Confidence is key.

The nerves started to kick in as soon as we were told we had to prepare and undergo stimulated interviews in week 3. People would tend to see me as a talkative and outgoing person. However, in some situations that isn’t the case. When it comes to interviews and simply talking about myself, my nerves get the better of me. 

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.”

— Helen Keller

As I started to research for a job, I found a producer job advertised for VICE Media group. Working for this media company is a dream of mine, so what better way to use this for the stimulated interviews and to practice a mock interview that will hopefully become reality one day. The producer job role was working primarily on i-D – a more fashion and pop culture-based media platform under the world of VICE. They were looking for a producer that was a great communicator and someone that could work under pressure. Qualities that my work placement and previous experiences throughout the years helped me with. To help me reflect on my experience with this stimulated interview, I will be using Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle. I believe this reflective cycle helped me better to understand the interview process, what I need to improve on and to draw up an action plan for after I graduate and the numerous future interviews I will attend. 

Description:

For the interview preparation each student was put into a group. Within that group we had to come up with a few interview questions for each peer member, according to their job description. Meaning we all got the chance to experience being an interviewer and interviewee. We were allowed 5 minutes to prepare questions, 10 minutes to interview and 5 minutes to gather our feedback for each candidate.

Feelings:

I was the first to be interviewed in my group. Not being a morning person and the session starting at 9am, I didn’t feel fully awake yet – while adding the nerves of going first on top of that. The night before I tried to think of every possible question that might be asked. The job description also specified that the candidate must know a great amount about the fashion industry and influencers within this industry. Although I would say this is an interest of mine, I made sure to delve a bit deeper and do further research.

As I sat down and tried not to laugh at my peers being serious in this unusual situation, my nerves started to disappear after the first question and getting into the flow of it. The only thing that frustrated me, was the fact that I was unable to hear the panel clearly and I forgot one of the questions that were asked – due to the rest of the class being in the same room undergoing interviews at the same time. I become easily distracted, so being in a loud room I couldn’t focus on the panel and was directed to what other groups were saying around me. However, I bounced back and showed a real interest for the job role. 

Evaluation:

I think what was good about this experience was it showed me to have more faith in myself. I doubt myself when it comes to many things, but this task showed me that I have the experience, the work ethic, and the determination to go into an interview and show off. All I must do now is believe in myself and build up the confidence. As stated above, the only bad thing about this experience was the unauthenticity of the interview process. I would have preferred if the group interviews were in separate rooms, with no distractions.

Analysis:

This experience allowed me to put myself into the interviewee’s shoes. It was enlightening to understand how interviewers come up with the questions to ask and when it comes to job descriptions it really does exactly what it says on the tin. It has now helped me to acknowledge the job description, to read and take in everything. 

Conclusion:

Reflecting overall and from the feedback provided from my peers, there are a few things that I could improve on. Although my group scored me 5/5 for all areas – content, reflection, and presentation. The comments for areas of improvement were to have more confidence in myself and the answers that I was providing, which I already acknowledged above. While also focusing on being more relaxed from the get-go.

Content

Reflection

Presentation

Action Plan:

My action plan for future interviews, as I venture into the industry after graduating, would be to prepare and research. Scoring 5/5 in all areas shows that I know what to say and how to present myself – all due to the fact I done my research into the brand, the fashion industry and made sure I covered majority of questions that might have been asked.

References

Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by Doing: A Guide to Teaching and Learning Methods. Oxford: Oxford Further Education Unit