You asked for it, so here it is! The 2020 Occupied guide to job interviews. With the assistance of the awesome Erin Jeffords we give you the extent of our knowledge and experience to best prepare you for your first or next job interview. If you’re a student, a newgrad or an OT looking to brush up on their job-hunting skills then tune in and learn how you can give yourself the best shot at landing that job!

We explore tips for everything from the preparation right through to what to do post interview.

• How to nail down your preparation
• How to practice for your interview
• What to research prior to your interview
• Being self-aware and open to feedback
• How to present your 100% authentic self in the best way
• Types of interviews
• Followup post-interview

Keep Occupied

Brock
@brockcookOT
brock.cook@me.com

Transcript of Episode

086 The 2020 Occupied Guide to Job Interviews

00:00:01 – 00:05:02

I am excited about this one. This is hopefully going to be the start of a brand new thing. We’re going to try and update this like annually so that it’s always the latest information for you guys. You guys told me that you wanted an episode about how to prepare for a job interview how to get ready give yourself the best opportunity to nail down that job. So here it is the 2020 occupied guide to job interviews i

So a little while ago. I threw out a message on the instead of asking what people were wanted to hear about. I got quite a few really amazing topics this being probably the biggest one and that’s how do I interview? How do I get a job? What is this process? And how can I be better at it off? So this is the occupied 20/20 guide to interviewing and trying to get a job. Obviously. I have some experience in that but yep. Definitely not all-encompassing in that experience. I’ve brought along the lovely orange efforts to give me a hand with this episode. So thanks for coming in and helping out with the this you have a myriad of experience throughout your your career and your family apparently with regards to interviewing. So I’m hoping this is this is going to be a bagger and really useful. That’s what we want to do is try and create a really useful resource for not just new grads going for their first interview, but anyone really that’s prepping for a job change on, you know going for a promotion or any way that you’re going to find yourself sitting in interview. So I think one of the first things Is I guess firstly to kind of recognize that yeah interviews stressful. That’s probably one of the first things it’s normal for you to be stressed going into a job interview. It’s normal. It’s it’s usually going to bring about some kind of large change in your life in your career. It may even been precipitated by a change in your life or your career. You may have other things going on that may have led to you applying for this job or going for this change or moving or anything like that. So there’s usually all the stresses that can accompany this additional stress of going for an interview. So, I think the first thing to acknowledge is that yeah, it’s it’s normal what you’re feeling is normal when you’re coming up to this situations, but there are definitely things that you can do to better process and better manage them and we’re going to have a look wage. I guess some of the preparation stuff. So one of the things that Aaron mentioned to me before we recorded this is some of the stuff that you can prepare for with regards to your normal routine or kinds of things can can people do for their normal routine with regards to getting ready for an interview error. I I think personally when I think about like when I have gone interviews in the past or things that I recommend that my students who are just like think about the routine of the day before the interview or the day of the interview, you know, making sure you know, you get enough rest possibly like for me, I’m not a breakfast person but you know, I am a coffee person. So making sure you know, I have some time to have my cup of coffee and you know, making sure that you know, I do whatever I can to manage my stress for the day, you know, just kind of setting I hate to say it sounds kind of cliche but set yourself up for Success. So like doing all those things that you would do in a if you’re going to any important meeting or presentation or or in this case an interview, so making sure you know, you’re getting enough rep rust possibly, you know, whatever you need if you need to eat breakfast or not put any laying out. This is like a I’m treating it. Like I was my my children laying your clothes out the night before, you know, but really knowing what you want to wear for the interview, you know, don’t just wake up and grab the you know shirt out of the laundry basket kind of thing, you know, you need to to actually treat it you need to make sure that you treat it that it is the important event that it is, you know, you are you’re going to place you want to make that great first impression.

00:05:02 – 00:10:14

So what can you do, you know that day or the day before to kind of prepare for that interview so that those are kind of the things that I was talking about the rules of making sure that you’re giving yourself enough time, you know, and not you know rushing to get there and knowing the parking situation as well, you know, just kind of the planning the whole planning of the day is something that I think will really help make you feel more confident when you get there because you’re not going to be worried birth. That your day didn’t start off on the right foot, you know, just making sure you kind of do everything. You can’t now sometimes it’s unavoidable. You know, you you might sleep through your alarm or and there might be an accident on the way to the meeting and I mean the interview and you might be 5 minutes late, you know, so don’t let those things, you know really creeped in as far as like yourself doubt. But if you can do things to avoid those things like setting a second alarm or leaving extra early. So if there is an accident, you know that that’s what I’m talking about. Just trying to implement some extra steps to make that routine as smooth as possible on that day. I think I think times of massive one especially for for me personally am so like you said like getting yourself organized so there’s less things that you have to put mental energy into on the day, but another thing with regards to time is you can give yourself too much time off. A really bad this so for job interviews if I have say an interview in the middle of a workday, it’s not uncommon. I have done it in the past where I’ve taken the day off just so that I can prepare myself and I’m not running around nothing comes up at work that is going to make me late or stressed or anxious or anything like that but in doing that because I’ve got everything prepped the night before. I’m just sitting there all morning just going over things in my head and to me that I can always suck myself out of it. So being self-aware about that and we will get onto self-awareness in a little bit, but knowing how much time you need and then just adding a little bit extra like if you are going to take all morning and you know that you’re not going to have a lot on then maybe you can leave some of that sort of getting a warning these colors and that sort of stuff to the morning as long as you leave plenty of time. So knowing how much time you need adding a little bit extra not going completely overboard. Otherwise, yep. It is a potential there to to stress yourself out and kind of has the opposite effect, unfortunately. What about actually practicing for the interview? How how can we do that? Cuz one of the questions and the one of the reasons actually we’re connected was answered the question. I’m trying to bring this up now because I think it’s one of the funniest. So I just go ahead and on Instagram around the same time as what do you want me to talk about about what interview questions people have had recently found Aaron came back that one of the interview questions. You were given were what was it? What chocolate bar are you? It was what candy bar, you know, we’re shopping. Okay. Yeah, you have to you if you were a candy bar or what candy bar would you be and why and I was so I had probably I have eleven years of experience. Now. This was a few years ago. So I think I had nine years of experience at this point and you know, I was not expecting this interview question at all, you know, and and I I tried to I think I probably did laugh cuz it was just kind of awkward, you know, I didn’t know what to say. And and I told you I responded cuz you you came back and said well, what did you say and I said a crunch Nestle Crunch bar because I think that was honestly I think that was the lack of candy bar I had eaten so that was the first thing that came to my mind and then I had to make it work and I said well, you know, it’s smooth on the outside but it has texture, you know, you don’t know what they’re getting you know, and and and so the girl you know, she kind of laughed and and then I asked her. Well, what what would you what what’s your answer and I can’t even remember what hers was off. But yeah, that was definitely by far the most out-there interview question I’ve ever been asked and it’s I did get some interesting ones in a lot of them typical ones like tell me about a time you had conflict and how you managed it that kind of stuff. But sometimes I I have heard quite regularly questions like that, which is So seemingly weird. When I think a lot of the time questions like that are designed to see how you react not honestly your answer itself. Probably is negligible. Yes, you managed to come up with a cool story about how the front bar but it was probably more to do with how is she going to react under you know, this is sudden pressure cuz it’s a pressure.

