ScoobyWon't

Just received a call from a recruitment agent who has got me an interview next Tuesday for an EPOS hardware/software supplier.

It's been ages since I had an interview so does anyone have any top tips, or good resources to bone-up on possible questions beforehand?

I've got my hands on a book called The Perfect Interview which I will be reading later, but if anyone has any insider information regarding EPOS and EPOS software I'd be truly grateful.

TIA

SW

jimmyv

relax, don't show signs of nervousness and do some reading around the company and products, just in case. also might be worth asking them what the company can do for you in terms of your future prospects, makes it look as though you planning on being there for a while and working hard to move up.
good luck

PaulC72

be yourself honesty is always best if you know something say if you don't explain you are willing to learn and find out to increase your worth.
Try to have a couple of questions about them as it looks like you have doen your homework.
Good luck.

sbk1972

Being a contractor, Im always interviewing. Never comes easy, but one thing for sure, you cant know everything so dont worry if you dont know a question.

Skills can be learnt, so can commands / syntax, so if you dont know say how you would find out, or how you would over come the problem. i.e. IVe used the reply " Ohhh I would man this command and find out the flags" As long as you show that you have half a clue, then cool.

When Ive interviewed people for positions, I accept you cant know everything, but I want to see that the person is self sufficient, and will find out for himself, i.e. doesnt require spoon feeding, has half a clue and has a general understanding of skills the role will require.

In the old days, before the internet, you used to have a little black book for all your mates that were good with oracle, sybase, unix etc, ringing them when you had problems. Nowadays ,the internet is a beautiful thing and everything is on that.

Also, half the requirements are skills, the other half is that the person will fit in. Many a time Ive come across unix SA's that know their subject but have no interpersonal skills and just can't interact with other users or SA's. Its like having a powerful cannon that cant shoot straight, so therefore useless.

So, show a general positive attitude, a willingness and a overall general team orientated approach and you should do okay.

Failing all that, and the interview is going wrong, accept it, put it down to experience and then tell the interviewer to F**K O**, telling him you didnt want the job anyway. :-)

Best of luck.

SBK

AllanB

Do your research on the company, be honest and demonstrate and ability to learn and teamwork and figuring stuff out for yourself. Make sure you know any facts around your past achievements and can give specific detail around them.

Attitude and desire to do well is the main thing looked for, skills can be learned but attitude can not.

Make sure your CV is up to date well laid out with no gaps. If you have gaps make sure you can explain them.

Good luck !


AllanB

Scoobychick

iTrader: (1)

Don't tell them that your hobby is surfing Scoobynet

monotokpoint

walk in with your ***** hanging out your trousers

ScoobyWon't

I was going to ask them for a new laptop and if I could work from home

I'm confident my skills are what they are looking for due to them only getting my cv this morning and expressing their interest on the same day, plus my (probably) unique experience of IT in the hospitality industry, both supplying it, and using it.

I've had a look at the website and seen what they do, much of it is similar to what I had been working on in Tenerife between 1999 and 2003. I'm fairly excited about the opportunity

swampster

iTrader: (1)

I'd qualify that.. and say don't look too nervous. I'd expect some amount of apprehension, otherwise I'd think they were over confident or an arrogant ****! As long as you're not a gibbering idiot and sweating like a pig.. which brings me onto another thing...

and yes some people definitely overlook this... I've smelt them

personal hygiene make DAMNED sure it's above reproach!

ScoobyWon't

It's going to be a long drive their, a couple of hours I reckon, so I was planning on changing into suit/shirt & tie just before I arrive. Always keep a bottle of aftershave in the car anyway

***Nemesis***

Don't be late and be nice to any reception staff.

I always ask them what they think, and it always amazes me what interviewees will say when off guard!

Diesel

Dont be late!! Be sure to arrive early and sit in the car park re-reading stuff you have printed off on the company/industry/sector. Find out who will be interviewing you and what pushes their buttons. I found out a head of dept's name that was going to be interviewing me last year and found some quotes of his from a seminar he spoke at. I repeated the essence of one of his gems (in good context) in the interview as if it were mine. I got the job

Diesel

Not too much now - only enough for ladies 6" away to smell!

D

ScoobyWon't

What should I take with me? A copy of my CV, anything else?

little-ginge

There is nothing worse than having to interview some smelly ****** Been there, done that. And no he didn't get the job

ScoobyWon't - as most of the previous responses.. try to be calm and collected - but don't come across as too laid back!! Be truthful.. otherwise it might come back and bite you on the bum.

Do research into the company, consider what you can offer, not only to the role itself, but to the company AND to your fellow colleagues-to-be also.

