Important Structured Interview Preparation Guide

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An American life insurance industry study found that after receiving a large sum of money from a lump-sum settlement or judgment, a lottery windfall, or an inheritance, 25% of recipients had nothing left within two months. At the end of one year 50% had nothing left. After two years 70% had nothing left; and, within 5 years 90% had nothing left.

Before 1979 in Canada a plaintiff was compensated for personal injuries with a one-time lump-sum payment representing the sum of all damages suffered by the plaintiff. Whether awarded by a court, or paid as a settlement by the defendant's insurer, a plaintiff received one lump sum.
It would then be up to the plaintiff to spend the money wisely.

Product maturity refers to when a structured product will expire. A product with a "Product Maturity" of 60 days, for example, will expire in 60 days. A product's return on investment is determined on the date it reaches maturity. The earnings from the product will be returned to the investor's transitory account within 3 business days of this date.

The participation rate (PR) is a coefficient that determines how much an investor can expect to earn on a structured product for a certain amount of price movement in the base asset. This coefficient is determined automatically based on the parameters of your investment.

► What are your career aspirations?
► Why do you want to work for our company?
► What interests you about our product or service?
► Of your previous jobs, which did you enjoy most and why?
► How have you managed conflict in the past?
► Describe what you have done in your career that shows your initiative
► What are your weaknesses? Your strengths?
► What style of management gets the best from you?
► What have been your major achievements to date?

Some of the questions may even be targeted to your family and personal life.
These questions, though they seem harmless, play an important role in deciding whether you will be hired by the company or not.
There are some companies that would prefer a single man over a married man and vice versa. For example, a company that is hiring traveling salesmen would like to hire bachelors, while a company that intends to hire a senior manager, would like to hire a person who is well settled in life, which translates into marriage. Some questions that are asked are:
► Are you married?
► Do you have kids?

This is a kind of SWOT analysis that every interviewer would want the person to prepare for even before they join the company.
The very fact that a person knows his/her strengths and weaknesses tells the interviewer that the person is mature and knowledgeable enough to handle the job.

This question can also be termed as 'What brings you to us?" Interestingly, this question is asked more often during interviews for more exciting jobs, like a writer, a copywriter, or an advertising professional, etc.
This question is basically aimed at finding out whether the person who has applied for a typical exciting profession, like an advertisement professional, really knows the advantages and the disadvantages that come with the world of advertising.
You should avoid answers that state that you came in for the money, or that the job is pretty easy, or even that one of your relatives told you to apply for the said job.
The best way to answer this question is to tell the interviewer that you are interested in moving ahead in the said profession, and that you were always interested in the profession.

The academic qualifications are quite important in any job profile that you might be looking at today.
Almost every job that has responsibility attached to it will have several qualifications required. There are several cases where a person has not been hired because they did not have the required academic qualifications. Therefore, make sure that you have the required academic qualifications before applying for a job opening.

Asking a set of questions of each and every candidate in a one-on-one interview.
Having each and every candidate fill out a questionnaire form.

A structured interview is sometimes called a pattern interview.

The disadvantages of structured interviews are that the company has to interview a sufficient number of applicants in order to begin the comparison - it is time consuming and requires designing questions and intensive resources.
Secondly, the structured interview is basically data-collection; as such it lacks the feasibility to assess the candidate's communication skills.

When it comes to evaluating the advantages of structured interviews as compared to unstructured ones, the main advantage is that all the applicants have an equal opportunity to prove that they have the required skills and experience for the job.
Additionally, as an initial selection process, the structured interview questions are basically set up in a manner which allows the interviewer to obtain all the initial data as well as professional details that he or she would want to know about every applicant.

As a general rule of thumb, structured interviews typically assess 4 - 6 competencies unless the job is unique or at a high level. However, the number of questions must be balanced with the amount of time allotted for the interview.

Some tips for writing structured interview questions include ensuring the questions are:
► Reflective of the job,
► Tied to competencies identified through a job analysis,
► Open-ended,
► Clear and concise,
► At an appropriate reading level,
► Free of jargon or "Governmentese", and
► Written with superlative adjectives (e.g., ask for the most, last, worst, least, or best experience or example that demonstrates the competency).

The defendant or its insurer may transfer the obligation to make future payments through a "qualified assignment" to a financially secure and experienced institution - a life insurance company, for example. The assignment provides the injury victim with strong financial security, and the defendant can close its books on the case.
This process relieves the defendant of further responsibility for the payments and transfers the administration and record-keeping responsibilities. The assignment company specializes in these activities and may offer additional financial security to the claimant.

