Interview techniques for a security services position - FBI/MI5

Trish asks: I am looking for advice for a client who is interviewing with the FBI for a surveillance position. We've worked on behavioural interview questions and while we're not looking for "insider" information, we just want to make sure we're accomplishing the right research in preparation for the interview.Your suggestions are welcome!

In answer:
All government departments - but particularly those involved in any level of national security - use staged interview techniques over a period of time (normally at least six stages over 90+ day periods), that create a 360degree view of the candidate with both different interviewers and situations.

These processes aim to find out the true extent of character, their driving forces and loyalties, and their decision making. They also look for detail orientated persons (most surveillance work is frankly boring, but small issues and key patterns take extensive investigation); and they have a specific need presently for less white males to create a more culturally diverse work force - there are situations where not being white and male has it advantages in the current political climate.

The simple answer is - the tests are so extensive and well developed, that you can't prepare fully for this interview technique. Basic interview technique on how to answer a question - interview room etiquette - would clearly assist any candidate. But trying to learn tactics or cover up/hide or focus away from any character issues would ultimately be folly: the whole issue of the selection process construction is to find such flaws. And if the candidate could cover it up, they would be trained in such techniques, and would probably hence be working for an adverse agenda.

If you are looking for some specific details, then read about interview techniques and processes/procedures used by the relevant national government for employing civil servants and national level police forces - and expect something more extensive, with an army level like physical test. The UK government security services offer an overview on their own recruitment website.

In summary - be honest, and be yourself: if they can't trust you or your thinking, you won't get the job.

Good Luck!

Interview Techniques: check the basics of the applicant with testing

One of the elements that is most asked about in recruitment is, how do I find out if an interviewee will perform and fit into my organisation? Of course as a recruiter, I would say employ a recruitment organisation – the simple reason being that a third party perspective gives a better angle from which to asses fit

But there are two areas where, employers can check fit of candidates at low cost, and resultantly reduce employment risk

Interview tasks:
Away from psychological tests, interview tasks can vary from the physical or mental test to the simplistic in environment. The best tests are simple because what the test should prove is an aptitude of both ability and application.

Letter writing tests are a quick and easy task to check an applicants ability to both read and write, as well as compose – under a bit of pressure. Often these types of tests are addressed as customer complaint issues, with a typical scenario drafted for the candidate and the associated complaint letter supplied, plus a single sheet copy of the companies policy on how to answer customer complaints containing the top three/five issues. Doing this sort of test first also gives the interviewers the opportunity to ask the candidate on why they addressed the scenario in the manner chosen.

Physical ability tasks can also be undertaken. When I worked in the telecoms world, there was a need for applicants to have good eye site and not be colour blind. The later training will mean that blue-orange-green-brown-slate will for ever be a little part of my instant recall memory, but in my interview a piece of cable was held up in front of me and I was asked to find six different coloured pieces of wire. Amusingly, later as part of my apprenticeship I had to refine this test to produce a piece of white wood 12inches in width and 6inches in depth, with eight chosen wire colours applied to a white background, and a selection of 36 other pieces of wire which the applicants had to match in the interview

There is also the opportunity in some cases to check basic industry training awareness, and the two I will pick out here come from the catering industry. Dave Thomas of Wendy’s fame describes a scenario in his business biography “Dave’s Way” where he was interviewing an area manager in a restaurant, who suddenly got up in the middle of the interview and walked over behind the serving counter. On the interviewee’s return Thomas asked him why he got up, and the interviewee said: “because, from the sound of the fries in your fryer, they were not left out to defrost for long enough, and were at too high a fat temperature.” Thomas states that he hired the guy on the spot, and he later became one of Wendy’s key directors – the test also became part of Thomas’s technique in later interviews! That is a difficult scenario to recreate, but a simpler test I heard of was to give all interviewee’s a potato peeling exercise. The ingredients were a potato, a bowl, a potato peeler and some water; the instructions were to peel the potato. I liked this test because, the ace in the test was not about your ability to peel the potato – the task was about cleanliness, and did the interviewee dispose of the peelings and dirty water correctly and leave the freshly peeled potato in clean water? If not = fail!

Come and meet us days:
The simplest test I have ever seen, and its something we wholly recommend at Ajiri, is the “come and meet us” day. However much you meet, test or interview a candidate – that’s not in a real work situation.

