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Reflection Paper on Interview Experience

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Published: Mar 13, 2024

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• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free

• Interview Analysis: Interviewer, Interviewee and Observer Words: 1912
• Interview Questions for Computer Systems Analyst Words: 725
• Human Resource Selection: Interview Questions Words: 1222
• Recruitment Tactics and Interview Questions Words: 1186
• Skills a Candidate Being Interviewed Should Have Words: 932
• The Importance of Thorough Preparation for Interviews Words: 650

Reflective Interview Report

In this reflective report, I will outline and explore the experiences that I encountered during our team’s mock interview. Our team comprised of three members and each had the opportunity to be interviewed, interview another member, and be an observer. Additionally, I will examine how the experiences obtained from three roles; interviewer, observer, and interviewee. Finally, I will recommend how various players can improve their strategies in the future.

In the preparation for the interview, I had to develop active listening to deduce important information from the setup. Additionally, I had to communicate with the members to express myself. Moreover, attentiveness was essential to pick up nonverbal communication characters from the other parties.

Interviewee

I was being interviewed for the position of HR administrators in the Olympic Delivery Authority. I was prepared for the question posed by the interviewer since I was able to give an appropriate response without much difficulty. Moreover, I was in a position to expound in areas questioned. This is attributed to the fact that I had studied possible questions that could be asked in the interview in advance and I had developed some answers. However, the questioning was quite intensive as the interviewer did not feel that I gave sufficient response to some of his questions.

On the question of my greatest strength, I was adequately prepared to answer since I am self-aware. The answer given was appropriate and convincing as I highlighted my strength and gave supporting examples i.e. that I have been successful in my current sales job, having always exceed my sales targets and keeping deadlines. Further, the strengths I gave to the interviewer are essential and in line with the position, I was being interviewed for, hence indicating that I could meet the organization’s goals. Therefore, this sold my abilities to the recruiting personnel. Generally, the answer I gave regarding my strength was supported by a corresponding illustration of how I have utilized that ability in the past and the outcomes.

About the question of how my greatest strength will facilitate my performance in the HR administration position, I was able to express how my strength will interplay with my roles and duties in the named position. However, I was not sufficiently prepared for this matter, as can be shown by the kind of response given. Although the interviewer had sought to know how my already named strength would facilitate my performance, I gave another strength that had not been indicated in the previous question. Therefore, the answer given was not convincing, as I did not correctly emphasize how my strengths would interplay or facilitate me to perform duties as an HR administrator. Moreover, the response indicates that I was not passably informed of the roles and duties of the position entailed.

Subsequently, I performed well in the question on myself. I gave a brief overview of myself which included all relevant information that the interview required i.e. age, education qualification, and skills, and abilities. I was sufficiently prepared and well informed on the issues that should be addressed in this question. Conversely, I did not give other information that could be relevant that pertains to this question. Also, the rejoin was quite effective since I focused mainly on explaining the current capabilities rather than long winding past that is not relevant to the position. Indeed, the response highlights the character and abilities that correlate with the position being advertised. The weakness highlighted is very damaging to the prospects of getting the job offer; therefore, to improve this in the future, I will need to state a weakness that does little or no damage to my commitments or abilities. Therefore this was a very inappropriate answer to the question. Never the less I was able to portray to the interviewer how I can handle and deal with my limitation.

Importantly, I gave convincing and well-balanced answers to my motivation and how I manage stress in the workplace. Moreover, in response to how I evaluate success, I was able to indicate that I valued the attainment of the organization’s goals plus other colleagues, which are an effective and a winning response. Finally, I outlined the skills and knowledge that I acquired while doing my dissertation topic.

In the future, I need to give prompt answers to questions that interviewers will place. Moreover, there is a need for cohesion and flow in the response that is required. Importantly, most questions asked are related to one another, hence, keenness is essential to give the right responses. Generally, the answer given to the questioning about one’s weakness should not be damaging one.

