On May 29th, Macquarie Group welcomed Capital W members at a ‘Presence & Branding’ Workshop. In an increasingly competitive job market, it has never been more important to give yourself the greatest opportunity to get the job by leaving interviewers and potential employers with the best impression of yourself. As a first year student, I jumped at the opportunity to take part in this workshop to help build my own personal brand and practice my networking skills.
The afternoon was hosted by two members of Macquarie Group’s internal Learning and Development team and focused on providing attendees with practical advice on how they can create their own personal brand, how to differentiate themselves from competitors in the job market and how to leave a lasting impression on potential employers. The afternoon’s session was very interactive and invited all in attendance to practice the skills they were acquiring in a relaxed environment. This was then followed by a networking session with HR representatives and employees of the 2017 Graduate Cohort.
I left the event with a wealth of knowledge about how I can best present myself to potential employers in networking and interview situations. In a stressful interview environment, it can be easy to miss answering crucial parts of a question. Besides that, some people may be more hesitant about assertively ‘selling’ themselves. Hence, I would like to share my three top tips for interview success that I learnt from the workshop;
Before a telephone or in-person interview, write a list of points you want to cover in response to potential questions. These could relate to prior experiences you have had and/or skills you may possess.
Do not write a speech for telephone interviews. You can come off as automated and you will not be giving the best answer to the questions you may be asked. It is better to go off a list of points (as referred to in tip 1).
In most interviews, you will be asked behavioural or situational questions. An example is, “Tell us about a challenge you have faced and how you overcame it.” To ensure you provide a complete and effective answer, structure you answer around the STAR model:
Situation- What was the situation you faced?
Task- What were you required to do?
Action- How did you face the challenge?
Result- What was the outcome? (This should always be positive)
This simple model ensures that you provide an excellent answer to even the most challenging and unexpected questions!