Job interviews

Introduction
Start by greeting each other. Make sure you make a friendly impression, shake hands firmly and make direct eye contact. It is best to practice your handshake with friends beforehand to find the right balance. The greeting is usually followed by brief small talk - about drinks, directions or the weather, for example. Thank them politely for the invitation.
The interviewers will introduce themselves and sometimes the company in more detail and provide information about the interview process.

Self-presentation
The self-presentation is your chance to show yourself in a positive light. Listen carefully to the interviewer's questions and also answer partial questions. Introduce yourself clearly and appropriately for the position in just a few minutes. Highlight the most relevant stages of your career.
Example: "During my studies, I completed several internships, including one at the company ... I did an internship there in the ... department. I was able to gain experience in ... / My tasks were ..."
Keep the presentation short and concise, but don't leave out any important points. Practice the presentation in front of the mirror to appear confident.
Your introduction will be followed by questions about your career, which will lead seamlessly into the main part of the interview.

Interview technique
The interviewer uses targeted questions to shed light on relevant skills from different angles, e.g. a view from the past, a view of the future, the perspective of the people involved, their own attitude. This allows each skill (both professional and personal) to be analyzed in detail. A common question structure is:

• Introduction: Introduction to the skill (“When did you last do ....?”, “Please define skill xy. / What does skill xy mean to you?”)
• Concretization: Analyze the skill using concrete examples (“Describe a situation...”, "What was your specific task? Your part?")
• Clarify: More detailed information about the situation, e.g. point of view of people involved ("Who was there? What would he/she say if I asked him/her how ... worked?“, ”Did you get feedback on Project AB from your boss? What did she say?")
• Dealing with challenges: Problems/obstacles/challenges in the example situation (“Were there any obstacles? Which ones specifically?”, “How did you deal with them?”)
• Results/learning success: reflection on own performance in the example situation (“What went really well?”, “What would you improve?”, “What did you learn from this?”)

• The focus of the questions is often on past situations, as these are more valid than future behavior
• This method plays a particularly important role in the analysis of soft skills. Soft skills are important for employers as they are often part of the personality and are less easily acquired.
• Interviewers use open questions (“W questions”) to obtain detailed answers. Closed questions, on the other hand, are aimed at a “yes” or “no”. Sometimes they also deliberately set pauses in speech, which lead to applicants wanting to continue talking and fill the pause, thus revealing more information.

Matching expectations and job
The main part of the interview is usually followed by a comparison between your expectations and the real job. Use this opportunity to share your ideas about the job and the company. The following questions can be asked:

• “How do you envision the day-to-day work at this position?”
• “What do you think you can expect?”
• “What is important to you in the job?”
• “If you could create a job yourself, what would it look like?”

You will then usually receive further information about the position, the company and the terms of the contract.

Conclusion
You can ask questions at the end of the interview. Think beforehand about what else you would like to know about the job, the company or the general conditions. Feel free to bring your notes with you. Don't be afraid to ask your questions. For example:

• How is the induction process?
• Is there a predecessor? Does the person still work in the company? If applicable: Why is he or she leaving?
• How often is travel required?
• What are the terms of the contract? Open-ended? How is overtime handled?

Finally, we will discuss what happens next in the selection process and when you can expect to hear back.

Practice sample
A practice sample can be part of the interview. It can be carried out in different ways:

• The practice sample is integrated directly into the interview.
• You receive the task after the interview and work on it afterwards.
• You receive the task in advance as preparation. In this case, the expectation is high because you have enough time and can use aids.

Possible topics are practice-oriented tasks such as case studies, presentations, role plays, interview simulations (e.g. customer interviews) or parts of interviews in English.