Be able to demonstrate your abilities - recent examples of teamwork, problem solving, dealing situations/deadlines under pressure etc always go down well.

Be prepared to ask them questions at the end. They always ask and a lot of interviewees don't think about this bit and normally say when asked ' I think you've just about covered everything...'

Good luck!!

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

I had an interview recently, and was going though the same kind of things as you.

I researched what the company goals were, there failings in the last year and how they intend to improve on them.

There were quite a few generic HR questions, which are pretty much the same for all our interviews, I went through these in my head and spent the journey to work for a few days before speaking to myself in the car. I felt like a right tit doing it, but when it came to the day my answers flowed out just right. This was particularly important for me as I tend to clam up a bit in those type of situations.

Anyway there is some good advice in this thread already so good luck.

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

I got the job btw

ScoobyWon't

My mate once recruited someone purely because he could smell the booze on the interviewees breath. Apparently he figured that they'd be able to go for a lunch time pint together. That explains why Virgin Media is like it is

I've spoken to friends who are still in travel hospitality and they have told me good things about the parent company.

I think that my insider knowledge of what the hospitality industry requires will benefit the company and colleagues as I already know, as a user, what tasks I want the systems to be able to perform and what demands are placed on the people who will be using it on a daily basis. Also having worked previously on the IT side of things, I know that you shouldn't promise the clients things without asking the programmers/engineers.

What sort of questions should I be asking them?

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

What future training and development is available, would be a good one IMO

ScoobyWon't

If I do get it, the job that is, I will be spending 4 weeks daan sarth in Slough (lucky me ) being trained on the products. After that I expect I'll be trained on each hardware/software update that is released.

Bakerman

Exactly as sbk1972 says, just had an offer from an interview that I thought went badly. It turns out they were more interested in the person behind the cv than the IT skills (to a point) that I have. The interviewer post interview admitted that provided you are a decent kind of person with some inteligence you can learn most skills needed for most roles.

Try to relax and just be honest, if you don't know something say you don't but are prepared to learn rather than blag it and be caught out.

ScoobyWon't

I've just gained some more information regarding what will be happening. They originally wanted to hold it next Tuesday at 09:00, but then decided that 13:30 on the Wednesday was better as it would mean I don't have to be up at 05:00 to get there. That was thoughtful of them

I will be interviewed by the Academy and Training Manager, who's name I have now got, I will do some research on her later.

Secondly, I will do a psychometric test. Not sure what it covers, but I will browse the internet ot find some examples.

Thirdly I have been asked to make a 10 minute presentation on the subject of "If you could be anyone, who would you be and why?" This seems to be more about demonstrating my coaching abilities, being interactive with customers, showing my traits, motivation and drive.

I was thinking that maybe I would say I'd like to be The Stig!

Diesel

I just did a psycho test - passed with flying colours .

I can prob help if you cant get more info on these as I cunningly did a 'save as' during the process. However there is no right or wrong answer - they just need to see which way you lean instinctively so its best to be true to yourself and honest. E.g. If they are looking for a ball breaker a score leaning towards diplomatic and 'able to see many sides of the argument' aint gonna make you their man (etc). However if you are going for an IAEA job in Iraq you could be just their man!

D

RobinSherwood

Loads of good advice here and personal hygiene and presentation can be so important as the first impression as you walk into the room can make a very big difference.

Also don't forget the details, as an example a friend of mine who used to run a major hi-tec company told me the first thing he looked at when someone waked through the door was their shoes and if the shoes were scruffy instantly the odds were stacked against them getting the job.

Markus

Just been reading local news website and this ad came up, might be worth a look.

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

I reckon you can tell a fair bit about your prospective employer in this way too. If you go for a technical position, but they don't give you the job because of some HR faux-pas rather than an inability to actually fulfil the role, then you may have had a narrow escape.

I always remember one interview I went for. It was scheduled for about 12 noon and was due to last about 2 hrs.

4 hours later I'd been seen by several engineers and other technical staff, we'd talked about products they'd designed and how they worked, and I figured I was getting on very well. But, not having had a big lunch, and with only a coffee to go on, I was starting to flag a bit.

Then they brought out this guy from HR, who proceeded to babble and ask all sorts of stupid questions. It was all I could do to remain polite.

I didn't get the job, and I'm glad; if a company allows a w*nker like that to have greater influence over the decision-making process than the people I would actually be working alongside, then there's something badly wrong.

ScoobyWon't

I'm going to be performing a psychometric test provided by McQuaig, so I think I'll take a look at their website before I attempt it.

ScoobyWon't

That one popped up while I was reading the thisisnottingham website. I shall be reading that one later.

robby

watch trainspotting - Spud did a great interview