Group Interview - what's the secret?

rediguana

Hi.

I have to attend a Group Interview on Monday week for a pretty prestigious position. I anticipate that competition will be intense and the standard high.

I'm still a student (Masters) and have only held modest jobs so far, and I have never attended a Group Interview before. I gotta admit - the prospect doesn't enthrall me. I'm no wallflower but neither am I an extrovert. I really want this job.

Does anyone have any pearls of wisdom? I prefer learning from the mistakes of other people, as opposed to my own, so any helpful anecdotes, tips etc would be great.

Thanks in advance.

Your job is simple: You need to sell yourself more then the other candidates in the room, whether that be your personality, or your career. Whatever you do, dont be the quiet one....

Spitfire666

Deleted User wrote:

Your job is simple: You need to sell yourself more then the other candidates in the room, whether that be your personality, or your career. Whatever you do, dont be the quiet one....

Unless its a job in a library..............sorry,



give others a chance to speak but dont let them cut you short. be open and honest and just think of it as a normal interview. sell the same things about you as you would in a 1to1 interview.

rediguana

Thanks guys. No, it's not to work in a library, sadly. I'd just wear my glasses and keep telling the other candidates to 'shhh' if it was.

It's a managerial job. I read not to make the mistake of 'selling' TOO much, as the job calls for people management skills, not sales per se. I know it's a fine line though, as you always have to 'sell', to some extent.

I bought a book on interview technique and less than one page is devoted to 'Group Interviews'!. Crazy, the selection was poor though. So if anyone knows any good websites, that I don't have to pay for, please send them my way. I'll obviously get googling in the meantime

gerrycollins

group interviews are used for a number of reasons. as usual they are set up by doctors and the like to examine of the group whi is the
leader
follower
thinker
action man/woman
the leader will dictitate to everyone for his/her own means,their views/opnions are best no discussion about it just do it my way or the highway kinda people

the follower will basicall agree with everyone(the weakest for a mnagement job which requires people skills)a compassionate person of sorts

the thinker will ,basically think about everything before deciding a course of action and will way up the costs(not financial particularly) of his actions against another possible course they could have taken

the action person just gets on with the tasks without thinking it through and not having a plan of action which could lead to the whole thing going belly up cause its a head down and move mentaility.

They really will need to see a mix of the above in you but the person from above that you need to be depends on the situation presented at the time and they will present a few differnet scenarios which will require you to be one of the above or a mix of the above

seamus

If it's a managerial position, then they're looking for someone who can "bind" the group. Essentially you need to be the guy who
a) Is not afraid to speak his mind
b) Is happy to listen to and consider other's points of view
c) Encourages the quieter members of the group to get their opinions in,
d) "Controls" the louder members of the group to stop them from just shouting the house down
e) Makes or directs the final decisions, taking the above into account.

Group interview techniques can be studied and spoofed just as easily as standard ones.
One popular "game" is to give each member of the group an assortment of shapes. From all available pieces, it should be possible for each member of the group to make squares of equal sizes. But since all of the pieces are jumbled up, no one person can make a square on their own, they have to share.
The rules are:
1. You cannot speak.
2. You cannot otherwise gesture or signal to someone that you want one of their pieces.
3. You cannot take someone else's pieces, they can only give them to you voluntarily.
4. There is no "winner". The game is timed and ends when the timer finished or when everyone has made a square.

It's basically designed to test your team interaction. What the majority of people do is attempt to make a square from their pieces, and then look around at everyone else's pieces to see who has the piece they need. This of course is futile, because even if you see the piece you need, you have no control over your ability to get it.
So just be the guy that watches everyone else, and provides the pieces that someone else obviously needs (even if it means breaking up your own half-arranged square).
If you end up with few or no useful pieces, that's fine because there'll be someone else struggling to build a square, despite having half of the pieces in front of them. They look bad, you look good, competition removed.

rediguana

Great tips, Seamus and GerryCollins. Appreciated.

I'd say I'm 50% Leader, 50% Thinker. Certainly that's how I'll be trying to project myself. My psychologist girlfriend also said it's important to be seen to draw the quiet applicants into the discussion, as somebody mentioned.

More specifically, the group interview is for a retail management position. So if anyone has been to one of these before, and can forewarn me on some of the likely 'games' (like that shape one) that will be played, please do.

In a way I prefer these types of interview, where it's your personality-in-action on trial. I hate parroting off learned answers in a traditional interview.

Vokes

rediguana wrote:

More specifically, the group interview is for a retail management position. So if anyone has been to one of these before, and can forewarn me on some of the likely 'games' (like that shape one) that will be played, please do.

