Here is my question. I have done a bunch of interviews and that is not the problem. My problem or lack of experience is interviewing with people I work for already. I currently work in an office as a Contractor and applied to the GS position. I was notified that I was put on the list for an interview (potentially). Just curious as to how you interviewed with people who already know you and how you can make yourself stand out?
Thanks for the help!
Adam
Answers
Some said it but know the position and the organization and focus on how you can come on board and begin making impacts right away. I recently started going to interviews with a 30/60/90 day plan of what I plan to do (especially effective for roles in which you know the role and org already) OR a slide or two of my journey to date (I have a great roadmap slide that shows professionally journey with a bit of personal in there as well). Good luck to you!
Adam,
Bob nailed the answer. Know the posting inside and out and your fit to the position. You need to blank the scorecard with them, as they are filling the position not speaking with a "friend". Their job will be to come up with the best "scored" fit for the position. The more you understand the position posting and how you can relate in specific examples of how you will bring value to the role the higher score you receive.
Bob indicated that you need to enter the process as someone who is brand new. Their job will not be to find the parts of you that match the position, it will be to hear from you the examples of how you will meet the value needed and examples of the ska's required to fulfill the position requirements.
It might not hurt to ask someone away from this position how interviews are conducted in the GS format and they score the candidates. Get a number of people of who conduct interviews to give you these answers. The more you know about their role and what they will be doing in the interview, the better prepared you will be.
“Just curious as to how you interviewed with people who already know you and how you can make yourself stand out?”
Adam - I may be oversimplifying things here, but my first thought is to “Pretend you don’t know the Interviewers. Pretend you are meeting them for the first time.”
You would not be asked to interview unless HR already classified you as highly qualified. Now, you are being scored on how well you answer the interview questions—not how well you know the interviewers or how well you think they know you.
The job announcement and the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) section of the job application should give you some idea of the job requirements. These requirements, for example, could include Communication or Leadership skills. And if the interview questions are about those KSAs, be prepared to give examples of how you are a Subject Matter Expert in those areas.
The examples that you provide do not necessarily have to be job- or industry-related. You could demonstrate leadership, organizational, and communication skills, in coaching your kid’s soccer team. If you cannot think of a way to answer a question, write it down and politely ask the interviewers if you can come back to it later.
Again, your answers are being scored, and the interviewers will compare and may average their individual scores, after the interview. Pretend they know nothing about you and this is your only opportunity to show them you are the best person for the job.
Good luck and thank you for your Service!
Sincerely,
Bob Jurasek
Stand out from the crowd by showing "them" just how your TALENTS dovetail nicely with the demands of the new position. Everyone else will be touting their education and experience. Those things can be learned. TALENT cannot be learned; e.g., you cannot teach me to sing.
Perhaps this will help you identify your talents:
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