00:10:14 – 00:15:08

You’re not expecting that kind of question and it could be anything. I’ve heard all sorts of things. The chocolate bar one was definitely a new thing. But you know, I’ve heard about one I have heard is sort of if you were if you had a superpower, what would it be just random question. Just nothing necessarily to do with OT or health care in general the one thing I would say is a lot of people those questions aren’t necessarily their way to test your Healthcare knowledge or your dedication to healthcare. Sometimes they’re there to learn a little bit more about your personality. Sometimes they’re they’re like, I suspect the chocolate bar one was just to see how you might react and I think in preparation for those kinds of questions, you just kinda need to be yourself. I I’ve heard people when I get that especially the superhero question. I’ve heard some very out their answers for that but people try and rather than just answer like, you know, I like Batman like I thought I would be Batman why because I liked the sort of underground Underdog Story of you know, coming from this sort of traumatic experience and becoming for whatever the reason is dead. But I’m not going to sit there and try and come up with an answer that makes me look like I’m model for health professionals. Like I’m not going to you know, I would be dead. He falls prevention man or something like it. I don’t that’s not the purpose of those questions. There’s plenty of other questions in an interview that are there to test your knowledge on health but wage that is not the only thing that people are looking for in a in a in a in an interview. So be aware that not every question needs a health answer. Oh, absolutely. And like you said, they’re looking they’re kind of teeth out your personality a lot of times interviews too. So, you know, I mean they are I mean, they’re just trying to figure out wage you are what makes you different think everybody at that point has a license to practice. So what makes you different from the other person you all have the skills you all pass your you know, your certification exam. So what’s so special about you or you know, what? Can you bring to this job role that someone else can’t bring so sometimes those questions. I think you’re right. They’re just trying to figure out who you are as a person and you know, So sorry to hear you. I want to say like, you know, if you’re authentic or not, you know, like you said like if you try to come up with some like off-the-wall, you know answer or if you just walk in like hey, I like like you said like like that. I’m an eighties child. So I would have probably said like he bad or sheer or somewhere somebody like that, you know, which the people at their students who that is. But yeah, that was that was who I was obsessed with when I was a kid, you know, so that’s probably the first thing that would have come to my mind, you know, not like anybody else cuz I don’t know other superheroes. Yeah, and I think a lot of the time a lot of interviews I’ve heard from yeah, like people conducting interviews that quite often what they’re looking for is is this person is their personality is the attitude. Are they going to fit in team that we already have so like you said everyone should if it’s an OT position everyone replied off An IT everyone is registered. Everyone has passed their exams passed all of the different things that they need to, you know be a registered OT and it might come down to the fact that this person personality-wise seems like they’re going to fit better with the team that we already have cuz we have a really good team. We don’t want to upset that we want to be better and be more productive as a team. So they’re quite often looking for that. They want to it’s hard to gather. I mean you can understand when you when you meet new friends how long it takes to get a handle on their personality. And that’s without sort of the really sort of formal interview process adding to that barrier. So it’s difficult to try and get a good understanding of someone’s personality when they’re putting off. It’s very professional front. So questions like that random questions like that can sometimes almost be like a jolt like a bit of a shock to the system and can can help give some insight into the the kind of person that they are and it might be that might I don’t feel like there’s a wrong answer for those which is I know probably not what I was hoping to hear because everyone wants to know that this is what you have to prepare for and these are the questions that you’re going to get but every interview is going to be different.