► The periodic payments can't be borrowed against, deferred, accelerated or changed once set up,
► Default risk, meaning the life insurance company that is selected becomes unable to make the payments. However, this risk is small due to the well-capitalized life insurance companies that are used for structured settlement annuities. Additionally, there are state insurance guaranty associations for every state that guarantee annuities up to a certain value (this excludes workers' compensation reinsurance). Finally, settlement proceeds can be spread among several different life insurance companies to lessen default risk.

► Relieve the financial pressures of medical expenses and living needs,
► Meet long-term rehabilitation or permanent care facility expenses,
► Provide for the future costs of college funds, retirement, down payment on a home, or mortgage payment,
► Provide enhanced protection of the recovery from creditors and predators,
► Provide long-term financial security.

► Persons with temporary or permanent disabilities,
► Guardianship cases that may involve minors or persons found to be incompetent,
► Workers' compensation cases,
► Wrongful death cases where the surviving spouse and/or children need monthly or annual income,
► Severe injury, especially with long-term needs for medical care, living expenses and support of family.

In any physical injury case, the plaintiff and defendant negotiate issues such as the victim's medical care and basic living and family needs. Oftentimes, one side (or both) will bring in an expert, such as a structured settlement consultant, who provides calculations on the long-term cost of these needs.
When there is agreement on the amount of damages due the injury victim (which can happen before, during or after a lawsuit), the victim can select a periodic payment plan that meets his or her needs, and the defendant will agree to make the future payments via a structured settlement. The defendant then assigns this obligation to an experienced third party, a life insurance company that funds the damage payments with an annuity.
An annuity has been the preferred way of funding because of its pricing and flexibility. An alternative is a trust fund which invests only in United States Treasuries. However, these trusts are not used very often because they are inflexible and can't provide lifetime income.
As these issues involve complex calculations, you should always consult your attorney and a structured settlement consultant.

Structured settlement annuities are exceptionally flexible and can be designed to meet virtually any set of needs. A relatively simple payment schedule can be set up that provides for equal payments at set intervals - for example, every month for 20 years.
Yet payments need not be in equal amounts. Someone who will need a new wheelchair every three years might elect to receive a larger payment every 36 months to help defray the cost. (This would presumably be in addition to the regular payments.)
The inherent flexibility of structured settlements means that they are well-suited to compensate people for a wide variety of injuries. Your attorney or a Millennium consultant will be able to explain additional details as they apply to your case.

Structured settlements are an innovative method of compensating injury victims with the use of annuities. Structured settlement is a voluntary agreement between the injury victim and the defendant for future periodic payments.
A structured settlement may be agreed to privately (for example, in a pre-trial settlement) or it may be required by a court order, which often happens in judgments involving minors.

► Dress professionally and conservatively while avoiding extremes. This is not the time to express your individuality/creativity. You can demonstrate uniqueness through conversation, demeanor and your responses to the interview questions.
► Watch your manners! Never chew gum or smoke. Stay focused on the interview and organize your thoughts. Act
► professionally, using a friendly and personable approach.
► Sit comfortably without slouching. Look alert, enthusiastic and maintain eye contact, but don't stare. Don't fidget and try to avoid signs that you are nervous, such as finger tapping, leg swinging, etc.
► Make sure your speech/language is appropriate for the type of interview you will undergo. Avoid slang or wordiness.Speak so that you can be heard, and make sure your responses are clear and concise.
► Relax, smile, and take a deep breath before and during your interview.
► Eye contact is one of the most important aspects of nonverbal communication and can make a significant difference in how you present yourself. If you look away when speaking to someone, you're viewed as lacking confidence or interest. If you have a problem looking into your interviewer's eyes, try looking at the "third eye" right above and between the eyes.
► Smile, nod, and give nonverbal feedback to the interviewer.

► Know your exact appointment time/location, and arrive early. Plan your time wisely.
► If you are asked to bring additional materials, information, and/or references to the interview - be sure to do so.
► Bring a resume and any other information you have that demonstrates your experience, education, or skill knowledge.
► This will provide you with a resource at the interview that you can refer to.
► Be prepared to ask questions about the position you are applying for when the interviewer prompts you for questions.
► Be aware that the City's interviews are not interactive. Interviewers are not allowed to give you more information, or
► clarify questions. Take time to formulate your answers/questions before you speak.

There are a number of effective methods of preparing for the interview. Examples include the following:
► Brainstorm possible interview questions by reviewing any information you have about the job and anticipating
questions that may be asked.
► Learn all you can about the organization, the position, and the career field.
► Talk to someone that performs the target job or a related position.
► Practice for the interview in front of a mirror, a friend, or a video camcorder.
► Have a friend or family member critique your responses. You should also critique your own responses.
► Make sure that you "put your best foot forward" and use the interview to present your skills and your ideas to the evaluators. Interviewers are not able to assess what they don't see. The responsibility is yours to ensure that your abilities are presented to the evaluators.