Questions for Head of Department Interview

How will we notice that you’re head of department?

• GCSE raw grades and value added scores will increase. However, it has to be accepted that this is a long term development and realistically it will take five years (ie a whole school cohort) to be able to fully recognise the impact of a new HoD.
• There’ll be a greater take up at GCSE, and a change in the calibre of students taking the subject, moving away from those who see it as a least worst option to those who actively choose the subject.
• We’ll have to take on an NQT in a couple of years to cater for increased numbers at GCSE and A level. ALternatively, the core members are supplemented by part timers who are supported by the HoD.
• ITT students will contribute to our professional development.
• Ideas and techniques of peer observation and support will become more acceptable and used in the department. The department will become teacher researchers and pioneer the latest developments in pedagogy with a strong focus on improving independent learning, group work and thinking skills.
• There will be fully planned schemes of work at KS3 which include plans for progression and assessment. These will reflect a commitment to teaching a diverse, inclusive History curriculum in line with the 2008 NC.
• Higher profile of the department – assemblies, displays, competitions, trips

How will you motivate your staff?

How will you improve the practice of your staff?

Ask the students what they think.

How could you improve our Value Added scores / raw grades at GCSE?

How could you improve take-up at GCSE?

How will you use pupil data to improve attainement?

Why do you want the job/why should we give you the job ? – Vision for the dept

What were the strengths and weaknesses of the lesson I taught in the morning or a recently taught lesson

How would I improve learning within the department

What would you do if a member of your dept was not following school/department policy?

As a matter of professional courtesy I would assume firstly that they felt there was some aspect of the policy that was threatening the learning of the students, or that they were having difficulty in being able to implement it, so I’d do my best to discuss the matter with them – to find out what their objections or difficulties were. It is highly likely that I would learn something from this discussion, which might solve the issue and improve the policy in question or offer some support. If this did not sort things out, if it turned out there were serious compentancy issues, or this person was merely being awkward, then I would refer the matter to my line manager, for advice or further action, after warning the person in question.

Business honors program + interview questions

The College of Business Honors Program is focused on developing future leaders who will bring energy, optimism, and enthusiasm to the business world.

At the end of their freshmen year, each class takes an international trip to learn more about the increasingly global business world. In May 2011, the Honors Class of 2014 visited Brazil. The Honors Class of 2015 will be heading to Turkey in May 2012.

About

Learning to develop and nurture a diverse network of colleagues upon whom you can rely for advice, support, and encouragement throughout your business career is an essential leadership skill. The Honors Program in the College of Business is designed to develop high-potential students into strong business leaders who not only excel intellectually, but also understand that with success comes responsibility to serve their communities, their alma mater, and each other. The Honors Program for the College of Business should benefit all undergraduates and not just the students in the honors cohort.

The heart of the Honors Program is the group of students selected to be College of Business Honors Program students. Those students will work with the Assistant Dean for Honors to develop the leadership skills that will be used to encourage all business undergraduates to participate fully in honors activities and to utilize the resources of the College of Business to prepare for professional careers. Students identified for the Honors Program should demonstrate qualities that put them in the top rank of the college. Such qualities may include leadership, intellectual talent, community service, etc. Most of the activities for the honors cohort will be concentrated in the students' freshman and sophomore years. Juniors and seniors in the Honors Program will participate in leadership teams that will work with faculty and administrators of the College of Business and the University of Illinois to encourage broader participation in programs that better prepare students for their professional futures. The framework of the Honors Program for juniors and seniors will recognize the commitment to major that is required of these students.

The Honors Program provides significant experiences for the Honors Program students and expects the students to make the College of Business a better place by using the skills learned from those experiences to be undergraduate leaders of the college. Advantages of membership in the Honors Program include:

• A 4-year, renewable merit scholarship.
• A seminar series, “Conversation with Leaders,” for honors students with national and international business leaders.
• A mentorship program based on the idea of “mentoring chain reaction” to teach students to rely on each other for support and council and begin to develop a life-long network of business contacts.
• Representing the College of Business a Business Student Ambassador.
• An international experience, largely funded by the College of Business, at the end of the freshman year. Students are expected to pay $1,000 of the nearly $4,000 cost. Financial aid is available for students with significant demonstrated need. In 2012, the students will be visiting Turkey.
• A job shadow program during winter break of freshman year.
• Social activities for honors students—dinner at the home of the assistant dean for honors, pizza nights, games nights, etc.
• The Assistant Dean for Honors serves as an advisor for honors students.