Regarding "shape games" - for a group interview I took part in (wasn't a retail position), one of the "games" involved the group having to use plastic pipes to build the biggest square / rectangle possible covering the floor.

The catch being that everyone building the shape was blindfolded except for one person. The non-blindfolded one could only answer Yes / No to questions and do nothing else.

The key to that one was to stand out by volunteering to be the non-blindfolded person or if one of the blindfolded, be the speaker representative for the group (so as to avoid everyone talking across one another).

rediguana

SofaKing wrote:

Regarding "shape games" - for a group interview I took part in (wasn't a retail position), one of the "games" involved the group having to use plastic pipes to build the biggest square / rectangle possible covering the floor.

The catch being that everyone building the shape was blindfolded except for one person. The non-blindfolded one could only answer Yes / No to questions and do nothing else.

The key to that one was to stand out by volunteering to be the non-blindfolded person or if one of the blindfolded, be the speaker representative for the group (so as to avoid everyone talking across one another).

Gulp! Whatever happened to just asking what someone's strengths are?! At least you could lie then, haha.

Seriously, though, as I mentioned, I haven't been to a Group Interview before. Is it not the case that everyone wants to be 'the leader' and it results in a "too many stars and not enough sky" chaotic scenario? A leader needs followers, but surely everyone knows that meekly lining up behind the most assertive person there will result in them slipping down the pecking order?

How assertive should one be?

dudara

I went through a group interview stage for my current job ( this was after finishing a PhD). I knew that I'd have to be seen and heard in the the interview, but not be too loud or too quiet. In the end, someone else stood up and took the role of leader/facilitator but I ended up being the person who was slightly argumentative about the way we did things. But not ovely so, if you get me.

rediguana

dudara wrote:

I went through a group interview stage for my current job ( this was after finishing a PhD). I knew that I'd have to be seen and heard in the the interview, but not be too loud or too quiet. In the end, someone else stood up and took the role of leader/facilitator but I ended up being the person who was slightly argumentative about the way we did things. But not ovely so, if you get me.

I would imagine it can be very hard to wrestle the 'Leader' crown from someone once he or she has emerged. The problem is that I don't know if JUST one person from the, say, eight people will be chosen to go forward, or whether they'll take four from the eight. If it's just one person, a bolder strategy is needed than if a few can go on to the next round. No point coming a respectable 2nd if they're only interested in 1st.

I think it's an excellent way of interviewing, though, from the company's perspective. With preparation and a positive mental attitude, you can be a better version of yourself, but you can't be a completely different person.

dudara

In the group I interviewed in, they took just under half of us, but from what I understand, it was a pretty whittled down group from the first round. I'd say that at that stage they already have an idea of who they want to hire, they just want to see them in a social-type setting.

rediguana

dudara wrote:

In the group I interviewed in, they took just under half of us, but from what I understand, it was a pretty whittled down group from the first round. I'd say that at that stage they already have an idea of who they want to hire, they just want to see them in a social-type setting.

Half? That's pretty encouraging, although I understand that it's different companies we're talking about!

But this Group Interview has led straight on from submission of CV, I haven't been interviewed at all yet. So perhaps the culling ratio will be unkinder. Let's hope not.

I'm a stable guy, presentable, well-spoken (though not so good at public speaking), thoughtful, interested, systematic. I'm hoping these traits will show themselves.

Flat

rediguana wrote:

Half? That's pretty encouraging, although I understand that it's different companies we're talking about!

But this Group Interview has led straight on from submission of CV, I haven't been interviewed at all yet. So perhaps the culling ratio will be unkinder. Let's hope not.

I'm a stable guy, presentable, well-spoken (though not so good at public speaking), thoughtful, interested, systematic. I'm hoping these traits will show themselves.

by the sound of it you are going for a position with lidl or aldi?

you say above you dont like public speaking, having read another post on this forum, one excercise in aldi / lidl interviews is to speak publicly on a chosen topic with no preperation time.

My tip would be try and think what the employer wants. If its retail management, they want someone who can manage other people in task orientated excercises ie merchandising, operating tills etc

Just my tupence but for a retail management job I would think they are looking for someone a bit hard nosed, who will be direct with people, who is hands on, and kinda rolls his sleeves up. Being direct, holding the floor when you are talking and demonstrating an ability to complete tasks (without necessarily being mister popular in the interview) will impress.

Having said the above, I have never done a group interview so its just my opinion.

