COACHING FOR

ADVANCEMENT

TEAM MEMBERS &

SPECIALISTS

ACTS

Basic Interview Skills

• Introduction
• Who you are and what you want from your target role

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• Background
• Your training and skills

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• Your Hook
• What value you add

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• Next Steps
• How you will follow up

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• The Closing
• Thank them for their time and interest

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• The Follow Up
• Send follow up communication and thank you notes.

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Branding “You”

What are you selling?

Your brand statement is one or two sentences answering

• What you are best at?
• What is your value?
• Who do you serve?
• Who is your audience?
• How do you do it uniquely ?

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This is not your life story so keep it short. Ask yourself what are 3 things that you do really well that are going to add value to the business or organization. What 3 words would people say about you to describe you if you weren’t in the room?

Writing your Brand Statement

Look at your current role and the responsibilities you perform. �

• What you are best at?___________________________________________
• What is your value?_____________________________________________
• Who do you serve?_____________________________________________
• Who is your audience?__________________________________________
• How do you do it uniquely?______________________________________________________�

3 words that describe you:

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• 1)______________ 2)______________ 3)______________

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Research Your Position

Understand all the areas of the job that would be required from you. Don’t just be an expert on knowing how to run The Shops Team or The Warehouse position but understand and become an expert in all of the Specialist Positions. Understand and know the business. If all the other Specialists called in and you were responsible for setting up the Team Members for the night, How would you do it? Where could you go for help? What would be the order of importance?

�Explore:

• Go out and talk to your Status Specialist of each area (Warehouse, Utilities, Floors, Shops, BOH)
• What are they currently doing that you could do better?

Get the Buy In

• Relationship build with everyone that may be interviewing you.
• The more you discover that you have in common together, the less likely you will be nervous during the interview process.
• Meet regularly with your team to discuss what goals you are working on, what you have accomplished, and what you are contributing back to the department.
• Are you just going through the motions of your job or are you adding value?

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If you want people to be genuinely interested in you, you have make them feel like you are genuinely interested in them too.

Your Brag File

• Brag files are basically lists of documents of people that have said really good things about us and about our value.
• Have you completed any classes, do you have any certificates or any other achievements that can be presented to show the interviewer who you are and why you do what you do?
• Bring all of this to the table. You might not refer to it through your interview but there might be something that comes up and you can be like oh, look at this. Or you could just leave it on the table and present it just before ending the interview and say here is more information for you to look at once I’ve gone.
• What is the lasting impression that you will leave with?

Prepare Your Answers

Interviewers will look to see how you’ve used a skill in the past to judge your ability to be successful in the role in the future. These are called Competency-Based Questions. By following what is called the STAR model, you’ll be able to deliver this information with impact and stand out from the rest that are applying for the position.

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BE A �S.T.A.R

What Is S.T.A.R

• S: S is for situation. Start by opening with a brief description and explain the role or situation.
• T: T is for task. This is still the introduction, but provide some context and it will explain your role and what was expected of you.
• A: A is for action. Describe the specific action that you took to complete the task.
• R: R is for result. So what happened as a result of the actions that you took? What impact did the results have on the overall team, company and you?

How To Answer

Can you give me an example of a project that you have seen through to completion?

S: S is for situation. So for example, Over the past 6 months I have worked as a Relief Specialist on the Shops Team.

T: T is for Task. As part of a team of four, we were responsible cleaning all the shops in IOA. Being the Relief Specialist for the team it was my responsibility to delegate and make sure that all of the responsibilities were executed. I was also asked to develop a plan to have a detailed dusting schedule created for all the shops.

A: A is for Action. I met with my management team and learned the key areas may need to be addressed in each of the shops. I then completed a time study and figured out where we could spend an extra 5 minutes in each shop throughout the week. I provided a calendar and a detailed list to my Management Team and the other Specialist who cover Shops.

R: R is for Results. As a result, the shops team became better organized and more efficient at cleaning the venues. Everyone that covered shops now had a plan of action as to where the previous night left off and because there was a plan in place for each shop, our venue Management also were happier which led to a decrease in the number of requests that our team had to do.

The 5 Main Themes of Question’s

1. Leadership
2. Creativity
3. Organizational Skills
4. Motivation
5. Problem Solving

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If you can think of 2 examples for each one above, you’ll be able to answer almost any interview question. Keep your examples relevant and recent.

Examples of Questions Asked

• Can you give me an example of when you worked in a team?
• Can you describe a challenging project, activity, or event that you planned and taken through completion?
• What, if anything would you do differently next time?
• Describe a situation where you have implemented change?
• Tell me a time when you have influenced someone else?
• Tell me about a time when you have had to persuade other people to do something they didn’t want to do?
• Provide an example of when you have overcome a problem.

Some Common Questions to Master

• Tell me about yourself?
• Sum up why you are there in the room.
• What motivates you?
• What achievements have you accomplished?
• What is the real reason you are you applying for this position?

Some Common Questions to Master

• What is something that you feel you wish you were better at?
• For this question, we are looking for your level of self awareness.
• How to answer: In the past I have struggled with____
• Now follow up with some tangible actions that you have done to get better. (Tell your story)

Some Common Questions to Master

• What is your biggest achievement?
• For this question, we are wanting to have a good understanding of your values.
• Pick something you are really proud of, and pick something recent.
• When we talk about things that we are proud of, we relive the story. Your body language will be better, you’ll sit up straighter, your head will lift, you’ll smile more you will be more at ease.
• Is there something you are working on right now?

Some Common Questions to Master

• All specialist call in except you and the other parks are unable to assist. How do you manage the team and still get everything completed??
• For this question, we are wanting to understand your knowledge of the park operations and the order of importance. Can your Management Team assist in any ways? Who can help bring out the utility machines? Shop coverage? Warehouse?

Prepare some examples:

Before your next interview, review the job description for the position of interest to determine which competencies, skills and abilities are most important to the role. Take time to write down examples of when you have demonstrated those in the workplace. It will help you to “rehearse” so that you are more likely to remember your answers during the interview and make you feel more at ease.

MOCK INTERVIEW

Additional Questions to Consider

1. What are your long and short term goals? Do you have a 30, 60, 90 day plan?
2. What is your typical way of dealing with conflict?
3. Tell me a time when you had to go above and beyond to get a job done?
4. How would you establish leadership amongst your team?
5. If you could change anything within the department, what would you change and why?
6. What unique experience or qualifications separate you from other candidates?
7. How would you motivate your team?
8. As the Shops Specialist, you have two team members that are working very hard but the other two are slacking, talking on their phones, etc. How do you address this situation?

Notes:

* See Resume Kit from Universal Orlando Career Network