Professional Experience Interview Preparation Guide

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For answering this question you should think of a few things:
☛ Achievement
☛ Actions
☛ Value and performance
☛ Results

Examples:
☛ Great initiatives and fresh ideas.
☛ Have you shaken old methods?
☛ Developed a new program.
☛ Target sales, new sales.
☛ Reached new clients?
☛ Developed a new customer satisfaction procedure?
☛ Improved the accuracy of budget forecasts?
☛ New design on time-schedule.
☛ Achieved project goals.
☛ Established good working relationships with customers.
☛ Great team work.
☛ Established new quality standards.

Never run down or say anything negative about anybody or anyone. The employer will feel that you will do it to them. You should state the positive things such as he had high expectations and I really respected him for that. He was down to earth and really knew the job I was doing, if I had any problems he was approachable and would always give me suggestion or he gave the responsibility to do a good job.

During sandwich year, the students on job placement have the opportunity to use the skills and knowledge gained in their first two years and see how they are applied to real world problems. This offers them useful insights for their final year and prepares them for the job market once their course has finished. Some companies sponsor students in their final year at university with the promise of a job at the end of the course. This is an incentive for the student to perform well during the placement as it helps with two otherwise unwelcome stresses: the lack of money in the final year, and finding a job when the University course ends.

Job experience at university level is often offered between the second and final years of an undergraduate degree course, especially in the science, engineering and computing fields. Courses of this nature are often called sandwich courses with the job experience year itself known as the sandwich year.

Interviewers are concerned about job hoppers people who do not settle but move from job to job. In a recession many jobs are short-term and so this may not be a negative reflection on you but the interviewer needs to be convinced.
If you have changed jobs more frequently than average, be ready to explain the reasons why. If it is a case of a job not working out, be ready to explain. It could be that you moved for a promotion but within weeks you realized the company was in difficulty, with your job at risk, hence now looking for a new job.

Think of the actions that you took to achieve the goal. Every single step that you have taken for achieving the objectives:
☛ Tasks during the activity.
☛ Your personal management activities.
☛ The changes and difficulties that you handled effectively.

It is not pretty when a bad job experience blots an otherwise spotless resume. These bad job experiences can haunt us when we are out there looking for a new job and this can bring down our self-confidence. Whether you lose your job, resigned because of a nasty boss, backstabbing co-workers or get chucked out because of uncontrollable events, there are ways to deal with the life in-between.

Example:
☛ I liked my employer. He/she treated me fairly and respected my work.
☛ I appreciated my previous employer having given me the opportunity to acquire a lot of skills and experiences in (name area of work skill).

Example:
My greatest strength is that I have a lot of initiative. I am always looking for a better way to do things at job that I feel would save the company money and I can always achieve my production quotas. For example one time I was working at my station and I felt that I was wasting time by always having to walk to the other side of my station to get some parts. So I reorganized the station and my supervisor was really impressed as it increased my quota.

Example:
☛ I am the type of person or is very hard on myself. I am always expecting myself to do a little bit more. However, I guess this works out well for my employer.
☛ I never like to leave work until I have every thing finished completely. Sometimes this bothers me but I feel inside that it is important.
☛ I am the type of person who always takes my work home with me. This sometimes interferes with my personal life but I feel that work comes first.

You never want to give any indication of any weaknesses that you have. Turn you weaknesses into strengths by working it to the employer's advantage.

This is your opportunity to brag a little bit. It is important that you have done your research about the type of job that you are applying for. For example if you are applying as a production laborer and from your research you understand that this type of job required people that have the ability to meet quotas, work as a team and make improvement suggestions, then it is important for you to incorporate this into your strengths.

The interviewer is looking for clues to serious problems or job difficulties that could carry over to a new job. You might say:
Since I was laid off from my previous employer, I have been actively looking for a job. However, as you know, there are many people looking for work and applying for the same jobs. I have always worked steadily but I have not been able to find a job in the present job market.
After I got laid off from my previous employer, I decided to go back to school to upgrade my skills so I can get a better, more secure job.