.. good luck ;P

rediguana

Flat wrote:

by the sound of it you are going for a position with lidl or aldi?

you say above you dont like public speaking, having read another post on this forum, one excercise in aldi / lidl interviews is to speak publicly on a chosen topic with no preperation time.

My tip would be try and think what the employer wants. If its retail management, they want someone who can manage other people in task orientated excercises ie merchandising, operating tills etc

Just my tupence but for a retail management job I would think they are looking for someone a bit hard nosed, who will be direct with people, who is hands on, and kinda rolls his sleeves up. Being direct, holding the floor when you are talking and demonstrating an ability to complete tasks (without necessarily being mister popular in the interview) will impress.

Having said the above, I have never done a group interview so its just my opinion.

.. good luck ;P

Good detective work

No, I'm not crazy about public speaking. I've done it a handful of times, though, and I didn't make a spectacle of myself. If I were to do it more often, I think I might actually be quite good at it, and enjoy it!

The 'No Preparation' thing DOES kind of faze me. I'd heard about the impromptu talk already and I'll obviously have something prepared. But Company X isn't stupid. It may well use a different method this time to sidestep the possibility of people having prepared.

I'm certain I'd make a great manager. I just lack the experience that would give me more confidence in the initial selection process. I read that it can be a load of high fliers at these things, so it's not just a case of showing up with your degree and asking where your office is

I guess I'll just prep myself to high heaven and then go for broke on the day. Worst that can happen is a PFO. The group thing will stand me in good stead for other interviews.

Flat

here's what I do before interviews.. .take 15 mins or so and sit perfectly still, visualise yourself doing well in the interview, being confident etc. The same way a pro golfer visualises a shot.

research the company... you should know everything about the company you are applying to. I did an interview for Smithklinebeecham about 7 years ago and they asked me to name some brands of theirs. I named about 10 or so and the interviewer pushed me until I named 40+ brands, and that impressed them.

Prepare questions, if there is a one on one section of the interview they will ask you questions like, name some weaknesses you have etc. These are formulaic questions with standard responses.. ie my weakness is public talking but I joined toastmasters, practise everyday and now its a strength etc. Get the book on interviews and read it.

Differentiate yourself from other candidates by throwing something different on your CV. I have got a lot of job interviews of the back of having surfing or something on my CV. So for example if you are into rock climbing make up some crap on your CV that you climb sheer ciff faces with no safety rope (but make sure not to get caught out), just exaggerate a tiny bit;P

Being relaxed and confident and some well placed humour will do wonders for your chances (shows you are relaxed and confident) but not too much humour!

Try to build a personal rapport with the interviewer. But dont get too friendly and keep it professional. Just a firm handshake, a friendly smile and some small talk, but keep it brisk.

These things work for me, but might not be for everyone.

rediguana

Flat wrote:

here's what I do before interviews.. .take 15 mins or so and sit perfectly still, visualise yourself doing well in the interview, being confident etc. The same way a pro golfer visualises a shot.

research the company... you should know everything about the company you are applying to. I did an interview for Smithklinebeecham about 7 years ago and they asked me to name some brands of theirs. I named about 10 or so and the interviewer pushed me until I named 40+ brands, and that impressed them.

Prepare questions, if there is a one on one section of the interview they will ask you questions like, name some weaknesses you have etc. These are formulaic questions with standard responses.. ie my weakness is public talking but I joined toastmasters, practise everyday and now its a strength etc. Get the book on interviews and read it.

Differentiate yourself from other candidates by throwing something different on your CV. I have got a lot of job interviews of the back of having surfing or something on my CV. So for example if you are into rock climbing make up some crap on your CV that you climb sheer ciff faces with no safety rope (but make sure not to get caught out), just exaggerate a tiny bit;P

Being relaxed and confident and some well placed humour will do wonders for your chances (shows you are relaxed and confident) but not too much humour!

Try to build a personal rapport with the interviewer. But dont get too friendly and keep it professional. Just a firm handshake, a friendly smile and some small talk, but keep it brisk.

These things work for me, but might not be for everyone.

Cheers, Flat. I've done some NLP (Neuron Linguistic Programming) before so I'm familiar with the visualisation thing and I'd planned on doing it.

I'd never considered their brands though! I must get memorising them. You'd be fairly caught out on the day if you were left scratching your head.

Nody

Flat wrote:

hPrepare questions, if there is a one on one section of the interview they will ask you questions like, name some weaknesses you have etc. These are formulaic questions with standard responses.. ie my weakness is public talking but I joined toastmasters, practise everyday and now its a strength etc. Get the book on interviews and read it.