If you like a candidate, and they like you, then invite them in to your office/team for half a day, may be even a day. Then, with a bit of an agenda to chaperone them around the team, introduce them to people and let them ask as many questions as possible – even a bit of one on one time, may be even paying for lunch.

The questions employers have about this technique is – am I likely to lose a good employee because we haven’t done formal induction? Well, if you were likely to lose them – better on a “come and meet us” day than after the cost of formal contract signature/induction etc.

How should candidates approach interview testing?
Candidates should accept that, even if an interview schedule doesn’t define a specific test as part of the interview procedure (most will advise before hand if a test is part of the interview procedure, particularly physical tests on Health & Safety grounds), that an interview is a test, and as you have been offered and accepted an interview that you have consented to any reasonable part of that interview procedure to test your ability to perform the job - and that this could include a test.

Tests should not be approached as examinations – quite often there is no definitive pass/fail standard in an interview test, its more about testing ability with aptitude. They necessarily need to be short, and unless you are asked to attend a specific physical test or aptitude day they should be designed to be accessible to all the potential candidates.

When placed in a test situation, read the instructions fully through at least three times – planning and clear thought in test situations, as the employer is seeking to put you under pressure, will give you a better result consistently more often that an immediate call to action. Then plan your action, write that plan down clearly – quite often as part of the instructions, you will be advised that all notes should be included with your answer – and stick to that plan. If you make changes to the plan, then note these. The key here is that the test is short and simple, but pressurised – the actual answer is not right or wrong, its as much to do with about how you approach this simple task.

You will often find in interviews that the test comes first, and the interview second. Expect that once you are in the interview to be asked how you approached the test task – you may well find that your plan is used as part of that section of questioning as to why you approached the task in that way.


In summary:
There is a tendency these days for HR departments to drift towards more politically correct testing methods. But personally, if done correctly, there are better ways to test actual “fit” of a candidate than a remote psychological testing approach. I think all employers could and should sit down and come up with three such tests, and introduce “come and meet us” days – it might show up some issues before you formally employ a new candidate, and it does reduce total recruitment cost through increasing effectiveness.

Good Luck!

Wacky interview questions - what would you do?

Robert asks: A few weeks ago I saw a job posting for a corporate in-house attorney position. They had an automated online "interview" (in reality, application) procedure which was pretty straightforward (e.g.. “do you have experience in the following areas?”) but then they got to the goofy stuff. Here’s the question that took the cake:

Q. Which of the following is the all-time best lawyer movie (or possibly “courtroom movie”)?

1. “To Kill A Mockingbird”
2. “Twelve Angry Men”
3. “A Civil Action”
4. “The Firm”
5. “My Cousin Vinny.”

They actually asked this, and of course you could not skip it. What reason can there be for asking this question? Would YOU ask this question in an online application?

In answer:
It's either a psych question, or a stumble/WTF question! Does the answer matter - if its a psych question, possibly, but under European law could be considered highly discriminatory on age grounds.

A stumble question is meant to trip you up, lose your concentration and - see what happens afterwards in the next question: would have been interested to know what the question after this one was.

Any question in an interview is meant to create a different situation where the potential employee can be assessed on both their answer and choice of. It is often difficult creating pressure situations, so many job application processes and interviews try either the psych path or the goofy to create a situation in a different way.

The answer on how to approach all such questions in a job application process is - take a breath or two and think; then pick an answer you can stand by and know the reason you choose it over other options. That way, you will have shown your best, and although you may not be "right" for that employer, you will never again question if you got the answer wrong.

Good Luck!

Changing jobs - how "frequently" is "too frequently"?

John asks: I have changed jobs thrice in the last twelve years. In the last job I lasted for a little under two years. When I wanted to leave the last place I couldn't seem to impress upon prospective new employers that it was fair enough time to learn and move on. Ironically, many of those who interviewed me have themselves switched jobs every 6 or 7 months. Is there a safe minimum period of service before one should consider a switch? Are there double standard in hiring? I am serving my 'notice period' with my current employer and will move to a new place by the end of this month.

In answer:
The normal in post period for most jobs would be between 18months and 4 years, to be able to integrate, learn and be productive. There are norms where less is OK, such as in software project work; and there are norm's where longer would be considered better, such construction project management.

It sounds like you failed to communicate a reason for wanting to change posts and apply for a new opportunity in interview, as opposed to the answer given to you that you had changed jobs too often. In the whole job application process, employers look for skills AND fit - anything that gives them any doubt in either area to resultantly deliver, often leads to an "unsuitable for us" and resultant exclusion from the process.

