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Banking Interview GuideChanging jobs is considered to be amongst the top 5 most stressful occurrences in life and one, which most people only go through, on average, every 4 years. Because of this, most of us have very little practice in how to prepare for and conduct ourselves at interviews.
Hopefully this guide will give you a good grounding on how to prepare yourself and a few hints on how to make the best of yourself and make the most of any interview situation.
This guide is a distillation of the observations, experience and knowledge of consultants who amongst them have a wealth of experience in recruitment. Therefore, taking that team into interview with you should give you the competitive edge you need.
So do take time to prepare as you never know your first interview maybe the ideal job and you could certainly lose it without the right preparation.
There are 3 main areas to consider after you have decided to make a career move and are about to attend job interviews:
Attitude Enthusiasm and Preparation
1. Attitude
Attitude is a little thing that makes a BIG difference.
The attitude you project is critical in the interview. A poor self-image carries over into your interview behaviour and affects the way you 'carry yourself'. Poor attitude also impacts on your ability to generate good eye contact, voice modulation, enthusiasm, and severely undermines your ability to take control and sell yourself in an interview.
You must believe in yourself if you expect an employer to believe in you.
Do not be negative or overly apologetic about things you have done, not done, or not done well enough. There is nothing that will knock a candidate out faster than 'talking down' one's achievements or decisions. When you speak, concentrate on using your voice to express confidence. Don't let your voice trail off at the end of a sentence (indicating a lack of confidence in what you are saying).
If you are having difficulty getting 'up' and positive for interviews try using mental imagery to give you confidence. Think of past situations where you have been successful. Go over every detail of the event and recapture the feeling you had when you achieved success. Next, imagine yourself in situations where you wish to be successful (such as this interview). Picture yourself walking in confidently and winning over the interviewer. Think about in detail what you will do and say. The bottom line is that if you truly believe you will succeed, you will.
On the other hand, there is a fine line between arrogance and confidence. It's important to portray yourself as self-assured, but if this slides into an attitude of over-confidence and arrogance it will create the wrong impression. Arrogance, self-importance and a condescending attitude will not endear you to your interviewer.
Always be happy and positive. Smile.
2. Enthusiasm
This is something you may have to work on, unless it is YOUR PERFECT JOB in which case this will happen naturally.
ENTHUSIASM: You will be driving nails into your own coffin if you fail to exhibit enthusiasm!
Enthusiasm can be defined as a "spirit which animates the whole body (face, voice and actions) and makes an attractive person out of dried flesh and bone." Resist the temptation to sit back and passively answer questions. Be enthusiastic about yourself, the interview, and the employer. You must take an active role in the interview if you want to distinguish yourself from other candidates. Try and get the interviewer to be enthusiastic about his/her firm or the work he/she does. Ask about the type of work the interviewer is presently doing or about the most exciting case he/she has handled.
SINCERITY: Obvious false enthusiasm will come across very negatively in the eyes of the interviewer. If you come across as a phoney, the interviewer will assume that you are dishonest, an assumption which will be the kiss of death for the candidate.
TACT: Tact comes into play when you talk about past employers, ex bosses and ex colleagues, and when the interview brings up controversial subjects or introduces stress into the interview. Do not get trapped into making negative statements.
COURTESY: Obvious rudeness, whether in the form of verbal statements or in body language (slouching, inattentiveness) is unprofessional and unacceptable behaviour. Also be aware of more subtle forms of rudeness: interrupting the interviewer, projecting a cocky attitude, slovenly dress, etc. Think about how your attitude and actions are likely to be perceived.
3. Preparation.
This is the biggest area that you can influence.
IF YOU DO NOT PREPARE TO SUCCEED, BE PREPARED TO FAIL.
It is a fact that people who are less experienced but better prepared will have a far higher chance of getting the job.
When anyone attends an interview they are being judged not only on their qualifications and experience but how they present themselves and the impact made on the interviewer.
Preparation is about every aspect of the interview process. Planning your journey, your dress, learning your strengths, gaining company information, making a presentation folder, preparing your answers and rehearsing
1. Planning your journey
Make sure you know where you are going and how long it should take. Leave adequate time in case of traffic or transport problems. Allow yourself at least 30-60 minutes extra. It is better to be early with time to think than be late and STRESSED. Take the contact details of the interviewer with you in case you are going to be late so you can call and let them know.
Preparing yourself
Dress the part, like an actor preparing for an audition, you have to dress appropriately, and that usually translates to upscale, reserved wear. For women, a dark blue or neutral coloured suit paired with matching shoes and transparent stockings makes a professional first impression. If you're at all unsure about how a particular piece of jewellery will be received by an interviewer, don't wear it.
Men should also err on the side of conservatism, opting for traditional suits and ties. If you dress like a bank Manager you will be looked at like a Bank Manager. Cut, comb and shave. Many people forget that their hairstyles need to complement their attire, so it's good practice to have your hair style in-keeping with your overall appearance.