Try pulling this in a interview I'm holding and I'll put you in the "No offer" pile directly; and if I ever hear someone mention stubborness as their "weakness" I'm not going to be held responsible for what happends next . Before you ask, yes, I've done my fair share of interviews, including the "I'll lie up in your face and give you every correct answer I've read in a book" once (got to love someone telling you this is the company they REALLY want to work for after they have gone through over eight companies in two years and left six of them of their own choice!!!).

If you come over in a interview as anything but honest, or I think you've lied/memorised the answers to the questions, I'll put you in the "No thanks" pile. If I wanted premade BS I'd not bother to interview you, I'd call in the closest salesman and say I was interested in what ever (s)he was selling.

rediguana

Nody wrote:

Try pulling this in a interview I'm holding and I'll put you in the "No offer" pile directly; and if I ever hear someone mention stubborness as their "weakness" I'm not going to be held responsible for what happends next . Before you ask, yes, I've done my fair share of interviews, including the "I'll lie up in your face and give you every correct answer I've read in a book" once (got to love someone telling you this is the company they REALLY want to work for after they have gone through over eight companies in two years and left six of them of their own choice!!!).

If you come over in a interview as anything but honest, or I think you've lied/memorised the answers to the questions, I'll put you in the "No thanks" pile. If I wanted premade BS I'd not bother to interview you, I'd call in the closest salesman and say I was interested in what ever (s)he was selling.

Cheers, Noddy.

I read those "How to Prepare for Interviews" Books, as I think it would be folly not to. I certainly know that parroting off rote-learned answers would be demoralising for me, whatever about the interviewer. So I've a couple of genuine questions, Noddy:

1. My CV past is erratic. It's partially excusable as I'm a student BUT so far I've managed to put in appearances in psychology, travel, teaching, health, and retail. How do I best explain away my peripatetic tendancies?

2. For this upcoming interview, it really IS the company I want to work for. They offer an excellent package though, so maybe they'll believe me. I guess this is a statement, not a question!

3. What else do interviewers like to hear that you won't necessarily find in a book?

Grazie

seamus

rediguana wrote:

1. My CV past is erratic. It's partially excusable as I'm a student BUT so far I've managed to put in appearances in psychology, travel, teaching, health, and retail. How do I best explain away my peripatetic tendancies?

If you're a student, then I wouldn't worry about it. Very few students take/can get jobs in the field that they're studying, and take what they can get doing any aul thing. A mixed background is actually quite good because you have some varied experience and skills outside of the industry you're going into.

3. What else do interviewers like to hear that you won't necessarily find in a book?

At entry level, generally anything that says "I'm going to be here for at least two years, am really eager to get up to my elbows in this role, and want to progress". Stay away from anything which suggests that you may go travelling in the future. If you are thinking of buying a home or getting married in the short to mid term, then that's useful to mention. Stable people tend not to job-hop quite so much.

Nody

rediguana wrote:

Cheers, Noddy.

I read those "How to Prepare for Interviews" Books, as I think it would be folly not to. I certainly know that parroting off rote-learned answers would be demoralising for me, whatever about the interviewer.

You should prepear, only don't go overboard on prepearing the complete answer (but think in general terms what you want to show of skill wise etc.).

1. My CV past is erratic. It's partially excusable as I'm a student BUT so far I've managed to put in appearances in psychology, travel, teaching, health, and retail. How do I best explain away my peripatetic tendancies?

With the truth. Due to your studies you could not work full time and once things slowed down (study wise) you took the chance to develop yourself, one it came to crunch time again you cut back on your non study related activities and concentrated on your grades.

2. For this upcoming interview, it really IS the company I want to work for. They offer an excellent package though, so maybe they'll believe me. I guess this is a statement, not a question!

You will most likely be asked the question why do you want to work here. Don't hesitate to say that of course the package is very nice BUT you also offer me the chance to A, B and C with great development oppertunities and a chance to do D, so while the package is a nice bonus the real interest for me is A, B, C and D (and they should include at least something about the company itself such as it's work code, expansion plan etc.).

3. What else do interviewers like to hear that you won't necessarily find in a book?

An honest answer (;. In my oppinion if someone really wants a position and shows it in the interview you can really feel it and it makes a difference. I've had interviews when I asked the "So why do you want this position?" and you could see the eyes of the person shine up telling me why this was the dream of a lifetime. Compare this to the people who sit there talking as before "Well, I really feel this is a company I can grow in and I want to commit myself to a company where I get a chance to develop" while sounding like they are talking about last weeks cleaning up.

