Why did you apply for this position?

Tip: How do you think that you might fit into this company Would you tell us what attracts you to a career with us? How do you see your studies, skills, experience and personal qualities contributing to the work of the organisation? Tip: How do you think that you might fit into this company Describe a time when you had to deal with conflicting demands. How did you deal with this situation and what was the outcome? Tip: STAR Can you describe a time where you have been required to perform as part of a team? What was the situation? What part did you play in the team and what was the outcome of the exercise? Tip: STAR How do you establish a working relationship with new people? Tip: Team skills Where do you expect to be in 5 years time? What will you do if you are not successful in gaining this position? Tip: Demonstrate to the interviewer that you have thought about what it is you want from work and what you hope to achieve. Let them know you are flexible however, and willing to explore new opportunities. What particular skills and qualities do you bring to the workforce? What other skills would you like to develop in the future? Tip: Strengths and weaknesses Tell me about a challenging situation you have faced. What was the situation and how did you cope with it? Tip: STAR Is there an achievement of which you are particularly proud? What is it? Why is it significant? Tip: STAR Imagine that you are a member of a small team responsible for the development and production of an internal publication. Your team is dependent on another workgroup to provide the data which will form the basis of your publication. The deadline for completing this project is not able to be relaxed. (a) What factors do you think might affect the team's ability to meet the publication deadline? (b) What could the team do to ensure the project is completed on time? Tip: Hypothetical questions allow the interviewer to identify key competencies deemed

important by the employer. No right or wrong answer What are the key elements of measuring performance and how can you establish whether an outcome represents a success? (Answer this in terms of your own work or study experience.) More specifically, what do you think might be some key indicators of the successful performance of a national agency? Tip: STAR (Behavioural +Situational question) You have demonstrated in your CV that you have knowledge of entomology. Could you please expand on your experience and tell us what you think your strengths are in this field. An important component of the position will be the maintenance of water quality parameters within acceptable limits for the species. Can you outline your experience in water quality testing? What do you feel are the most important water quality variables? Tip: Multi-part question The ability to work independently within a structured team is essential to the position. This will require the successful applicant to be self-starting, able to prioritise tasks, be a good communicator, as well as showing considerable initiative. Can you give us some examples where you have worked within a team environment and demonstrated these abilities? Tip: STAR + multi-part question What do you feel is the potential for aquaculture in Australia and what are some of the major impediments to its development? What are some of the major aquaculture species cultured in freshwater? As well as the position involving general maintenance of the aquaria and pond facilities, a significant component will involve participation in scientific experiments through the collection and collation of research data. Can you describe previous experience you have had in the day to day running of scientific experiments? Tip: STAR + multi-part question The research project and facilities the successful applicant will be involved with receives considerable attention from the general public. Therefore, a component of the job will involve liaising with the general public and media. This requires the delivery of information in a simple precise manner. How confident do you feel you are in delivering sometimes complex information in a simple manner? Tip: give examples What computer programs are you familiar with, and more specifically, what programs would you use to write a report, enter research data, and to prepare a poster or seminar. Tip: give examples of where you have applied the use of these programs.

You have had an opportunity to look at the statistical table from the publication (this was supplied before the interview). (a) Imagine you were asked to write a commentary on the information in the table. Are there any significant or curious or interesting features revealed by the data which you think should be highlighted, and if so, what might you say about them? Can you offer any suggestions to explain these features? (b) What is your opinion of the general layout of the table? How might it be improved? Tip: multi-part question

Open-ended Questions
- Used by interviewers when they expect more than a yes or no answer. Some typical open questions are: "What can you tell me about yourself?", "Why are you interested in the posted position?" or "What are your most remarkable skills?". The best way to answer these questions is by doing the right research before going to the interview (check your own resume and the organization website) and by making a list of possible open-ended questions so you can rehearsal your answers before the interview.

Closed-ended Questions
Used by interviewers when they need to know a specific piece of information (years of experience, technical knowledge, etc.). These questions require a brief and solid answer. The best way to deal with these questions is by reviewing and making sure you don't have any doubts about your background and CV details. If the question requires a yes/no answer then always try to add a brief piece of valuable information to the answer. For example: "Are you experienced teaching children?" "Yes. I have 4 years of experience and I think they have been really rewarding".

Hypothetical Questions
Used by interviewers to assess your problem-solving skills and to make sure you do have enough experience in the field to be able to face day-to-day problems. Of course, reply speed is also assessed. The best way to face these questions is by having all the required information so you do not give plain, meaningless answers. The best way to gather info is by asking follow-up questions before answering.

Leading Questions
These questions are assumptive ("So, you have a lot of experience in the Customer Service Area, dont you?). The idea of leading questions is to get a specific response from the

interviewee ("yes, as you can see in my CV, I worked as a receptionist for 7 years and"). The only way to answer these questions is by not being caught off your guard. That is: Listen carefully and process questions before you answer them. The interviewer may be asking a leading question with a negative emphasis ("it must have been really difficult to get along with your boss as a salesman"). Always go for positive answers.

Multi-Barreled Questions
They check your reasoning skills. These questions are linked in such way that suddenly what seems to be one question are actually two or three questions about the same topic. First of all, remember that they are checking your reasoning skills so do not give an answer unless you truly understand the questions. Do not fear to ask the interviewer to either repeat or rephrase his/her question.

Behavioral Questions
Used by interviewers to check the behavior of candidates. This type of question states that the best way to know what a candidate will do is by knowing what he/she did in a similar situation in the past. It is important to be completely honest when asked a question about a past experience, interviewers will ask for more and more details and it would be impossible to keep a lie going on. The best way to prepare yourself for these questions is by doing all possible research: What the company wants and what skills are required for the position. Get an Informational Interview to get and insight of the posted position. The STAR Approach for Answering a Question S: Situation describe the situation T: Task or problem what dilemma or problem did you face? A: Action what action did you take? R: Result what was the result of your action?