February 2014 - Job Interview Coaching

February 18, 2014May 9, 2021

Job Interview Questions for a Kitchen Porter

With catering being one of the growth industries in the UK there are numerous job opportunities in kitchens and restaurants.

Many catering employers recruit kitchen porters throughout the year. A kitchen porter earns, on average, around £18,000 each year and no previous experience is required (but previous experience helps during the job interview process).

The kitchen proter recruitment process consists of a 45-minute structured job interview, often 1-2-1 with the head chef or hotel manager.

This article will share with you the most commonly asked job interview questions and an explanation of how best to approach each job interview question.

Kitchen Porter Job Interview Questions

Job Interview Question 1: Tell me about your experience as a porter?

Previous porter experience is seen as a positive but isn’t essential.
If you have work experience as a kitchen porter discuss this starting with your last role and work backward.
State the company name, main duties, and what you enjoyed about the role.
In addition, state any relevant qualifications.

Job Interview Question 2: What experience do you have working in the kitchens of hotels, restaurants, and cafes?

A follow-up question is asked if an applicant doesn’t have direct porter experience.
As the employer doesn’t deem porter experience essential, the employer is trying to grasp what experience, and therefore skills, the applicant possesses.
Discuss any previous employment history and make it clear any transferable skills. Employers are looking for key skills: work ethic, communication, teamwork, following orders, and reliability.

Job Interview Question 3: What do you see as the main role of a kitchen porter?

Even though direct work experience isn’t essential, employers deem it important that the applicant doesn’t understand the main job duties:

Unload deliveries and stock the storeroom
Collect and wash pots and kitchen equipment
Work within a busy team
Wash and disinfect kitchen appliances, work surfaces and restaurant floors.
Recycle waste from the kitchen

After listing skills, explain what duties you would most enjoy and why.

Job Interview Question 4: Give me an example of when you have worked well within a team?

The teamwork example can be from work experience or from a team task in college or university.
First, discuss the task you and the team had to complete. Explain the actions that needed to be completed and what was YOUR key responsibilities.
Explain the outcome of the team tasks and how you enjoy teamwork.

Job Interview Question 5: What is your understanding of food hygiene regulations?

If you possess a food hygiene certificate, state when you gained the certificate and how you implement food hygiene regulations in day-to-day tasks.
Talk about basic food hygiene tasks: washing hands, using meat cutting boards for meat, and separate boards for vegetables. In addition discuss stock rotations, checking use-by dates, and keeping surfaces clean.

Job Interview Question 6: What do you need to check when unloading goods from delivery vans?

All orders need checking against the quantities on the delivery note.
Food should be visually checked for quality and damage.
Any issues need reporting to the manager or head chef.

Job Interview Question 7: Are you aware of health and safety rules in the workplace?

As the health and safety questions comes up regularly it is good practice to familiarise yourself with the H&S at work act.
Employers, recruiting kitchen porters, are looking for a basic understanding: reports are incidents, cleaning up spillages, wearing the appropriate PPE (personal protection equipment), and only using equipment that you have been trained on.

Job Interview Question 8: Can you follow orders?

Confidently answer the ‘follow orders’ question with a ‘yes’.
Give an example. In the example explain how you repeated the order for accuracy, carried out the orders, and discussed any problems or the outcome with your manager.
For extra points, add in that you work fast and effectively.

Job IntJob Interview Question 9: Have you ever worked in a busy environment?

Kitchens, generally speaking, are fast-paced working enrionments. This work requires a certain person – someone who doesn’t get stressed or panicked when working in a busy workplace.
Explain how you like to be busy and how you can manage multiple tasks at the same time. Talk about your work ethic, timekeeping, and teamwork.
If you can give a detailed example of working in a busy environment. Employers, here, want to know that you will complete tasks no matter what.

Job Interview Question 10: Do you have any questions for me?

Good interview questions to ask interviewers include questions on the company growth or expansion
Questions on personal development and training work well in this sector as many porters can become assistant cooks
Also, ask questions on working patterns and busy times of the year to understand when you will be required to work

February 14, 2014December 14, 2020

Job Interview Questions for a School Counsellor

A school counsellor will earn around £30,000 – £40,000 once qualified and experienced.

Most schools now employ a school counselor due to the link between behavior and academic results. School counselors will work with a range of different pupils to help each of them identify problems they are having at home and in school and to help them deal with these issues.