00:15:08 – 00:20:04

I’ve done interviews my like I’ve gone for jobs and had interviews where they’ve asked all the various standard questions, you know, tell me about a time when you had conflict with a team-mate and how you managed to tell me about a time when you managing Difficult situation or when you showed leadership or whatever it is. Tell me about your experience. But I’ve also had interviews. We’re probably the most unique one where I had to just come in and present the case. I had to prove a power was given it like the brief beforehand to present a case of it. Obviously, you’re going to choose one that you did. Well Ali and I had a I had a power point everything I had to go in there and press office annal and like that was that was it that was the interview was me doing a presentation and then the panel asking me a couple of questions afterwards managed to get that job by the way, just saying. Oh, yeah. Yeah, so that was a completely different set up and there was no way if I had have been practicing interview questions and then got the email saying oh you have to present. Okay, so I’m not ready for this month. So Luckily that played into my strengths and that’s that’s another thing that you need to be aware of is that not everyone I know many people that will say I am really awesome and interviews Wicked and if you give me an interview any day select group assignments when you’re unique no one goes. Yes, ma’am more group assignments. Oh gosh. Yeah don’t get started on the yeah. That’s definitely not a favorite amongst. You know, I’m with you. I mean, I feel like Every interview is different but no one wants to be caught off guard, you know, and like you said like having that someone telling you like. Oh, we’re going to have this case that you’re going to repair for improvement. I mean that is really a great way for you to Showcase your skills. I would as a you know, if I was going to hire someone I would rather have someone do that than like you said ask them. You know questions that we always get asked, you know, the routine question some of your strengths and weaknesses and and those types of questions but as you know, the majority of interviews are going to be the more traditional ones, so there are things that you can prepare for and the general interview questions. And when I asked you guys it all came back sounding fairly similar don’t think these General interview questions have changed very much for decades, but it is usually things around depending on the setting as well. There might be some setting specific questions around, you know, if you work in drug and alcohol might be settings questions specific to that setting but for the most part, it’s generally, you know, tell me like we said before tell me about a time when you showed leadership if it’s off the ship position tell me about a time when you had conflict within a team and how you managed it. I’ve found dead. That quite often the questions that are asked can give you insight into what’s been happening in that team prior to you going for the job, which is a good thing because what you can do is and it’s been a fairly common recommendation. I remember hearing it when I was at Uni years to always make sure that you’ve got a question for them at some point and I think the type of questions being asked can if you wanted to not just phone that question in and actually ask someone thing is genuine and could be very useful to you, is to have a think about the questions that you are asked and then see if there’s anything from that that you might be interested in asking. So for example, if they’re asking about telling you asking you to page them if there’s any times that you’ve had conflict with staff and how you managed it and that kind of thing then potentially that may indicate that there’s been some issue in the past with wage. Either past staff et cetera. You can ask about that, you know, have you has there been issues with this in the past? Is there any how how how was it off the employment got into that much detail, but how could I support myself or support the team in working through that is the team set-up well for that kind of situation with the and that’s just one example, but depending on the questions I asked you can base what you’re going to ask them on that which is I think a really good way cuz it shows one that you’re switched on Thursday and you’re paying attention to what’s going on.

00:20:04 – 00:25:08

Nothing happens by accident. I don’t believe that especially with these kinds of things people are very much looking for specifics in your answers and they’re asking questions to do that. So if they’re looking for someone that knows how to manage conflict there’s a reason if they’re looking for someone wage. If specific skills and they’re asking about this specific stuff. Like I went for a job a while ago. It was a very generic job at that are asking a lot of questions around Crisis Intervention, and I was just didn’t pick up on all the time cuz I was young and dumb but that was something that was lacking within the team at the time. I found it afterwards didn’t get that job, unfortunately, or fortunately, you know, but that was something that was lacking within the team. So if I had have been switched on enough I could have a framed a question around is this something that you’ve finished up I had in the team. Is that something you’re trying to introduce? What are the issues that are brought this on kind of thing and it it shows it bodes well for you, like I said before because it shows that your real boost on in in a and a tune if I can get that word out to Health Systems Health processes. So it works well for you in the long run and you’re going to find out Little bit more information about what you’re stepping into if you do get the job, which is always a good thing. That’s a good point. I never thought about it in that way because I have been asked in interviews before about wage like my learning style. And you know, like are you a self learner or you self motivated things like that? And that’s typically in the jobs where there are not there isn’t a lot of supervision or lack of opportunity. So they want to know can you just hit the ball ground running you can you do this or do you need a lot of hand-holding and you know, I know myself like you say, we’ll talk about the song Earnest Bass But as a new grad, I needed the hand-holding, you know as a practitioner. I don’t feel like I need it as much now I still you know, if I’m going to an unfamiliar setting off, yes, but as a new grad, I was very vocal that I was looking for that type of opportunity where I would have that mentorship, but now I’m working more in dead. PRN our more part-time PRN, you know, they ask me questions. Like, you know, can you start you know, when you bring you okay with you know less supervision or less contact and you know, they just want to know that you can take off and do it take the job and do it. And so that makes sense cuz I never thought about that but that’s a question you get asked is what your learning style how do you learn best learning style is definitely one thing that I’ve been asked before as well again, probably when I was too young to realize that it kind of had some indication on what they were looking for or what was missing another one. Like I mentioned before is I’ve been asked to you know, tell me a time when you exhibited leadership, which is such a broad question. But again, it can indicate something that they’re either looking for succession plans or looking for something that’s lacking within the team at that point in time wage. Can be a team that doesn’t like the team that I think it was the interview that I had with the front of language interviewers. Which job but I think in that team there was a lot of sort of projects within the team and you were leading those projects. So that was why they were asking about that. So definitely keep that in mind. Obviously the other thing I think specifically for new grads is that without some of those questions like that haven’t got a lot of that experience because you know, you may never have have worked as a and I tell you might you might be going for your first job and I don’t know about you Aaron but one of the things that I like to try and is something you can prepare for is with things like leadership conflict learning song all that kind of stuff pull examples that aren’t related like you’ve done other things in your life. I remember for the last question. I remember pulling out a an example of wage Something that happened when I was like in Boy Scouts like it was years ago years prior, but it was a good example of what they were asking for and nothing to do with OT but again leadership isn’t an IT thing or learning style isn’t an OT thing. So it doesn’t have to be specific to the job that you’re applying for or to the degree that you’ve just completed that they’re looking for in some instances. I would say they’re also looking with those questions to find out about your general life experience and see what else you’ve done. So if So it’s nice to include like you said other experiences, but you know, if you’re a new grad you and you do have you might you might think.

