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scottish_05

hey people whats up ?

well ive got a job interview in a couple of days for a postman and well ive never had a job interview before and they sent me out a pack telling me all the questions they are going to ask me at this interview i was just wondering if any of you guys could tell me the best things to say so i can get the job.

so heres the questions,

1. Getting On With Others :-

Think about examples when you have worked with others, whether at work or socially, especially those occasions where you were all trying to achieve something together.

2.Dealing With Customers:-

Think about examples of when you have had to serve or work alongside people who are your customers, especially those occasions where the customer was being demanding.

3.Staying Motivated :-

think about examples when you have had to do a fairly routine or repetitive task, particularly one where you found it hard to motivate yourself to do something.Remember any occasions when you persevered with something.

4. Doing Things Diffrently :-

Think about a time when you were asked to do something diffrently, or try out new things.How did you react? Did you enjoy the new experience? Do you consider yourself a flexible person? Think about why.

5.Improving things :-

think about a time when you noticed something was wrong or not working.What questions did you ask yourself or others? What did you do ?

Im not going to copy what you guys tell me i just need to know what the employer wants to hear and what will give me the best chance of getting the job , what would you guys say to these questions if it were your interview ?

Ive never really worked before , although i worked for 3 weeks as a starter and sweet chef the rest of the time i have been in either training or college.

Thanks

Richard · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 12:59 am Post subject:

First of all, welcome to the board!

Always daunting, the first interview. Comfort yourself with the fact that it will eventually be over and will actually go quicker than you think!

Most important thing to remember is that you've been asked for an interview and that signifies that they are interested in you working for them. They will also presumably know that this is your first job. You're well over halfway there - did you realise that?

I'll have a go at all your questions but I'm not a pro and haven't had an interview for many years. I also don't ever intend to have another one as I'm now self employed. However, I've been through the process more times than I care to remember so here goes:

Working together:
You say you've worked as a starter and sweet chef in a kitchen. That, co-incidentally was my very first job 25 years ago and in my experience, doing service requires incredible co-operation, even in a steak restaurant. Maybe also you've played team sports? They want to know that you're a team player and are willing to muck in if need be. Maybe someone goes sick unexpectedly, they'll want a few willing volutneers for overtime instead of having to send out for agency workers.

Dealing with customers
Again, your restaurant experience may help here. You can substitute customer for the head of service or maitre d'. If necessary, you can over exaggerate a wee bit. The important thing they're looking for here is your ability to keep a cool head in the face of the odd bit of provocation or any other difficult circumstance.

Staying motivated
There were probably times at college when you thought the coursework was boring or pointless. You got through it ok even though sometimes it was difficult even getting up in the morning. Did you have a strategy? Was the carrot of your exam results good enough motivation for you? Will you be up to getting up early and pounding round the same streets in all kinds of weather 6 days a week? Most postmen I've met love the job, they want to know if you will too. Don't make money your prime motivation though. They want to know that they can rely on you to stay motivated enough for a few years before they have to spend money on training a replacement.

Doing things differently

Difficult one this. Not sure what they're after here unless they've got big plans in store. You're embarking on a life of work and as such, you're an open book when it comes to new experiences. You're looking forward to all the (exciting) challenges work will present. Aren't you? - Tell them you are!

Improving things

Could be a double edged sword. On the one hand, they may be looking for someone with leadership qualities, who can bring a problem to notice and be part of the solution. Alternatively, if you downed spatula and did nothing until the ice cream maker was fixed then you'd be a potential trouble maker (unless of course the ice-cream maker was life threateningly dangerous). Employers prefer pro-active rather than reactive.

Sorry these are a bit brief but hopefully there's something to think about here.

Best of luck, let us know how you get on.

Richard

scottish_05 · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 10:35 am Post subject:

Thanks richard , really apreciated !

yeah it is quite dawnting , expecially the fact that on the letter telling me my times for the interview it also says " if succssful you may be offered the job on the day " , this has got me panacing a bit , thanks for your words of comfort btw !.

the problem is i dont know how to word the questions properlly i kind of know what to say know thanks to you , al give it a bash,,,,

1) there was a time in the kitchen when i covered for a couple of people as they went to an eminem concert ( i was friends with them so i thaught why not) in return they worked a day for me , would this be a good answer?

2) i forgot to add i have some school work experience in a customer service role ( worked a week in a games shop facing customers when i was 15 could i include this ?) if not , in the restraunt we had set events to cater for like a wedding with 200+ guests , all the starter and sweets had to be layed out on a massive table then we plated up the food and stuff , would this be okey?

3) i was in training for about a month , going thru diffrent work placements one was a french polishers a building site filling in every single nail hole with some wax coloured the same as the wood so it would fade in this lastet for about 3 weeks , the other was a sign making place , i had to make 2500 bar codes for a massive warehouse , this ment cutting big masssive sheets of bar codes up using a paper lathe and then idividually slicing the bar codes , i dont really know how i stayed motivated as i nearly everyday for a week i was in doing this , i just figured its gottae be over soon , but i cant say that to the interviewer could i?

4)still cant think of anything for this one .

5)still cant think of this one either

sorry to go on about this guys but i genuinely have no idea what to say , and i REALLY want this job as it would be perfect for me , im an early riser , love working outside and love going for walks ,, it just seems like its the perfect job for me and i really dont want to mess it up .

thanks again mate for all your troubles.

cv · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 11:16 am Post subject: job interview ...

Doing Things Differently :- They are looking for initiative and creativity here.

Improving things :- Making things work better, at a lower cost, faster, better quality

One thing about interviews is try and try the answers out, rehearse them out In front of a mirror and then in front of a family member and then with friends. This is very important, the more you are comfortable saying the answers the more self confidence you show and the better chance to be employed.