In the job interviewer, employers will ask interview questions based on counseling experienced and counseling skills. The skills, employers want to uncover during the job interview, include empathy, listening, communication and observational skills.

Interview answers, therefore, need to reference these unique skill set.

Requested counseling experience includes (due to this being the main day-to-day duties); helping pupils whose parents are divorcing, overcome bereavement, anxiety and behavioural issues. Experiences of collaboration with social services is also required.

Below is a list of commonly asked school counselor job interview questions and a description of how to answer each question. Use the advice to embed your own experience and skill set into the interview answer.

School Counsellor Job Interview Questions

Job Interview Question 1: Tell me about your counselling experience?

Discuss the various counselling roles you have been in, focusing on any roles working with teenagers.
Explain how you establish relationships and trust with pupils to help them open up.
Give specifics; explain what barriers you have helped young people overcome.
If you have worked in schools, discuss how you collaborate with the school pastoral team.
Share examples of working with pupils 1-2-1 and in group therapy.

Job Interview Question 2: What are the relationship of a school counsellor in relation to teachers, parents and the headteacher?

Explain how the rules and process of counseling at set out at the beginning of a relationship with a school, explaining what can and can’t be disclosed with a teacher or parent.
Discuss ethics, contrasts of interest and data protection.
Share the examples you use when explaining the role of a counselor to the school’s senior leadership team.

Job Interview Question 3: What do you see as the main role of a school counsellor?

Explain your understanding of being impartial and non-judgemental.
Discuss how you create a ‘safe’ space for the pupils to discuss their lives.
Go on to explain how you don’t give advice, but instead help pupils reflect on their choices.

Job Interview Question 4:What counselling theories or approach that you use?

Discuss the 6 key counseling theories.
Give examples of using the stated theories in previous roles. Talk about challenging pupils and how you planned specific sessions to help them.
Explain any key specialism you possess; CBT therapy, as an example.

Job Interview Question 5: How would you divide your time between meeting the immediate needs of the students and keeping on top of the paperwork?

Talk about managing pupil sessions using diary management techniques.
Discuss how you prioritise tasks and unplanned pupil interventions.
Give evidence of systems and model you use, such as the time management matrix model to manage time efficiently.

Job Interview Question 6: How would you handle a parent who is opposed to counselling for their children?

Explain how you initially listen to the parent’s concerns and ask questions to gain specific details.
Discuss how you undercover the parent’s understanding of counseling and what counseling entails.
Explain how you ask the parents what they want – the outcome, for their child, and if appropriate, how counseling can help. Using a real-life example works best here

Job Interview Question 7: What do you think is the most important skill of a counsellor?

List a number of counseling skills; being impartial, working within a multifaceted team, rapport building, being professional, setting a contract.
Pick 3 that are relevant to the school advertising the role and explain how these 3 skills are vital when supporting a pupil. And give a reason why these 3 skills are required.

Job Interview Question 8: Are you happy to work late or early, depending on the demands of the school?

For a school counselor, the working hours are pretty standard, but due to unexpected circumstances, a counselor may ask to work late or to be flexible.
Make it clear that when required you would be flexible to support a student.

Job Interview Question 9: How would you deal with cultural differences in a school setting?

Talk about understanding different cultural needs and how sessions are adapted to suit individual pupils.
Explain the importance of confidentiality and also an awareness of its limitations.

Job IntJob Interview Question 10: In your opinion does counselling prevent violence in schools?

Discuss how counselors can work with teachers to support pupils IE a weekly check-in.
Explain how little inventions such as a weekly check-in can help pupils manage their emotions.
Quote research on school safety.

Job IntJob Interview Question 11: Do you have any experiences working with special education students?

Reference any specialised training or qualifications related to working with pupils with any disabilities.
Give examples of working with special educational needs pupils. Discuss how you used, as an example, person-centered planning techniques, to support the pupil.
Talk about any additional thought that is needed when working with SEND pupils.

Interview Question 12: Do you have any questions for me?

How many pupils attend the school?
What percentage of pupils need additional support?
How large is the pastoral team?
What are the main personal barriers pupils face in this school?
Have you had a counselor previously, what was the outcome?