00:25:08 – 00:30:01

Oh, I don’t have the experience. But if you had something you can pull from from your level to do fieldwork placement or we we call the mobile people your level to fill replace that or even in school. If you’re talking about group dynamics and Leadership, maybe a group project where you were dead in school. I mean try to you know, like you said use a an example. It doesn’t have to be like necessarily as a practicing therapist. It could be as as your role as a student as your roam like you said in another job, you know, so just make it you know for the question I think one thing too is your degree that you’ve just completed the whole degree wage is back engineered to get you a job at the end of it. So not anything that most health settings are going to ask you. It has been built into your course. So if they’re asking about leadership if they’re asking about learning styles, there will be an example that you can pull from your course somewhere if that’s all that you’ve got. I’m talking about someone that’s lived under the stairs their whole life come in front of no T course and then there’s applied for a job guarantee you there’s other things in your life, or you could probably pull examples from but if there’s not and you can’t think of anything there will definitely be something from throughout your course for pretty much anything that you’re going to be asked maybe not the chocolate bar one down any sort of the Practical tell me about a time when type questions they’ll be something from your course that you can pull from as an example. And these are all things like using these General. I guess topics that commonly looked at these are the things that you can prepare for prepare an example and the question may not come in the exact form that you prepared. But if you thought an example of you know, when you showed leadership, I thought about an example of when I was involved in the conflict with a person I worked with or with a client. I’ve thought about an example of how long how I learn best. I’ve thought about an example of when I’ve been independent, but then needed to ask for help. You can reframe on the Fly depending on how they asked the question if they don’t ask it exactly how you prepared. That’s okay. That’s okay. You say you have to think about like they don’t really care how you dealt with, like they just want to see if you’re resilient. You know, they want to see if you’re flexible. They want to see how you think on your feet, you know, sometimes the things are really looking for so, you know try to Showcase those things, you know, and so I think if people go into like, oh, I don’t have this like like you said this, I didn’t have come back with a co-worker, you know, but they if you can showcase that you’re you know, you’re resilient. You’re flexible you deal well with stress, I mean that’s what they want. You know that things are really trying to dig deep to see if how you deal in this situation how you handle those types of situations. I always liked the question wrong. Of like like I was going I said earlier like what? Why what can you bring to this organization or or job that someone else can’t you know, because you really have to be able to think about okay. Well, why am I a better role than my end of my classmate but also applied for the same job or and we’d like you said we both have her license at this point. We’re both skilled. We both have changed the necessary requirements to be in the role, but you have to kind of figure out you know, what sets you apart and why you would be good for that job. That’s hard too long to do, you know, but you this is like an opportunity to really kind of showcase who you are, you know in your strengths and your personality, so it’s not just about being an OT wage. You know, what is it about you personally that you think would be a good fit for that job or that rule. Well, that’s a good segue. Let’s delve into the the software. So the self-awareness stuff those of you listening. Just for a while. If you happen to be one of my students at any point in time, you’ll have hear me heard me ramble on about self-awareness and being self-aware a thousand times over because I feel like it’s one of the biggest skills that not only are we lacking a lot of cases, but we need and does us very very well in all instances, but it also does very very well when it comes to interviewing so nobody is perfect. I’ll say that aside from me know but when they when you’re going into an interview, they’re not expecting you to be able to answer about how amazing you are for every single question believe it or not.

00:30:01 – 00:35:06

It can work in your favor to actually highlight some of the things that you are not so good not sometimes in specific cases and I say that way because it’s not just like, oh, I’m terrible at this or I can’t do that what you would be dead. Better off saying if this is something that I’m not as strong at and here’s how I might compensate for that hears. You know, I’m not strong something. I can tell you an example film and now but I compensate by doing extra readings. I study outside of work a lot that kind of thing. I’m involved in communities of practice online that I get a lot of support from excetera. Like there’s a myriad of things but not just saying I suck at that and don’t do that but not a not a highly recommended thing. But if you’re trying to say like these are the things I’m pretty strong at and even maybe wife, you know, why like, you know, I’ve got strong leadership skills because I was Captain’s a sport teams and I did this and I did that and blah blah blah. I’ve done that for a long time and then I’m literally transferring their skills over to this particular job. I’ve also not as strong at this but here’s the sort of things that I’ve done and are trying to do to age Prove that that works really well in your favor. It shows that you’re actually aware of what you’re doing and what is needed in a roll and it showed is that not only are you looking at the hell? Yeah. These are the things I’m awesome add, but you’re looking at the things that help you grow. I think and I mentioned this earlier so that’s actually part of my curriculum as a I’ve gone back to school forty years old and a student again and and it’s like that first semester was really kind of like the onion layers like peeling back of like who I am and I’m like really like you have to kind of look at your had to kind of look at myself as long as it’s not just a practitioner but like how I was as a person, you know, the things that I’m willing to admit like the flaws that I have and the strengths that I have and so I think it’s okay to be vulnerable interview and they just want to just be your authentic self. You know, like just like for me early on I remember saying God, what was I was going to say? I remember saying that documentation was not my strength, you know, like I was I was good at documenting. I just time wise sometimes always felt like I needed a little extra time and and Choi That is normal as a new grad. You know, it’s like just admitting that you know, I just need a little extra time documenting but you know, I I I’m also a quick learner. So, you know, you can kind of take a negative kind of negative that you can take something you feel is as a weakness and say well, you know, I might need a little bit. It’s a learning curve for me. I’ve never used this electronic medical wage the system before but but I’m a quick learner. So, you know, give me 2 weeks and now feel more confident with it, you know, so just trying to take that negative and then make it positive if possible or the essay negative. I mean weakness and and make it as a learning opportunity be learning exactly. There’s always room for learning, you know, and and being lifelong Learners off. So that’s so being self-aware and that’s it’s hard as a new grad to get your head around what your strengths and weaknesses are because at times if you haven’t changed a lot of sort of vocational experience your only experience might be your placements. Which actually again works in your favor because quite often you’ll get a written review of your placements and it’s written out there what he these are the things you’re good at. These are the things you need to work on home use those if that’s all that you’ve got at that point in time. That’s the only experience you’ve got that you can draw on then you’ve got a written report. I know it’s called a spiff for most of these in Australia Thursday. It’s called in America, but it would be very similar. So those points that are highlighted in those placement reports if that’s the only vocational experience that you’ve got to draw on Thursday. We actually have they have them twice they have well, we have them I say at the halfway point. Yes, I’m going out at the completion, right? So there’s two opportunities and and if you have a fax so we called them filled work supervisor, you know there it’s kind of what they’re whoever that role is if they’re not telling you those things as a student. I would just ask I would say, you know your last name. Your last week, you know, what are the things that I need to work on if they’re not you know and and don’t be afraid to ask that question, you know and ask your I mean, hey I answers to I mean, you know, what are my weight? I mean that’s the whole conversation cuz you don’t want nobody really wants to hear.