In an interview, trained HR interviewers focus on the gap between job posts: what were you doing, why did you want to move/change, why do you choose to go where you did? While the manager that is seeking to employ focuses on the skills in job, the HR manager seeks to understand motivation and career management. If you can't show logical and managed career management, although you may have the best skill set in the world for the job you will be seen by the HR manager as a risked choice, and hence be excluded.

You say in your own profile: Extensive experience in Promoting and Marketing International Education & Qualifications in India. It sounds like a 12months+ time scale before you could see results, and 6 months of planning before that - leaving only 6months fully in post. That's how an HR manager will see it, and that's why you need to be able to answer the "why" questioning on moving to the next position.

The only question you have to ask when managing your own career is: what will this result in adding to my CV/Resume, that makes me more employable/more satisfied and higher paid? If you can't answer that, then when the question does come up don't be surprised if you don't get the next "desired" job.

Good Luck!

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John replies: though your hurt my ego a bit, and my gut reaction was to call you names, I think you told me what I must hear and not what I wanted to hear. By referring back to my profile you convinced me that you really know what you were writing back about. Thank you once again and happy answering

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John,

Thanks for your message. My sincere apologies for any hurt I caused you.

There is an undoubted "art" to career management and job hunting, and - unfortunately - candidates need to hear how to become accustomed to that art quickly to be successful in job hunting.

You have great skills and very human scale capabilities, so I am sure you will be successful. To deliver that great career you want, always be thinking: what does this do for my CV?

If ever you think I can help you, please - just ask!

With Best Regards,


Ian McA

How do you demonstrate your ability to learn new software to a potential employer?

David asks: I recently had a phone interview with a company that I would love to work for, as an entry level project controls junior in construction. During the interview it was mentioned that the company uses Primavera extensively - I have experience with MicroSoft Project, a product similar to Primavera. A friend sent me a copy of Primavera, and I have begun preparing a small project about developing a career in the construction field. Is it appropriate to present this little project to the company? If so, in this age of spam blockers, firewalls, and viral hysteria, how do I present the project? Should I change the project to something more generic? Would you consider it unethical to include knowledge of Primavera as a qualification on my resume, having never used it professionally? Thanks for any response.

In answer:
Let's start with the basics - if you have had a telephone interview, and you have not listed Primavera as a skill, then either the retained recruiter or HR manager clearly thought from your CV/Resume that you already have the basic skills to do the job, and learn the required additional skills in post. So, why worry about learning about Primavera - stick to the basics: "I am a good entry level project manager, with proven skills in managed delivery via learnt software systems, as shown by my use of MS Project."

Secondly, don't look like a "brown-noser" by taking to the interview your Primavera "project." You will only show your present lack of knowledge - and additionally a school/college-like "please the teacher/professor" approach: not an adult/business approach which is appropriate to the tough, hard sector which is construction.

Primavera is designed to manage very large projects with dozens of people in the software simultaneously. No matter how complex the project you create, I think there is more risk to highlight your limited experience. The flip side of this is that some hiring managers will be impressed with your initiative to dive in. The problem is that you can't predict which will win out with the hiring manager you are interviewing with.

I would if asked in interview say that you had as a result of the initial telephone interview looked at Primavera - a widely used program among the big construction companies. You could list it on a revised CV/Resume as "familiar with," and be prepared to discuss this familiarity in an interview - don't make it out to be something it isn't - just be honest. Another good way to quickly learn about software is to read through bug listings, user support forums or mailing lists, etc. - where people talk about problems and solutions. It'll give you a feel for how software is used in the real world, and where it's not perfect or not intuitive. This approach shows you are willing to learn and investigate, and take appropriate action when required to be prepared.

One thing to remember, in construction, there are people that believe that Project is just a toy compared to Primavera. If you're interviewing with someone that thinks that way, you're not going persuade them that Project experience is a substitute for Primavera. A better approach is to emphasize your skill and experience with the actual tasks that both programs manager - project scheduling, project controls, financial controls, etc...

Sometimes, candidates forget that the skills they already have are the reason that the company picked up the phone for a chat, and that their wrong approach to any training issues raised could totally kill the opportunity for them. Stick to what you have which is what made them pick up the phone, rather than trying to prove yourself in an unfamiliar new skills area which they are happy to train you in.

Good Luck!