The interviewer may think you are over qualified and want this job only until something better comes along. Stress that no job is ever boring because you always learn new skills. Mention how you would benefit by working for the company and vice versa.

Sales experience in a national retail chain, where I acquired an understanding of how customers need to be listened to and made to feel confident that their ideas and concerns taken into account.

My job experience has been nothing but top notch. When I competed my accounting degree, I went right to the best firm in the city and was hired as an intern. I was able to use the internship time towards my MBA, which I just complete this past spring. Working with the best of the best has made me an asset to any company that will hire me.

I have not had much paid job experience as a teacher. I have spent most of my time outside of college and graduate school doing volunteer job at a private elementary school in my town. Because the summers are so short and I was working to complete my certification, I wanted to gain hands on experience without worrying about finding a school that would hire me. Now that I am certified, finished my master's degree program and have all those volunteer hours under my belt, I feel well prepared to apply for a full time teaching position.

They want to know about your job and how it has prepared you for the job you are being interviewed for. Are you motivated to move to this job or are you moving away from a job you dislike?
Make sure the examples you share are all relevant to the job you are applying for. Possible examples could focus on problem-solving, customer service and creating action plans.
GOOD TIP:
You want to make sure that your examples are positive and end with what attracts you to this job.

If you feel relieved after going through all the previous rules, give it a go and open yourself to all life has to offer. Not just with a new job but with everything else. Who knows, your new job might be just the thing you are looking for in your career. Take your bad job experience as a learning experience and use it as an advantage.
People are different from each other and deal with things in different ways. Handling your past bad job experience through positive means can help you recover and get back on track with a wiser perspective.

They want to make sure that you are not someone who complains too much. You need to come across as someone who remains positive when dealing with things they dislike.
They will listen to see if you come across as difficult to work with. Start by highlighting the positives and explain how you have worked around your dislikes. Your dislike should relate to circumstances, such as not having enough resources, rather than to any conflict with others.
GOOD TIP:
Do not mention problems with people and ensure you come across as someone who is upbeat and positive.

Take care of yourself on your way to recovery. Do not rush yourself to feel better instantly. We all have periods when we feel down but there comes a time that we will feel ready to take on the world again. Your feelings may shift among numbness, anger, sadness and desolation. The important thing with emotional recovery from a bad job is that you help yourself. Do not beat yourself up. Take the things that you can change from the things you have no control over.

The interviewer wants reassurance that you have thought about the culture, environment and business goals that this company has. They want to know that you will fit in.
Think about the culture and job environment at your current employer and identify key differences and similarities with the new company. Reassure the interviewer that you do not see any differences as a problem.
GOOD TIP:
Think and be ready to discuss how you have adapted to new bosses, colleagues and jobs as you have undertaken different roles.

Everyone who's ever lost a job may find themselves angry, sad and anxious over what happened. If you lose your job because you did something wrong, were wrongly judged upon or all of these, feel free to rant. Allow yourself to get really angry at your boss, co-worker or any reason that made you lose your job. That said, it is important to find healthy ways to get your pent-up emotions off your chest. Write about it, talk to someone about it, cry, shout or eat a pint of ice cream. Do anything that will help you feel more in control of your emotions and less angry about the said situation.
There is no right or wrong way to feel about your situation. The only thing that will be wrong is if you allow this experience to dampen your enthusiasm for job. If you go around looking for a job and still feel angry about your past job experience, it can sabotage your efforts. You do not want to be talking about your past job experience to a potential employer and badmouthing your previous boss.

After dealing with your negative feelings about losing your job, relax and take a step back. Try to see the situation in a positive light. What are the lessons you can learn from this experience? Maybe you need to improve how you deal with higher-ups, upgrade your job skills or interact better with people.
If your idea of relaxing is to take a break for a short while before finding job again, then feel free to do so. Go on some soul-searching road trip, begin a new hobby or just enjoy doing nothing. You will know by yourself if you're ready to join the workforce once again.