Reflective Blog 3: Job Application & Interview

For my final part of Unit 2 for the Leicester Award for Ambassadors, I completed a mock job application process and interview, receiving feedback at each stage. For my final blog, I will discuss how I approached each stage of the application, whilst considering the feedback I received and what I would change if I was to re-complete this process. The "job" I applied for was the role of  Education Outreach officer and I should take the time to note that this is not an area I am looking to move into.

Application Process

Firstly I emailed back requesting details on the Job role and I have included the email in the image below for reference purposes:

(Personal information has been removed due to the public nature of this blog)

Although the content was 'generally good' and contained both the reference 'HU/1234' and the job title, if I was to rewrite this email I would alter the subject information, which within this email was simply: 'Leicester award Job Details: HU/1234. Obviously, if this was a real job the Leicester Award part of the subject would not be included. However reflectively, if this is removed the subject title does seem a little informal. If I was to rewrite this, then I would alter my subject of this email to 'Request for information: Edudcation Outreach Officer (HU/1234)'. Although my feedback suggested that I could address my email more personally, as I had the contact name, it also said that addressing an email in this manner was also acceptable. Reflectively, I would address my email in this way again, as I believe it is more polite and I prefer remaining formal at this stage. Alongside which, it ensures that I do not accidently offend a prospective employee with choosing the wrong title, for example 'Miss' rather than 'Mrs' or 'Ms.'

(Email containing application for the job. Personal information has again been omitted)

After receiving more information on the job role I then had to complete an application and email it back. My email was appropriate in both tone and information. However, my feedback made the suggestion to include a cover letter in future when applying for jobs. I think that this may be something I forgot due to the nature of the job being fake, however if I was to apply for a similar job, or in a similar way, I would definitely include a cover letter and if the application was not a personal statement, I would consider including a CV for further reference. If I was to email a cover letter as well I would consider the previous feedback and perhaps address it more personally to the person advertising the job (in this case this would be 'Ms Ashby'). After briefly researching cover letters I believe I would follow the advice listed on the Kent University website shown in the image below:

( from: http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/coveringletters.htm)


The final stage of the application was the application itself, which was in the form of a personal statement. I think that this form suits me best as I am able to best express the variety of things that I have done and how they apply to the job role. Despite this, this process allowed me to see other types of applications, such as ones containing different scenarios and to consider how I would effectively deal with them. Overall, despite receiving no feedback on it, I think my application was good and worked effectively to promote myself. When comparing mine to other applications for the same job I was able to see that I had answered each question to a high degree and had written enough information. However, during this process I did notice one grammatical error within my statement. To avoid this in future, I will re-read my application the next day and edit it accordingly, alongside spending more time constructing it. Ultimately I think that the pretend nature of this process, perhaps meant I did not spend as long on it as I would on a real application. I spent approximately two - two and a half hours on my statement/application, whereas the recommended time is closer to six - seven, which is definitely something to consider in the future, ensuring it is not rushed.


Interview Stage

Watching other people interviewed allowed me to consider how I interview, whilst also think about possible questions that could come up. If I was to do this process again, or complete a real interview for a job, I would think of possible questions before hand and research them to ensure I was prepared. This could be practised by asking a friend to pretend to interview me before hand. Alongside this, I think that this would combat the issues within my feedback relating to my 'naturally fast speaking voice', particularly when I was less comfortable with the questions. Despite this, my feedback also said that I was ' a good and engaging speaker'.

I was interviewed by a man and a woman. Being aware that I was being interviewed by two separate people meant that I tried to ensure I retained eye contact with both of them, directing my answers equally to them, to ensure I did not exclude one interviewer. I believe it is because of this observation that I was able to gain feedback of 'good eye contact', alongside which it was also noted that I had 'good hand gestures'. This is something to consider during an interview for the future, as watching other people being interviewed allowed me to understand the importance of not over using your hands, or the mistake of not using them at all.

My most positive feedback from my interviewer was: 'she probably had the most 'presence' and natural energy/confidence of anyone being interviewed that evening'. Obviously this is brilliant feedback to receive and is definitely a positive to take into future interviews. However, it is also a strength to remember and ensure that I am well rested and fed before an interview, to ensure that it is maintained in future. Especially as this may help me be a memorable candidate.

I found some of the questions hard to answer and found that I needed an extra minute to think of an answer To combat this I occasionally asked for the question to be repeated or expanded on, this is a technique I would definitely use again as it allowed me to gather my thoughts and ensure I was answering the question I was actually being asked rather than what I thought I had been asked. Over all my feedback said that I had 'very good answers' and my interviewer 'was particularly impressed by the range of examples she [i] usd which went beyond just the academic'. Furthermore, my answers were deemed of a good length. However, I should not be afraid of talking myself up, ensuring that I do not use 'we do' and rather make the small alteration to 'I do'. Alongside this, my final answer, which I do not exactly recall, was critiqued and in future I will try to remember that it is important to try to place some passion in my final statement to leave a good impression.