Read some of the articles in this section I am sure they will help
All about job interviews

scottish_05 · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 11:30 am Post subject:

thanks cv , really really appreciate it , yeah i was thinking on practicing alot thanks for the info pal ! , my interview is not untill the 5th of august so i guess ive got alot of time to practice ,

doing things diffrently , could this be like learning a new skill ? in the kitchen i often learned new ways of doing things like diffrent cuts etc.

i still cant think of the improving things one , im not thick or that but i just dont hink there hasbeen a time were i have noticed something was wrong

Richard · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 11:49 am Post subject:

Glad to be of help.

Looks like you've got plenty of experiences you can call on. Working together in the kitchen and catering for large events is certainly great team-building experience and great to use here. I wouldn't be quite so honest about fiddling with shifts behind management's back but again you could say that you were adaptable when called upon at short notice. You've given, for my mind, the best reason for remaining motivated - you like getting up early, walking and being outside and that it would be the perfect job. They're not after Steven Hawking, they want someone who wants to be a postman and who's going to appear reliable! You've had a customer facing role at an early age too, that's a good bonus. Finding experience when you don't think you've had any isn't as hard as it seems sometimes.

You said you had a month of several different work placements. That's certainly trying something new and from each one you learned something. How many people know anything at all about french polishing for instance? You also did your placements cheerfully, with good humour and without complaint because you "see every new experience as a valuable one. There are always things to be learned from every situation". Be positive and emphasise the positive. Rather than "It's gottae be over soon", say "It was monotonous but I appreciated someone had to do the job and that not every day would be exactly the same".

I must admit I'm a bit stumped by 5 but only because I don't know your history. Have you been in a situation where something you were using broke such as the till at the games shop? Did you quickly grab a pad and write down the transactions and ask your boss about giving receipts? They probably want to know that you're not going to panic and will not be cautious about asking for help in an unfamiliar or unexpected situation.

As I said before, they appreciate your apparent inexperience and they are after a wannabe postman, not a thermonuclear physicist. You appear to have some pretty good qualifications for the job (certainly better than Stephen Hawking at least) and you want it. If you let them know this by your answers (but don't beg - just emphasise where your interests match the job requirements) then it should be a shoe-in. You must appear fit, reliable and trustworthy more than anything else. They don't want to be having to phone round at 5 am organising cover or go looking for lost postal orders or credit cards.

Again, good luck!

Richard

scottish_05 · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 12:08 pm Post subject:

richard i wish i could give karma you deserve it man , really thanks for helping me out i cant say how grateful i am , well im going to have a real good think about the questions and ill post here my answers ,

thanks again richard your a star !

cv · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:50 pm Post subject: postman interview

It would be also good to know a bit of history and general information on the postal service you are applying for. Also it would be good to get some background information on the post in general how a letter arrives from zambia to scotland kind of thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamp

A good idea was to ask your post man how was the interview he had and what questions was he asked. , I am sure he'll give you some good tips.

The job description will also give you keywords they want to hear, try to mention things that fit with the job description

Postman Job description :
http://www.connexions.gov.uk/jobs4u/printsummary.cfm?id=439

good luck and let us know.

Richard · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 4:57 pm Post subject:

Good tip that, Carl. Ambush your postie tomorrow morning. If he's anything like mine, he'll chat for hours.

scottish_05 · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 5:03 pm Post subject: first draft

Hey hows it going again ,, well ive been doing a bit of thinking and came up with some answers except for the 5th question tho its still giving me greif lol

1) Well when i worked as a starter & sweet chef my main role was as working as a part of a team , but you were also required to work on your own intiative , i was resboncible for plating over 200 meals on special occasion such as weddings and parties , we had to lay out plates out on big tables side by side and me and a few other guys would run round and place difffrent ingrediance on the plates , be it melons or merangs , diffrent sauces and decoration and stuff , all of us would be placing diffrent stuff on the plates but we also had to make sure every plate was identical or the head chef wouldnt let it out.

2) ive not really had many face to face customer services roles , although iive worked in a school work placement in a games shop dealing with customers cash handiling and genral duties. A time were i had to deal with demanding customers was when a customer came in after handing in his playstation for a repair before u had actualy started my placement . He came in demanding his game console back after it had taken over a week to repair , to diffuse the sittuation i just spoke to him in a calm voice reassuring him that his games console would be returned in due time , and athough i knew nothing about the guys console i told him we had an unusualy high number of repairs in the past week and that the repair staff were working flat out to fix it. After that he still wasent happy and i was satisfied that i had done everything i could do help him , so i asked my supervisor to intervine as it was my first day on the job , my supervisor then reimbursed the mans money and returned his console.

3)When i was in a job training centre , they sent me out on diffrent placements learning diffrent things , one of those placements was a fench polisher , i was working on a building site with 2 other people that were on placement , our jobs over this placement , were basicly to fill every nail hole we seen be it in the door frames skirting boards windows cills hallways everywere really. Altough this was a very mundane task in im the sort of person who takes pride in anything im doing and ill always try to do it to the best of my abailities and i appreciated that everyday wouldnt be the exact same as the last i tend to treat every new experience as a valuable one,

4)When working as a commis chef i learned to do something diffrently nearly everyday i was in , from new cuts of veg to diffrent ways of cooking fish , i really valued and appreciated learning these new skills as i love to learn new things and if there is a way of improving the way i work or making myself more efficiant i want to know about it.

still dumb founded for the 5th question tho i have a week and a bit to think tho , so how is my first draft of answers looking is there any way i could improve on these ??

thanks again guys

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