00:35:06 – 00:40:07

You know, they want to hear the good they don’t want to hear. You know, but if you’re willing to if you’re open for that conversation, then I would ask. Yeah again, yeah, like you said that’s that’s a hard thing but it’s a wage during A Life Lesson because especially when you’re young and you’ve just got out of uni, and you’re raring to go get into the career that you’ve been training for. However many years to get into the the the last thing you want to do is think about all of these are the things I’m not very good at but I think you kind of need to reframe that cuz it’s not necessarily that like, these are the things that I suck at. It’s these are the things this is where I am prioritizing my learning for the next little bit so that I can get better at that because I’m already good at this other stuff. I’m already at a standard that is worth more than okay at this other stuff. So now I’m going to focus my learning on this and like you mentioned before I T and most Health Professions all Health Professions. Hopefully, we’re lifelong Learners and this is Where it starts is it doesn’t you know, you don’t finishing any and then take a couple of years off before you start learning things again starts from day. Starts from when you start preparing for your first interview. These are the these are the things that I am looking to improve in my own practice in my own self in my communication skills in my whatever it is. But yeah, like I said before or drawn your placements talk to you your your placement supervisors talk to your professors get their feedback if their feedback is yeah really blunt. That doesn’t mean like the esok. It’s not like that. It’s actually a constructive thing. I would yeah again, it’s really cliche but we learn more from failure than we do from success. So it’s having someone around you saying. Oh, you’re really awesome. You’re really good at this. Yeah, that’s nice. Everybody likes to hear that but you’re not going to grow from that being able to learn about the things that you need to improve on Thursday. We need to work on and then putting things in place one. Yes, that’s awesome because you’re going to improve on these things and that’s how you grow too. That’s an awesome conversation to bring up in an interview if You’re asked about your strengths and weaknesses. Cuz if you say like I had this placement identified that these things were things I need to work on his some stuff that I’ve done since that placement that you know finished however, many years ago and I feel like I’m making improvements and I will continue to do that into the future. If you’ve got an established. I guess almost part of the reflection cycle if she got an established reflection cycle that you can draw on in an interview and highlight that this is how I kind of a learning style. I guess I do something I work out what I did good. I work out what I did bad. I put things in place to improve and then I repeat that looks really good to a potential employer. Like we’re hiring this person who is self-aware enough to know what they’re good at even more self-aware enough to if not know what they’re not so good at then they know that they can get feedback from someone else, but then they also put this plan in place to fix it themselves or improve at them. Post like that looks amazing to someone who’s looking for a new employee. I’m sorry. I’m at 6 I had been just making sure that you were saying like that. If you are willing to take the feedback and a planet like that shows that you’re listening to what the person has to say, you know, and if you take it at the midterm and you can say oh what my midterm reflection these are the things that I need to work on and then I was able to take those strategies and Implement them. And then this is what the result was at the end. So, you know that was that kind of gives you’re saying an example of taking it and Implement like you’re saying showing that you took the feedback. And and did it because that shows that you can actually listen to people which another and employers want to know that you can you can do that as a as an employee that you’re actually going to take feedback, but also utilize what if you’ve been given to you. So there’s so many things. I think they were looking at when a reviewing you and when you’re going for an interview, you’re just thinking they’re asking what you these questions, but they’re really there’s a reason for you know, the questions of their asking cuz they’re really trying to figure you out. You know, that’s supposed. Yeah. Yeah. So one of the other things that I think you can duck back to I had written earlier but we’re out right is actually researching the organization that you’re going to interview for.

00:40:07 – 00:45:20

So, do you have any hints and tips on how people can do that? How does a website I mean exactly? I mean, it’s you really need to do your you know, like you’re going for think about it that way, you know, you’re going you’re going to study for an exam. You’re not going to show up for the exam without having studied. Hopefully, I mean you you need to do some background you talk to people if you know people that work for the organization wage, you know, just kind of get a good feel of what you know where this place was started why it was started who started it is it a for-profit and not-for-profit. I mean, there’s lots of things that just going to change the actual I think the website will tell you but if you need more, you know, just do your work and find out more you don’t want to be unprepared when they ask you your name. I ask you a question specific to the our organization. You don’t want to say I don’t know, you know, I don’t know anything about this job. It was just the only job that was you know, they’re so fly off. it’s better to be over-prepared than you know, maybe they will ask you anything, you know, but I think it’s just kind of a that’s a rule of thumb then, you know better to be over prepared for anything so you can’t hurt to kind of just do your you know work there and and I also I liked it. Like I did say talk to people if possible. But if somebody has a negative experience and an organization, you don’t I mean not to say you don’t want to listen to that conversation. But I also don’t want that to possibly foreshadow. You know, you applying for that job because you know, it’s still if it’s an opportunity to interview an opportunity to apply found still take that opportunity, you know, and and it may be even if someone else has had a negative experience. It might not be that for you. So definitely, I think we know as long as when we’re looking environment the context plays a big part and someone negative experience doesn’t necessarily guarantee that it’s going to be a negative experience to you. You don’t know all the details around what was happening in this situation is happening, but it’s important to take what you can from that information you might be able to from that conversation. Take away some information about how the organization authors. You know the fact that they might have employee support programs on site or maybe the fact that they don’t like this. I think that you can take away from the gas station other than the emotions of the person that you’re talking to. So what you really want to try and do is find out how much about the organization how it’s funded or putting more important over there than than huge different Health System how it’s funded how that works, you know, even if you can find stuff if it’s a specific a job specific to a specific Ward if you can find information about that would somehow from someone that you know, or if it just when asked you know things like, you know, what’s the average stay? What are the age groups that you are commonly see if you can find out about common diagnosis that you see through that particular Ward stuff like that that kind of stuff will do one little to your confidence going into the interview age. World of good, but also if there are questions that come up around how do you handle this? You’re going to understand already why that question is being asked. How do you handle, you know a brain injuries caused by Falls? You already know because you’ve rung up and you found out that that is one of their leading reasons for admission. That’s why they’re asking so because you already knew that you’ve done research into the types of things that may be more specific to working with someone who has that particular condition or that particular diagnosis Etc and you’re better prepared to get that question when it comes up in an exam. So it’s not necessarily just about researching like oh, who’s the CEO and how much does it pay and all those sort of like operational things how the organization Works any information that you can get with regards to that and granted some of that stuff is going to be hard to find but I don’t know if you don’t ask And that your great questions to ask you an interview to like if you can’t find the information when you’re preparing, you know, when it comes to your time to ask questions, you know, you can ask those, you know, like what are the typical diagnosis that you see or you know, what’s the average length of stay like you mentioned rock or you know, what where do most people go if it’s an inpatient facility where most of the people being discharged or they just get back to the community or they discharging to other Rehabilitation settings? I mean just kind of those are the questions that if you’re not give that privy to that information that that those questions to ask because it makes it does give the impression that you are invested, you know in the interview but that you’re also trying to prepare for for the job and it even if you can’t find it.