It also really comes down to the person doing the interview though, but in general I'd say:
1) Answer the question and only the question. Don't ramble around trying to mention everything you know in the hope of getting the right answer.
2) Keep your answers relatively short and to the point, I have to make notes of what you say after all and I don't want a essay nor do I have the space for it.
3) Don't hesitate to ask me to rephrase the question if the question is vague or ask a counter clarification question. (what's your goals? is a good example, what goals? Professionally, personally? For what time period, 2 years, 5, 10, 20?). That way you'll answer the question as per point 1 instead of possibly missing the answer.

rediguana

seamus wrote:

If you're a student, then I wouldn't worry about it. Very few students take/can get jobs in the field that they're studying, and take what they can get doing any aul thing. A mixed background is actually quite good because you have some varied experience and skills outside of the industry you're going into.

At entry level, generally anything that says "I'm going to be here for at least two years, am really eager to get up to my elbows in this role, and want to progress". Stay away from anything which suggests that you may go travelling in the future. If you are thinking of buying a home or getting married in the short to mid term, then that's useful to mention. Stable people tend not to job-hop quite so much.

Thanks, Seamus.

I'm a student but I'm also (just!) 27! Still, my chequered past has included stints with Harvey Nichols, Bank of America and ECC (a large Japanese language company); these are all decent companies. Most of my modest jobs with them can be dressed up, to an extent. I'm currently self-employed too, which I guess shows initiative.

As for travelling - I've already done the Oz and USA thing. And the marriage? The job needs to come before that, I'm afraid! But I do have a girlfriend of five years who is acutely aware of a ring-shaped space on her finger. I guess I can casually refer to "my fiance" in the interview

rediguana

You will most likely be asked the question why do you want to work here. Don't hesitate to say that of course the package is very nice BUT you also offer me the chance to A, B and C with great development oppertunities and a chance to do D, so while the package is a nice bonus the real interest for me is A, B, C and D (and they should include at least something about the company itself such as it's work code, expansion plan etc.).

This is what all the books say - talk in terms of what you can OFFER, not what you can get from the company. It's useful to know. If you took "Why do you want to work here?" too literally, you run the risk of looking greedy and naive.

In my oppinion if someone really wants a position and shows it in the interview you can really feel it and it makes a difference. I've had interviews when I asked the "So why do you want this position?" and you could see the eyes of the person shine up telling me why this was the dream of a lifetime. Compare this to the people who sit there talking as before "Well, I really feel this is a company I can grow in and I want to commit myself to a company where I get a chance to develop" while sounding like they are talking about last weeks cleaning up.

I agree that enthusiasm is important, but it's a fine line between that and desperation.

Thanks again!

*Sorry - I'm still trying to work out how I "quote" properly!

kmick

Rediguana I have done one of those interviews before. Here is the format.
1) You do a team exercise. Ours was a 'Desert Survival' siuation. Basically you crash in a desert and there are 20 items around you like a mirror, a coat, half a bottle of water etc etc. Then you are asked
a) Rank the items in importance as a team
b) Rank the items yourself personally
c) Answers

a) Everone argues about what are the top items so you show some of the qualities mentione in previous posts which I wont go into to.
b) You rank the items yourself.
c) The guy tells you the answers and explains why.

The top items are mirror and coat. The mirror acts as a giant flashlight to signal rescuers. The coat stops you sweating and losing body moisture. The water is inconsequential as there is only enough to last one person 20 minutes in the desert!

Second part of interview is a 5 minute peresentation. Ours was on 'any topic you feel passionate about'. I would advise having a couple of 5 minute topics prepared for this. Its pretty hard to make up on the spot.

I thought I did pretty well but never got a second interview. I reckon they are looking for the following things.
-Cool under pressure
-Ability to influence other people by persuasion (failing that threat)
-Good people skills
If you can demonstrate this you have a chance

One girl did it on salsa dancing and did a dance at the end. it was hilarious. Its pretty intensive interview but very enjoyable. PM me if you want the exact list for that desert survival thing.

rediguana

Great post, Kmick!

I gotta say, I would've went for the water. Or maybe not, actually, seeing as it's so "obvious". I guess they're looking for lateral thinking and a "big picture" mentality.

In the interview you attended, did most interviewees seem clueless regarding the format or was everyone prepped to high heaven?

I'll PM you for that list! Cheers.

kmick

No one was prepared as far as I could see - everone was winging it. I did some research but it turned up very little. I would say there is a lot more info out there now though so Im sure people will be prepared with their 5 minute speech.. I will get you that list and the correct ranking tonight. Im sure they have changed it by now but you never know.