How can you maximise the number of points you gain in a job interview?
You see in some sectors, particularly the public sector and big public sector organisations, they often use a points based scoring system in the job interview.
The reason they do that is because they typically have a series of questions that they ask each and every candidate.
So every candidate gets the same questions asked to make sure the entire process is completely fair and transparent and can stand the test of any kind of scrutiny or challenge at a later date.
But if it's a points based system, what you need to be mindful of is making sure that you are maximising the number of points you get in the job interview.
So how can you do that?
What I suggest you do is ahead of a job interview, when you've identified the potential questions that you might be asked from reviewing the job description and person specification, you actually write out answers which are a no point, one point, two point three point answers.
And the chances are that what you'll find is the no point, you basically either not be able to answer the question or be able to demonstrate any particular experience.
And for a three point answer, if you've been asked something like a technical term, you'll be able to define the term, explain what it means and give a real working example.
And probably the easiest way to get good at this is to almost set up a four column document in Word.
First column has the question.
Next column has a zero point answer.
Next one has a one point, next one has a two point, next one has a three point answer.
And that way you can make sure that you maximise the points you get on each question.
But it's also important when you are answering these kind of questions to understand which elements of the job and which skills they're asking for are the most important for success in the job.
Because the chances are many organisations may well use a weighted point scoring system. So not every question is going to have the same weighting.
So it's down to you, as part of your preparation to try and pinpoint those areas that are most critical to success in the job interview.