00:45:20 – 00:50:03

I definitely think you said ask you can always ask, you know, the worst thing that can happen to him to ask is someone says I don’t want to answer it or they don’t answer it. Other than that, you called them you’re going to get some information. Even if it’s something information that you thought you were going to get. I think prep and going back to that preparation piece. You asked me earlier like, you know, what can you do to prepare and I will get I mentioned in our last conversation that I was insane before I went back to school and I had to go to Saint Louis Missouri for two weeks for sales training for this one particular job and they video like this is back up when you had a camcorder like there wasn’t we didn’t have iPhones and this was a 2002 so we didn’t have it but they would gave me a VHS tape and it was I had to watch it, you know, if like me doing my kind of sales pitch, you know, or like my mock sales call there were several and they were all missed a but I had to go back and kind of critique myself off. And so I think if you can if you can interview yourself, I know this is going to you know, like sell in the mirror, you know talking to yourself or have someone else interview. And they can record you and you can go back later and watch it. That’s a great technique, you know to kind of self-improvement technique because then you can say I know personally I I say like a lot, you know things that I try to correct, but if I can watch myself on a video then I can go back and see it off and then I’m more aware of it. So I think that’s just like a preparation strategy. If you don’t feel comfortable, you know having someone else do it then just set your iPhone up and bring your apartment and record yourself, you know go back and watch it. That’s it. And what you’ll find in a lot of instances is people are so concerned with answering the questions. They forget about their body language song videoing. It can be a really good prompt to you know are when I get nervous I bounced my foot up and down or I play with my I put my hands in my pockets or something that you look at and you guys that just looks strange. Why am I doing that? Cuz you wouldn’t normally so videoing it is a really good way of videoing you practice or he’s a really good way of Seeing the things that you wouldn’t normally get to see so definitely a thing if you can it doesn’t even have to be the exact type of interview questions. Although it is a good chance to sneak in practice those as well. If you can write up some common things and have someone else ask them to you you can practice some of your rehearse dancers practice some of your rehearse topics, but also then get an a look at one the way you’re saying things some of those sort of arms are different fillers. I guess you would put in when you when your nerves people communicate differently when they’re nervous to when they’re comfortable. So the more comfortable you can make yourself in that situation the more fluid your Communications going to be with one of the one of the preparation stuff that we’ve already talked about is about doing it’s not about rehearsing. It’s about making you more comfortable so having answers so that you’re not shot off. Not caught off guard by questions having your routine set out so that you’re calm your collected. You’re not rushed. You’re not stressed on the day. All of this is about making you more confident off at the point in time when it counts, which is when you’re sitting in front of that panel, that’s the thing. Yeah. It just helped it helped me. I mean helps it helps me off helps me. So it’s like, you know, it’s like trying to give everyone all the little tricks of like maybe this works for you. Maybe it won’t but you know, here’s something that may may help you pack and separate preparation in that way in a type of like a mock interview format if that will help you then like you said, it can’t hurt to try it, And if you if you’re coming at this from a new grad point of view, you probably graduating with a human people in the same situation practice with each other interview each other every other benefit is you don’t have the dog. Need a VHS everyone almost that’s what I said before we had exactly you get everyone can I’m sure the people listening to this is don’t know what age is a child. So yeah video and stuff on your phone.

