In this column, we continue our series breaking down the START answering method that will stand to you in one of the most common type of interviews, namely the competency-based interview. In the first column in the series, we explained how START stands for the five key steps of an answer – Situation, Task, Action, Result and Them.
Q: Every time I go to an interview, I am conscious of the fact that I move my hands far too much when speaking. Face to face it doesn’t appear too bad, but in online interviews it looks crazy. I can see myself in the screen gesticulating and waving like a mad thing, going like a windmill, but I just don’t know how to stop. Any tips on how I can get those hands back under control? (EF, email ).
Q: It was a very unusual job interview, I felt. Every time I told a story in response to a question, they pushed me to elaborate more on the result of the story. I didn’t really know what to say. A story is a story. I told them what I did and gave a general idea of how it went, and I felt that should have been more than enough. I didn’t get the job. Any thoughts? (EF, email ).
Q: I’m hearing a lot about remote work this weather. The idea of working from home really suits me but I can’t get my head around the fact that companies might actually offer this on an ongoing basis. Are we not all going to be shunted back into offices again once the vaccine programme has been rolled out? (AC, email ).