Weirdest Job Interview Questions

The survey of 1,000 adults by recruitment firm Michael Page also found that many jobseekers were failing to prepare properly, saying that their main concern was making a good first impression.
Appearance was a key concern for two out of five people, with just one in four saying they spent a lot of their preparation time practising interview questions or researching interview techniques.

Dean Ball of Michael Page said: "It's understandable that weird interview questions are unnerving for some candidates but they are becoming increasingly common in interview situations so it's important that candidates are prepared for them.

"Being able to tackle these questions confidently can help candidates stand out to prospective employers, who are looking at ways to differentiate between similarly qualified candidates.

"They can also provide a moment of light-heartedness in an otherwise formal situation so should be embraced by candidates as a chance to show their originality, creativity, how they apply logic and their sense of humour."

The company has provided some top tips to help you prepare for your next interview:

• Whilst it’s useful to practise with friends and family and learn from their experiences, it’s important to seek advice from outside of your immediate networks so you get a complete picture of what your interview could involve.
• Practice answering difficult questions – anything from ‘where do you want to be in five years’ through to explaining a gap in your work experience.
• Get a friend to test your lateral thinking by asking you weird, unexpected questions – even if they don’t have an obvious answer. The important thing is to demonstrate your creativity, logical thinking and ability to confidently make decisions on the spot without getting flustered.
• Interviews are a two-way street – as much as you need to answer a future employer’s questions, you also have the chance to steer the conversation to really show off your potential and make sure all elements of your experience are covered.

And, if you think you can answer "What do you think of garden gnomes?", visit Michael Page's Facebook for the chance to win a Kindle.

Honors Program Frequently Asked Questions

How does one gain admission into the Honors Program?

To be admitted to the program, one must, in addition to meeting the requirements for admission into English I, meet ONE of the following:

• Have a 3.5 High school GPA (on a 4.0 scale) or...
• Have graduated from the top 20% of one's High School class or...
• Have a 3.5 college GPA after 12 credits (in transfer courses only) or...
• Get a recommendation from someone familiar with one's academic abilities and have an interview with the coordinator of the honors program.

How do I know if the Honors Program is right for me?

If you can meet any of the above admissions requirements, and you can answer yes to at least half of the following questions, the honors program is likely to be a great choice for you:

• Are you a serious student who cares about learning for its own sake?
• Would you like to compile the most impressive transcript you can in preparation for transfer to a four-year institution?
• Are you looking for the most dynamic, innovative, and exciting educational experiences available at NCC?
• Do you thrive in environments in which you get to take responsibility for your own work and learning experience?
• Would you like a chance to take small, seminar-style classes with other students with strong academic skills?

Again, if this generally sounds like you, you should consider the honors program.

What are the benefits of being in the Honors Program?

• The honors classes at NCC provide our most exciting educational opportunities. Honors classes are smaller, so they afford much more intimate ties between teachers and students. Honors learning experiences regularly take place outside the campus and students have the chance to take charge of, and responsibility for, their education, often actually choosing texts themselves or leading class discussions and presentations and even "playing teacher for a day."
• But beyond their intrinsic benefit, having the distinction of completing, or even participating, in the honors program, will prove to transfer institutions that you are a highly motivated and academically skilled student ready to take on any of the challenges they have to offer.
• In addition, a select number of $1000 scholarships are available to honors program participants.

Competency based HR interview questions

Core elements of HR competency questions

Competency based interviews are considered a standard interview technique in today’s selection processes since their introduction in the late 1980s. At their heart is the premise that past behaviour is the best predictor of future behaviour and interviewers specifically measure responses against a role’s competency framework to ascertain a candidate’s suitability.

In HR the extensive experience you gain on the interviewer’s side of the table ensures you become highly skilled in posing those probing questions to establish a candidate’s capabilities and suitability for a particular role, but sitting in the spotlight yourself can be another matter. You are under its glare with your experience and skills being taken out and scrutinised in the light for a role that you really want; it’s a daunting prospect regardless of your level of seniority.

Competencies range widely dependent on company identify, however the current school of thought as promulgated by leading HR thinker Professor Dave Ulrich of the University of Michigan as based on his 2011 study of Human Resources Competencies, details a competency model with six core elements relevant specifically to the HR function today.