00:50:03 – 00:55:08

Even if you just recording the audio if that’s all you’re looking at, but you know, most people have got some phone or video capabilities, you know, when he came when you computer whatever you’ve got cuz that’s the other thing is we’ll have a look now the different types of interviews and I think at the moment especially there’s a lot of interviews that are happening online. Yes. Yes, I would agree. So actually interviews interviews classes. I’m sure everyone is done something online in the last eight months that they probably would have never done before or haven’t done very much or before so I think that’s that’s a new type of thing. And I think it was practice. We know specificity with regards to environment how long we know that for male clinical practice. So if you are preparing for an interview in that interview is going to be online try and do some of your practice online Zoom. You see my friends and just do the interview like this cuz the other thing is If you have Tech issues on the day, when you’re trying to connect into an interview, your stress levels are going through the roof immediately cuz you’re it would be like running late or example earlier about if there’s an accident when you’re trying to drive to the interview and your stress levels are going to rise because you’re like, oh crap. I’m going to be late. They’re not going to like me. This is a bad first impression. Exactly the same situation if you’re having Tech issues, so if you’re able to get online, if you know what platform it’s going to be on if it’s going to be on soon sweet anyone can jump on to him if it’s going to be on something else Skype Etc. See if you can click on that and test it out on your computer where you’re going to be on the day set it up you can this is your opportunity you want to try and control the things that you have control over wages of the things that you have control over in that instance is one that you detect is yeah ready to go. One thing. I’ve seen a lot of people not put any thought into with anything this online stuff is the background what is behind you when you’re interviewing I try and keep very little in the background because if I open that cupboard it’s full of rubbish. So I’ve tried to keep just playing background if you’ve got somewhere nice like a bookcase or whatever it is. Use that make sure there’s no like bad books on there or something. But any other windows that have a professional if you do use the filter, you know, do you like a green screen don’t use something to put yourself on the beach or something or yeah. Yeah, exactly. Like I mean you can you know, just just do a plain background and color home. Yeah something just simple keep it. So sometimes you know simple is better so and I would treat those Doom interviews and virtual interviews like you would a regular interview like all the things we talked about still get, you know still make sure you’re treated like you’re actually going to the interview, you know, take a shower get dressed little pants on Monday, right? Like traded a few routine the same as you would if you’re going obviously without the drive. So the the more normalized you can make this process the better you’re going to perform because your brain is just going to get this is normal. I know how to heal. I know how to deal with this. I know how to handle this and that’s what you want. You want to go into those interviews as a calm collected and prepared as you possibly can. What are the types of enemies so I mentioned obviously I’ve had a presentation one. There’s your general one where you just have your usual questions nowadays. Obviously, we have a lot of Zoom ones what other types of interviewees have you come across. So I’ve had so I had lots of different styles. I’ve had Styles red interviewed actually with more of the human resources department first and they filtered through that was early more was a new grad. I did that and then interviewed with the rehab director of the department. I’ve been in three interviews where it’s been a month, It’s like a a meeting style interview, you know where there are multiple individuals in the room have a panel where you’re really I mean that’s like kind of your thoughts on you. Definitely, you know, and and I will say one One one was my first interview out of college. I did get that job and I felt like I was shocked when I he died because it was my first interview after we’ve talked about earlier. I had that imposter syndrome and it was in a I was in a room with two occupational therapist to physical therapist one was the rehab director and bought a whole department one and then they had another person and they were asking me very specific questions about diagnosing.

00:55:08 – 01:00:17

What I would do in this certain situation with this client, you know home and so I mean you can be in those very intimidating interviews and then I’ve been in interviews where people it’s just like one person and it’s more of a a conversation with not so much all of those questions that we talked about where they just want to know more about like my experience and You know. What I can bring to that job and there’s nice interviews tended to be more recently not earlier in my career. Yeah, the boardrooms valley reviews can be intimidating. I’ve had the the group interviews as well one that comes to mind is what I was first at a high school. I had an interview was of long interview process for the Air Force. But Thursday interview aspect of it. One thing that I’ve always remembered is there was a group of us and before we went into the interview. We were just in like a waiting room. Didn’t realize until afterwards that at one end of that waiting room was one-way glass and part of the interview was you were being observed to see how you handled where you social you isolated where you fidgety that you were being observed from day one or from like minute one as soon as you walked into that building it was on and I think yes, that’s kind of extreme. But also you’re if you are attending an interview, there is a good chance that you’re going to be observed how like from the moment you walk in on the moment the way you walk in you might you know see the the office lady and say, yep, I’m here for such and such an interview and she tells you right away if there’s a group if you around have a chat one thing it’s going to put your mind at ease and calm you down cuz she’s going to be nervous. So having a conversation with someone who’s going through the same thing as you can actually be really cathartic and two if you log, Happened to be seen doing that then it shows that you’re not shy it shows that you are open and willing to converse and that kind of thing. So you can also work in your favor. It’s not always be is the one-way glass in the waiting room, but you can be you will be observed while you’re there. That’s just the nature of how Office Buildings work are like use that excuse me. Like he said when he let the person know the front desk, sorry. That you were there for the interview how you treated that person if you’re you know, I’m here for the interview, you know, but if you that person is is also off their part of the interview process, you know, they’re going to go back and Report. Yeah, this person was read when they came in. They were that have any patients, you know, I so just be aware of that, you know, so and I think that’s that’s Thursday. We’re being switched on and being ready from the not the moment you walk into the interview room at the moment, you hit the floor of moment you get out of your car. Maybe you turn that zoom on them. Even if you’re in a room waiting room or whatever before you get brought into the actual sort of interview main room, uh be switched on be ready be be professional I guess right exactly. I tell people even if you’re on scene where parents because if you’re even if you’re just waiting and you happen to like, oh, there’s a noise. I’m going to close the door off you get up. I’ve seen it too many times where people will not be wearing anything from sort of wisdom about he had down. Which is yeah, not the greatest professional look when when it comes to an interview. Unfortunately. I had a my child ran in naked when I was on page him call, you know, he was supposed to be in bed and I would thankfully it was for a class. It was for a class. I’m taking and not any a class. I’m teaching so it was a little bit more casual cuz I was just the four other students in my professor. We have a son ran it, you know, I thought now I know to lock the door when I’m doing a call, you know, so for interview if you’re off making sure they’re not going to intervene. Yes setting yourself up for Success, right, Lastly one thing you brought up before we started this which I hadn’t thought of was follow-up. So what what are your thoughts around that? I just I mean I am I was encouraged to do this before I went back to school to be an empty I’d say am I when I first started interviewing at college for other other jobs that I had spoke with kind of being in the practice of sending an email after the interview.

