innojuk

I have a telephone interview arranged for Tuesday 30th Agust and wondering if anybody else has had one and can give some pointers on the type of questions they may ask.

The interview is with a Shire Council and I am a Buildng Surveyor if that helps!!

Appreciate any advice.

Many thanks

J

randb

I had many at it is really depends on the employer.
I would say that usually, the common questions are about:
Your job, your experience, why you choose Australia and so on.
Then, if you find a nice person on the other side, they may also start to talk about private stuff like hobbies, daily lifestyle and more.
It is really important that you stay calm, speak slow and clear, especially if it is a phone call and not a Skype call, and ask to repeat the question if you did not get it.
Good luck!

Icecube

Due to the time lag it may well be more formulated with behaviour related questions asking you to give an example of when....... you worked in a team, etc.

I think you mentioned it was a council so this will also drive the discussion to a more script driven approach as they may well need to score your responses so that they go into the great paper mill called public sector administration.

newkiwi

i actually prefer telephone interviews... it gives you the opportunity to have some crib notes in front of you. have a printout of your cv at hand and highlight experience examples you can quickly refer too. often the interviews are behavioural.. ie tell me how the dealt eith a difficult situation.. what is your managemebt style etc. do some research on the council like some issues they are dealing with etc. be ready to tell them why you are looking to move to aus. i always do the interview sat at a tabke with notes abd a oen and paper to take notes of what the interviewer says.. my truck for jeeoing focussed.

Bix

If it's just a phone interview rather than Skype stand up.

Standing up aids concentration and attention.

Bermudashorts

There are not special questions for a telephone interview, so nobody can predict what you will be asked.

But to prepare for it, make sure you have a quiet room and that everyone else in the household knows you are not to be disturbed. Get to the room five minutes before the scheduled call, don't be running for the phone when it rings. Be comfortable, but sit up straight, don't take the call lying on your bed have your notes, pen and paper with you and act as if you are face to face.

innojuk

Firstly, I would just like to say - Take a look at the date on the original post please!!!!! Not sure why someone thought fit to resurrect this query but thanks for the suggestions.

Bermuda Shorts, you are indeed correct about not being able to predict the questions; especially when one of them was

"So Guiness, out of a can or draught???"

and the whole interview went along similar lines.

I got the job, have now got the visa and we fly on the 27th December and I will be starting work 09.01.12. What a great way to start a New Year.

Cheers

J