• Strategic Positioner: Successful HR professionals have extensive knowledge of their external marketplace along with external and internal business trends. They are able to contextualise these and transform them into strategic responses that provide a framework in which the business can make tactical decisions. (Think along the lines of Alan Jones from Dragons Den).
• Credible Activist: To be an effective HR professional you must be a “credible activist” in building relationships and generating trust through commercial acumen. “HR professionals who are credible but not activists are admired, but do not have much impact. Those who are activists but not credible may have good ideas, but not much attention will be given to them.”1 (Margaret Thatcher was perhaps the ultimate Credible Activist.)
• Capability Builder: A capability is often described as a business identity, culture or process. An HR professional should aid in establishing and defining their business capabilities, ultimately reflecting the entrenched values of the whole. (Anita Roddick for example embodied the true values of the Body Shop brand.)
• Change Champion: One of the most widely advocated competencies, an HR professional’s capacity to initiate and integrate sustainable, valuable change is highly valued. “HR professionals help change happen at institutional (changing patterns), initiative (making things happen) and individual (enabling personal change) levels.”2 (Most definitely has to be Richard Branson.)
• HR Innovator and Integrator: A broad knowledge of established HR practices and employment law ensures an effective HR professional can innovate and integrate practices into cohesive solutions that resolve future business challenges. (Steve Jobs was the fore runner of innovation in recent times.)
• Technology Proponent: Technology has insinuated its way into all aspects of our lives and “in recent years, technology has changed the ways in which HR people think.”3 Not just in relation to the manner in which administrative work is carried out, but also strategic planning and relationship building need to be considered in a technological light. (In a business environment, no one has done more in integrate up to date technology than Bill Gates.)

Practical preparation - tips

The most practical piece of preparation that you can do is to establish exactly what competencies your interviewer will assess you against. These may be related directly to the job, in which case your first port of call should be to revisit the job description for the role. If however, you will be assessed against the company’s established competency framework your consultant may have a copy or be able to discuss them with you, alternatively you will be able to glean a lot of insight from the company research you have carried out previously.

When you have a good grasp of the competencies involved, consider your own experience and where you can use examples to highlight your expertise in these areas. This will aid you greatly in clearly communicating them under pressure.

When discussing competencies during interviews, one of the most common pieces of negative feedback that we receive about a candidate is the tendency to talk around the question asked, and not actually provide the interviewer with an answer. It is understandable that this does happen, it is a pressurised environment and you are trying to demonstrate the breadth and depth of your experience and knowledge.

Communicating your competencies: SOAR technique

There are lots of different models that are recommended by various sources that can aid you in providing a highly relevant answer that is succinct and to the point. They all follow a similar method, but we recommend the SOAR technique as it has the additional focus on ownership that the others don’t. When you are describing the scenario, action and result, it’s essential that you become au fait with the use of “I” rather than “we”. The focus on ownership within the SOAR technique helps to remind you that the interviewer is interested in your actions and results, not that of your team.

• ‘S’ - Scenario: Choose a scenario that most appropriately fits the question. It could be an enquiry about your experience in a specific remit, or when you have implemented new ideas or processes, keep it relevant.
• ‘O’ – Ownership: Ensure that it is clear who took ownership of the scenario (hint: this should be you).
• ‘A’ – Action: What action did you take to resolve the situation and bring about a satisfactory conclusion?
• ‘R’ – Result: How did the outcome have an effect on the company or department?

This technique will help you to formulate an answer that is succinct, lasting about two minutes, contextualised and most importantly, actually answers the question.

Business hr interview questions

Here are some questions we recommend. But remember - as obvious as it might seem - the important and challenging aspect of interviewing is evaluating the candidates' answers based on needs of the position - not just asking the questions themselves.

1. Have you ever built a talent strategy to support an organization's business strategy? [If so, describe how you went about doing it. What was your approach? What stakeholders did you work most closely with? What was the outcome? How did you measure success?] If not, describe how you'd go about doing it. Which stakeholders would be most important to work with? What outcomes would you want to achieve? How would you evaluate the effectiveness of your strategy?
Answers to look for:

• A cogent approach to understanding the near-term business strategy (plan for growth, new products or services, infrastructure requirements, etc. - and how those map to specific talent needs.)
• A practical method for assessing the existing talent in the organization and identifying where gaps exist and the criticality of those gaps.
• A plan for closing the gap using a multi-pronged approach such as build, borrow, buy, etc.
• A partnership mindset in which close ties to - and input from - the business leaders is leveraged throughout the process.
• An objective way to measure results through decreased vacancy rates for mission critical roles, higher rates of successful internal promotions, reduced attrition in key parts of the business, higher customer service ratings, etc.

