Interview patterns in UK

[ashishashah]

Hello,

I have attended 3-4 interviews in UK in last 2 months..My query is how do they assess?

In ALL my interviews , no technical questions were asked .
I was asked
a)about my past exp,
b)some brief about my self,
c)what would you do under certain scenario?
d)Your strengths and weakness etc

Basically all above questions wont have a right//wrong answer.
I tried to answer all q. as per my exp.but i haven't managed to clear the interviews.

I come from a techno-functional background and unable to understand the interview techniques..
Any body has similar exp/want to give advice?

[mulderpf]

I can say from experience that:

1. Employers look at your CV to determine if you have the skills for the job.
2. The interview is then used to:
a) Verify that what you say in your CV is the truth and not grossly exaggerated and that you know what you are talking about.
b) More importantly that you will fit in with the environment you will be working in.

Companies have mostly already made up their minds with regards to your skills before you go for the interview and just want to verify that what you said in your CV matches your true experience.

And then use the opportunity to see how you communicate and how you will fit into a team. It's important for companies to make sure that if they are looking for a calm individual, they don't employ someone who's going to fly off the handle or if they are looking for a go-getter, that they don't get the relaxed type of person.

After the interview companies will tell you all sorts of things about how your experience didn't exactly match what they were looking for or there were more suitable candidates. It's more than likely that either they were confused with your CV or they don't think you will fit into their environment.

We just employed a contractor developer and it was almost wholly came down to the fact of who I would be able to work with, rather than technical ability and experience (this was vetted from the CV's), but most important was being able to fit into the team and environment.

[ashishashah]

Thanks for your reply..
But then imagine 5 candidates invited for an interview and no technical questions asked..
How do they judge about 'fitting in'??
I feel that i am competing technically with other candidates and would like to prove my self ..(Its like appearing for Science exam and question paper has social life question)..
But thanks for your reply and gave me good insights into this

[mulderpf]

Well, that is why your CV has your work history and studies in it and not your social interaction and communication abilities. You have more than likely already been vetted that they are employing someone who can work in a specific technology at the required level (I am yet to see a zoologist turning up for a Java developer role).

Most companies use the second interview to get into more technical detail and ability (some don't).

I am not sure about your technical ability or if you have any niche skills, but when looking at .Net developer CV's, the one person is as good as the rest in my eyes (as we don't need any specific or niche skills - we just need adults who can manage themselves without the need to be micromanaged), I am more interested to see whether I can work with them or if they will end up not getting on in the team or need to be micro-managed.

[gordon]

I certainly agree: the fact that you are being shortlisted indicates that you (more than likely) have adequate technical skills. However, given the length of your previous work experience, one might infer that you are applying for jobs that are not near the bottom of the ladder; as such, the technical skills may only get you so far in the interview process (as you perhaps found in question c).

Perhaps you need to demonstrate in interview that you have other skills: people-management (upward and downward), team-building, organisational and strategic, decision-making, damage-limitation, etc. Behavioural and competency-based interviewing is often used to discern skills required to get on; organisations tacitly require more of those competencies, the higher up in the pecking order one goes. I'd argue that these non-technical competencies are at least as important as technical skills at senior levels. Interviewers can distinguish fairly easily between those applicants who approach the post as if it were in a vacuum, and those who can deploy diverse skills for technical and non-technical problem-solving.

[kenfrapin]

Everyone with experience knows that technical skills can be picked up while on the job - I dont meant totally new skills but those that are similar to what you already know of.
So the CV clearly confirms your skill set and how close a fit you are for the role. The following interview is when they confirm that what you have detailed is in fact what you are good at.

This is MORE than enough for any employer to be happy with your technical skills and ability to learn.

The most important thing, which most Asian companies dont bother to really think about, is how you are as a person, as a team member and as a communicator. Even more important is how you think, how you react to situations and can you really approach a new problem with the analytical ability to solve it. Talking to you in person, presenting abstract questions and situations is what this is all about - to gauge you as a person who will spend many years with them and also manage teams over the years and grow.

It's completely different to India (coz I have people I know there) where even after 8 years in the field, they expect PMs and Managers to answer technical questions - which is unrelated to why they are being hired and does not make any sense at all - which explains clearly why so many people hate their managers who are only technically good but can never really 'manage' people or any issues

KP

[namastelondon]

Hello,

I have attended 3-4 interviews in UK in last 2 months..My query is how do they assess?

In ALL my interviews , no technical questions were asked .
I was asked
a)about my past exp,
b)some brief about my self,
c)what would you do under certain scenario?
d)Your strengths and weakness etc

Basically all above questions wont have a right//wrong answer.
I tried to answer all q. as per my exp.but i haven't managed to clear the interviews.

I come from a techno-functional background and unable to understand the interview techniques..
Any body has similar exp/want to give advice?

So you are back in UK. I thought you left UK last year.