February 13, 2014December 11, 2020

Job Interview Questions for an Illustrator

Illustrator Job Interview Questions

Job Interview Question 1: Tell me about your illustration experience ?
Job Interview Question 2: What is the importance of graphic design in the context of communication?
Job Interview Question 3: What are the various types of graphic design packages are you experienced with using?

Job Interview Question 4: What are your key achievements as an illustrator?
Job Interview Question 5: What are key tasks for illustrator?
Job Interview Question 6: How do you create innovative ideas?
Job Interview Question 7: What is the average duration for an illustration project from the ideas stage to illustration completion?

Job Interview Question 8: How do you measure your performance?
Job Interview Question 9: Describe two or three major trends in this sector?
Job IntJob Interview Question 10: What illustration qualifications do you have?
Interview Question 11: Do you have any questions for me?

February 7, 2014December 11, 2020

How to Persuade a Job Interviewer using 2 Pick-Up Artist Techniques

The night before you lie in bed, awake, thinking about the person you’re going to meet in the morning; what will they look like? How will they react to you? What will they say? Will you make a fool of yourself? Will they want to meet you again?

The above situation is common for both a first date and a job interview. In actual fact, the job interview is much like a first date, and interviewees need to prepare in the same way. Pick-up artists have a unique gift at picking up women, using sneaky tricks to ensure they get the women’s number on the first date. You can use these same techniques in the job interview to persuade the job interviewer to offer you the position

Interview Persuasion

Likeability – it’s not good enough to just be nice.

Clubs are full of nice people but not all of them get dates. At the interview, everyone will be acting their best and you need to stand out from the crowd. To get a date or to be offered a job, you need to add something extra, you need to be unique and interesting.

In the club you might choose to show a “target” how you can “read minds” – a standard pick-up artist trick. In the opening question at the job interview “Can me a little about yourself?” you can stand out by sharing a secret, rather than just summarising your qualifications and experience, because EVERYONE will do this.

“In the last three organisations I have worked for, I turned their underperforming business on the blink of bankruptcy into highly profitable businesses and I’m happy to share the secret of how I do this with you today..”

or hint at your unique selling point “The company I currently work for is going off in a different direction, which is the reason why I am here today. Many of the company clients are also looking to move to a new organisation due to recent policy changes, and I have a list of 67 clients who have personally agreed to follow me wherever I go..”

The secret here is to create intrigue, get the date or the employer to want to know more about you, leave them with hundreds of questions “how did he do that?” “How much is he worth in terms of profit?” keep them guessing, become a mystery and be seen as a valuable asset.

Scarcity – we all want what we can’t have.

The date and the employer have all the power. You introduced yourself to the girl at the bar, which means you like her. You applied for this position, which means you need this job. Take away their belief that they have you and you will take away their power.

The pick-up artist after creating intrigue using the mind-reading technique will then walk away leaving the girl speechless, waiting for her to seek him out. Instead of complimenting her, as he did through the mind-reading technique, he will, instead make an offensive comment “is that an old dress you’re wearing?” Sounds crazy? You have seen this work hundreds of times when girls go for the “bad boys.”

In the job interview, once the employer understands how valuable you are, you can start create scarcity “I been offered a couple of positions already this week, but I will only accept a position with a company that I believe is going to grow. I know your share prices have dropped over the past 12 months, my question is, what plans have you put in place to increase your share value so it is higher than it was 12 months ago?”

Remember this technique works because by this stage they are interested in you, they want you. Your either an interesting person (everyone is interested or amazed by someone who can mind read) or you will add value (value = profit) to the organisation.

They have felt pleasure from your introduction, now you have given them pain. They will miss out on a date with you, or a competitive company will recruit you and take their profit. If they believe they will miss out on you, they will want you more.

February 6, 2014December 11, 2020

Job Interview Questions for a Blog Writer

Blog Writer Job Interview Questions

Job Interview Question 1: Tell me about your blog/content writing experience?
Job Interview Question 2: What has been your most successful post?
Job Interview Question 3: What do you deem the most important skills for a person working as a blog writer?

Job Interview Question 4: How do you plan and prepare when writing a post on a new niche?
Job Interview Question 5: Who is your ideal reader?
Job Interview Question 6: How do you research new topics and niches?
Job Interview Question 7: How do you make readers take action?
Job Interview Question 8: Are images important? Why?
Job Interview Question 9 : Do you have any questions for me?