Your appearance also includes your fingernails and teeth. Make sure that you've brushed properly before your meeting. Also, clean and trim your nails; your interviewer will notice if you extend a hand that has been well-groomed.
By paying attention to what may seem like the "little" items, there's a much higher chance that your interviewer will focus his or her attention on what you're saying.
Make sure you switch off your mobile phone before the start of the interview. It is bad manners to leave the phone on and even worse to actually take calls or text messages.
Learning your strengths and benefits.
At every interview you are likely to be asked what are your strengths and if not you certainly need to be able to tell them about your benefits. Why else would they want to employ you? Be honest, but do not highlight any weaknesses. It is up to the interviewer to find them.
Think about what are your features, why it is an advantage to an employer and what is the benefit to the employer. This is what needs to be thought about and used at interview. Why are you different from others? This is the preparation that will make the difference. When selling or advising on a product or service you need to fully understand all the features and advantages of them to be able to identify what the benefits are for the customer, so at interview you are the product and you need to know so you can sell yourself to the customer, i.e. the employer.
Gaining company information.
Most interviewers will ask you why you wish to join us. And what do you know about us? This is where your research and preparation starts to work. Get a job description for the role you have applied for and highlight the areas where your skills match those of the job description. You can also use the web to search for information on the organisation or the division that you have applied for. Here you can gain information on the background and the products as well. You may also need to know who their main competitors are and why this organisation is your preferred choice.
Making a presentation folder.
It is imperative that you prepare a professional Presentation Folder, highlighting your career achievements to date.
The contents of your Presentation Folder will depend upon the achievements you wish to highlight, but should include the following: An up to date CV. Accurate details of production figures. Figures given verbally or prepared by you may be totally accurate but are rarely accepted at face value. These should be in writing and produced by your current or previous company. Prepare a brief summary front page showing the figures that match the written statements. Include anything in writing that promotes your achievements, e.g. ACIB passes, convention qualification, production awards, league tables etc. Where appropriate highlight your name on the league tables and your ranking in your branch, the region and nationally for any year/quarter/month.
Remember, it will benefit you to leave copies of your achievement records with any potential employers, retaining the originals in your folder.
Ascertain from your diary your current activity levels, and be prepared to compare them with the activity levels required to make your current job role successful. For a Manager this will probably be any relevant information relating to the monitoring of your team. The preparation may take some time to collate, but from experience I can assure you that this is invaluable and will give you the edge over the other applicants and will place you in the top 10% of interviewees.
Preparing and rehearsing.
Role plays
Most banks now assess candidates using role plays and competency based questions.
A more detailed brief will be available should you need it when you reach that stage of the interview process. This can either be done by us sending you a document via e-mail or if you would like a one to one personal assessment brief with one of our highly trained consultants you can call us in normal office hours on 0845 643 1713 .
The purpose behind role plays is to assess your listening and questioning skills. They will often ask you to act the part relating to the position you are applying to. The whole idea behind this is to see whether you have the skills to develop and make a success in the role. You will be expected to identify the customer, build rapport, ask open questions, listen to the answers and spot opportunities, and of course gain commitment to a sale or contact by a member of the bank to discuss other products or services. Open questions are the ones that start who, what, why, when, where and tell me. It really is as easy as that, apart from the stress involved with being in an interview situation.
Competency based questions.
What is a Competency?
Competencies are those behaviours that you demonstrate at work that makes you effective. They are a mixture of knowledge, skills, motivation and personal characteristics. In demonstrating your competence you will be showing the skills and the background knowledge necessary for you to perform a particular task effectively, together with the motivation or drive to make things happen.
Most banks now use this format for interviews and assessments. Competency based questions are the ones that ask you to talk out a situation or event that has happened and to explain in full detail, so they can score you against the competencies required for the job. These questions require a lot of preparation so you can give the best examples you have. Being unprepared for these definitely would not get you through an assessment.
Here are a couple of examples of competency based questions.
Describe a difficult situation involving customers where it was important for you to gain support
What was your approach?
What was the result?
Tell me about a time when you were not achieving your targets.
What did you do to get back on track?
What have you learnt from this experience?
A full list of competency based questions will be available to you when required.
Here are some of the most common questions that are asked at interview. These are not competency based; however they still need to be prepared.
Give details of your past achievements, e.g. ACIB, Convention qualification. Exceptional production, best position in branch or region or nationally in any month or year
What do you consider your greatest achievements in life and why?
What are your three main strengths and why?
What are your three main weaknesses? (Turn them into positives).
What do you enjoy most about your job?
What motivates you?
What part of your job do you find most demanding?
What frustrates you about your job?
What has been your biggest disappointment in your career to date?
Give an example of a situation where you did not succeed and how you coped with it?
Describe a typical day/week.
How and when do you ask for referrals?
Having an answer for all the questions will also build you confidence, knowing you can answer with confidence.
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