01:00:17 – 01:05:15

We did have email. I did have an email that sending an email after the interview, you know, thanking that person for their time that I was excited about, you know, the job the potential job position, you know, I mean just showing them that not only that I appreciate their time but that even after the interview I’m still interested in the job, you know, the job is something that I’m interested in and now this is taking it a little step further. So this is just a personal thing that I’ve done is I’ve always said a follow-up like a written card to to thank them so that’s I know that’s a now I don’t do that now, we’ll say I don’t I have not done that wage. in the past couple of years early when I was first getting out of school and like, you know what it can’t help but that just shows that you’re very interested and that also if you don’t get that job, you want to let them know that if it opens up in the future to think, you know, maybe they’ll think of you if if for some reason You know, maybe you don’t get that job that you’re you’re interviewed door, but they have another colleague that leads six months later. You know, you want to be thought of possibly, you know, I mean if it’s something that if you want to ask for it, that’s kind of my motto like if you want if you want the job and and you don’t get it just let them know. Hey, I’m still interested, you know, if something happens in the future, so that’s that’s it. I think that you want to leave whether you get the job or not. You want to leave an impression and hopefully that’s a good impression. And again, like I said before you want to control the things that you can control that’s something that you can control hundred percent whether or not you send them a thank you, Thanks for your time or think of me if this if something else comes up or you know, I appreciated the opportunity whatever it is, whether it’s card or you know an email off. The email is probably more common nowadays, right? I know but you have 100% control on whether or not you do that and thought it might be the difference between them remembering you when something comes up and then you just being another number that went through that interview process. So it can be really valuable tool in Your Arsenal. I know it’s easier said I mean to get discouraged if you don’t get that job that you really want, but you know, you just you just have to remind yourself. I feel like if you’re I try to tell my students like just remind yourself that you know, you are competing with people sometimes for jobs that do have more experience. So that’s not a bad thing, you know to just be aware like go back to that self-awareness piece that it doesn’t mean that you aren’t equipped to do the job. It’s just that if for some reason you suck At that job. Just you know, there is a job out there for you, you know, so just continue to to look for the jobs that are you’re interested in and try not to get off easily discouraged. If you don’t get the first job, you know before I think it’s important to I don’t know. I know it’s cliche, but the worst thing that you’re going to get is interview practice if nothing else. And yes, like I said, I know it’s cliche but one of those things that can help you in an interview is practiced. The reason people get so nervous in interviews. I don’t do it very often. We don’t sit in job interviews. Hopefully, we’re not doing them very often you’d like to think you’d stay in a job for a little while. But because we’re not doing them that often it seems like every time it comes and even now like if I went for a job the last about the job, I mean now when I went for the interview for that, it was almost like I had to relearn how to do a job interview I had to re prepare and I went through all of these steps exactly the same stuff that we’re talking to you guys about is exactly what I did when I had to like interview for this job that I’m in there because we don’t do them very often. It’s something that we tend to kind of forget or not really take in after we’ve done it after we get the job. That’s it. Okay, if we get those skills, we don’t need those now-dead. I gotta focus on actually getting good at this job now and then when it comes to having an interview against like oh crap, what do I do? I forgotten. So yeah. So the all of these things that we’ve talked about today and recommended that you guys do are things that I do myself would do myself will do myself if I ever need to interview again the 100% off very rarely if ever recommend anything that I wouldn’t know haven’t done myself.

01:05:15 – 01:09:53

So yeah, so that’s where we’re at. Just as I guess a bit of a summary page big things that you can do is really now your preparation. There’s so much you can do with your preparation from preparing yourself mentally physically your clothes all that sort of stuff. We did not go into like how you should dress that sort of stuff. You can find on Google like this is a more important stuff practice your interviews if you can video them review page, Your strengths and weaknesses with regards to how you interview. Do you research on the organization? Do you research on the role? See what you can find out again? Bring ask you check on a website everywhere has a website now. My dog has a website. Everyone’s got a website. I can find this information information is out there. You just need to find it being self-aware being open to feedback is really important skill one and also something that you can bring to the interview itself after you’ve sort of analyze some of your weaknesses again just touch on don’t just drop your weaknesses actually highlight them in a way that these are the things that I know that I need to improve and here’s how I’ve currently been doing it wrong or currently been improving and here’s what I’m going to continue to do. There’s a number of different interviews. You will hopefully find out what sort of interview you’re sitting in prior to where if you have to do a present dog. In or if it’s something sort of a bit out there group ones that kind of stuff so you can then prepare for that specific type. But again, if you get caught off guard try and think on your feet long, you will have the knowledge you will have the examples of what they’re asking for. They wouldn’t be asking if it was something way out of the blue. You just need to be able to process what they’re asking if I’m not 100% sure you’ll ask for a clarification or is this what you mean? Here’s what I’m thinking you’re talking about. Is this kind of thing you mean ask for clarification ask ask ask ask ask ask and then follow up down up is again one of the things that you have complete control over and it can leave a lasting impression that with a potential employer in something that is really not that time. It doesn’t take a lot of effort or time or anything and it’s something that can be really valuable. So the return on investment for sending an email can be massive for you and your career. Yeah massive. Thanks for Erin coming in and helping with this this massive amount of information. I realize it’s a lot of information in a short time and I hope that it’s it’s very useful. It’s something that I’m hoping to provide updates and probably do them every year and update it so that it’s you know stays fresh and stays current full and new grads cuz we want a new grads to do as well as they possibly can when it comes to joining this awesome profession. So thanks for coming in and having another chat Kerne. And yeah, thanks for all your help and your expertise and you’re welcome. I enjoyed it. I just I just hope that this actually students but please remember to just be yourself. Like that’s the if I any take-home point for me is just Like vehicle tinted as you can and be yourself and it’ll really ship like it’ll shine through you know, so that’s what I wish someone had told me and your last podcast was what what I wish I would have known. I wish someone had just told me going into those interviews as a new grad that it was just really important to just let like you said let your guard down and be yourself as much as possible with being professional hundred percent hundred percent. So yeah, thanks for listening. Good luck with your interviews. Let us know how you go off.