews
Virtual/Video Interview
Virtual interviewing is where you will have the opportunity to meet your interviewer from
the comfort of your home.
• Check the room lighting and how you look on screen. It is wise to check you are at eye
level and at arm’s width from your screen.
• Make sure you are in a quiet location with no chance of being interrupted and no
background noise. There should be no noise distractions from people or technology.
• Check your backdrop is tidy. Make sure your background is professional, you may use a
fake background if needed.
• Check that your phone and/or laptop and internet connectivity are working. Also check
that your headphones, speakers or microphone are working.
• Be aware of time – keep answers concise and always try to finish before the scheduled
end of the meeting and not run over.
How to prepare for an interview - 3 steps
You should always set aside sufficient time to fully prepare for an interview, even if it is internal, or you
have been told it is an ‘informal interview’. There may be more than one interview stage.
Focus on the skills and experience required and make sure you have a good understanding. Think of a time
Read the you’ve demonstrated each of the skills listed in the job specification. Ask your recruiter about the job salary
Job Spec rather than the HM – be honest about salary expectations. Maybe write some key bullet points/notes on
topics you feel could be relevant and it can be useful to have a printed version of your cv to hand .
Find out about the role. Find out what you can about the department and organisation – what are their key
goals this year and how will your potential role help to achieve them? Google the company to find out
more, its competitors, the challenges it faces and so on. Think about how you can use your research to
Do your make a good impression in the interview - That could be by relating it back to your interests and skills,
Research demonstrating your broader commercial awareness or just being able to hold a conversation with the
interviewer. If unsure or require information then speak with your recruiter – they may have an idea of
what the Hiring Manager may ask.
Make the most of your examples - Keep them short and informative – focus on what is directly relevant to
Make sure the situation. Prepare any questions you would like to ask the interviewer. Use the interview as an
you opportunity to find out more about the role, team and organisation.
prepare Take a look at the website www.dieboldnixdorf.com/en-us/ and follow us on LinkedIn Diebold Nixdorf:
Overview | LinkedIn It also creates a good impression when you connect with interviewers ahead of the
interview.
What could the interviewer ask?
Below are some examples of interview questions which could help you to prepare.
• Which aspects of your current role do you find most rewarding/challenging?
• What motivates ⁄ frustrates you at work?
• What interests you about this role?
• Give me an example of a time when you had to influence someone to change their mind. How did
you do that and what was the result?
• Give me an example of a time when you have had to make a difficult decision. What was the
situation, what did you do and what was the outcome?
• Give me an example of a time when you have had to work as part of a team to achieve a goal.
What role did you play?
• How did you go about building a rapport with your team members? How successful were you?
• Give me example of identifying a new idea at work, or a better way of doing something. What did
you do with this idea? How successful were you at getting the idea put into practice?
• Describe what you would do if you were struggling with your workload and risked missing an
important deadline.
Good Luck for your interview!
Please contact your recruiter after the interview
to give your feedback.