2. Tell me about a situation in which you took an unpopular stand on what you believed represented an important strategy for your business, and you were able to convince others who initially disagreed with you. What was the situation, what did you do, and what was the outcome?
Answers to look for:

• A strategic situation that impacts talent in the organization (e.g., candidate pipeline, employees' access to social media, driving support for new technology, etc.) - versus a tactical, old-school HR issue. 
• A knowledge of economic, industry and business trends.
• A willingness to take risks and an ability to influence others.
• A sense of confidence, smarts and initiative.
• The ability to make data-based decisions and recommendations, and assess the ROI of business outcomes.

3. Describe your approach to managing the range of work an HRBP faces - from strategic to tactical. What process do you use? What resources do you leverage? How do you know you're focusing on the things and driving the right results?
Answers to look for:

• A structured approach to prioritizing work, managing time, following up, and staging deadlines.
• A creative method for managing resources, delegating tactical issues, using web-based (even free) tools for task and project management, regular updates with peers, business leaders or direct reports to manage the right priorities, a process for managing expectations of business leaders regarding their role and responsibilities.
• A business-based approach for working proactively vs. reactively - e.g., attending business updates, field visits with leaders, keeping up the financials of the business, etc.
• An openness to feedback in which their input, deliverables and value to the business is assessed through surveys, interviews, objective measures, etc.

Typical interview questions answers

Technically, not every item is a question; some are statements; but all are intended to prompt you for a response.

Better questions are not those that can be answered with a "yes" or "no," but are open-ended questions that invite thoughtful response. Even if you are asked a question that can be answered with a "yes" or "no," (e.g. "Are you comfortable with the amount of travel this job involves?"), you can certainly add a word of explanation to back up your answer (e.g., "Yes. I actually look forward to the opportuntity to travel and to work with the staff members in some of the other offices.)

Best questions are those that ask you how you behaved in the past, because past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. These are referred to as behavioral interview questions; read more.

Not every interviewer will ask you every one of these questions.  However, if you are prepared to address these questions, you will leave the impression that you were prepared for your job interview, even if additional questions take you by surprise. 

• What are your long-range goals and objectives for the next seven to ten years?

• What are your short-range goals and objectives for the next one to three years?

• How do you plan to achieve your career goals?

• What are the most important rewards you expect in your career?

• Why did you choose the career for which you are preparing?

• What are your strengths, weaknesses, and interests?

• How do you think a friend or professor who knows you well would describe you?

• Describe a situation in which you had to work with a difficult person (another student, co-worker, customer, supervisor, etc.). How did you handle the situation? Is there anything you would have done differently in hindsight?

• What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort? Describe a situation in which you did so.

• In what ways have your college experiences prepared you for a career?

• How do you determine or evaluate success?

• In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to our organization?

• Describe a contribution you have made to a project on which you worked.

• What qualities should a successful manager/leader/supervisor/etc. possess?

• Was there an occasion when you disagreed with a supervisor's decision or company policy? Describe how you handled the situation.

• What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction? Why?

• Describe your most rewarding college experience.

• What interests you about our product or service?

• Why did you select your college or university?

• What led you to choose your major or field of study?

• What college subjects did you like best? Why?

• What college subjects did you like least? Why?

• If you could do so, how would you plan your academic studies differently?

• Do you think your grades are a good indication of your academic achievement?

• What have you learned from participation in extracurricular activities?

• In what kind of work environment are you most comfortable?

• How do you work under pressure?

• Describe a situation in which you worked as part of a team. What role did you take on? What went well and what didn't?

• In what part-time, co-op, or summer jobs have you been most interested? Why?

• How would you describe the ideal job for you following graduation?

• Why did you decide to seek a position with our organization?

• What two or three things would be most important to you in your job?

• What criteria are you using to evaluate the organization for which you hope to work?

• How would you view needing to relocate for the job? Do you have any constraints on relocation?

• Are you comfortable with the amount of travel this job requires?

• Are you willing to spend at least six months as a trainee?