As an observer, I was able to identify and analyze the interview process, the applicant, and the interviewee. However, since the interview had a timeframe, there was a tendency of both the applicant and the interviewer to rush over the question without sufficiently addressing them. Moreover, the interviewer did not raise questions arising from the responses the interviewee was giving i.e. explain more, or how are u able to achieve that. The applicants gave their responses to the question regarding their strengths by highlighting attributes that would facilitate them to perform the duties of the job they were interviewing for, as a means to increase their chances of selection. The interviewer should be in the position to question the candidate if they feel that a response given is not sufficient enough. Besides, the interviewee should raise queries or seek an explanation if a matter is not comprehensive to them.

The interviewer was composed and relayed his questions eloquently to the candidate. Also, the interviewer was keen and observed the applicant’s non-verbal communication skills by keeping eye contact. Further, the applicants were given sufficient duration to give responses to questions. Moreover, the questions asked were clear and straightforward to the candidates. Importantly, the interviewer portrayed active listening through active listening behavior i.e. nodding. Generally, the interviewer did not exhibit signs of being impressed or displeasure during the interview which is important. The interviewer did seem to be flexible to adjust his structure question to evaluate the matters arising during the interview (Cummings & Worley, 2009, p.127). The questions used in the interview were closed-ended that required brief answers, open-ended and hypothetical questions that entailed the applicant to explain.

Also noted is the intonation used by the interviewee, it was apparent that the candidate used different voice tones when he was certain and confident about the answer to the question. At the same time, the candidates could indicate a lack of prompt responses by their tones and volume of their voices. Moreover, such information could be deduced from the nonverbal communication expressions of the interviewee. One candidate did not appear to concentrate but was rather distracted which was indicated in his responses. However, the participants were dressed professionally which indicated their seriousness of the interview.

The interviewees showed much confidence in how they used space, facial expressions, and mannerisms. The interviewers managed to keep ease during the interview and created a rapport with the candidate. Also, they had the necessary material to record the proceedings of the interview for later analysis and inference. In the future, the candidate should improve their eye contact with the interviewer. Moreover, the interviewer should encourage the candidate to express himself freely.

Interviewer

The interview was led through a set of structured questions that all the applicants were required to respond to (Lussier, 2008, p.240). The structured approach is essential so as each dimension of the interview is evaluated separately then the overall score is determined. Additionally, it helps to compare the performance of each candidate against each other. The questions that are achievement-anchored were meant to gauge the individual applicant’s knowledge and achievement. However, the probe questions did not include other follow up questions. Moreover, the interview was conducted in a quiet and conducive atmosphere to promote concentration and avoid external disturbance. The applicant was required to enter the interview room and introduce themselves and later I questioned them.

The approach was essential to ensure that I was able to inquire most of the required information regarding the applicants with only a few questions. Therefore the questions encompassed all spheres of the candidates i.e. motivations and strengths and weaknesses. However, some respondents gave very brief responses that did not give sufficient information regarding the applicant. Additionally, the clarity of some answers was not good while others did not give supporting examples for their claims. None of the structured questions asked gave me a clear picture of the candidate’s knowledge of the company or the sector. Moreover, by inquiring about the candidates’ dissertation topic I was able to comprehend the suitability of the interviewee to apply their skills in the real world. In asking the strength of the applicant I sort to analyze the strengths that could match with the requirement of the jobs advertised.

As the interviewer, I dealt way with any presumptions and biases regarding the applicant to sufficiently interview him for proper selection. Besides, the questions I used were all clear and not ambiguous to the applicants to ensure that there was clear communication between the parties. Further, the questions were brief to ensure clarity to the candidate being interviewed. The open-ended questions facilitated the candidate to give and elaborate on the issues raised in the interview room. Moreover, I lay more emphasis on recognizing what the interviewers did to attain success rather than their ideas on how to attain success. Also, candidates were given sufficient duration to answer their questions. I observed that the interviewee was prepared with answers to some questions but unprepared to tackle some others.

I was successful in obtaining the required information by also observing the candidates get more information from their non-verbal communication behaviors. This included body gestures and posture. Gladly, I was able to maintain a rapport with the interviewee throughout the interview. Importantly, as the interviewer, I was able to conceal any signs of displeasure or impression from the candidates.

In the future, I will incorporate sufficient analysis of candidates by questioning not only matters that are set out in the interviewing lists of questions, but also other queries that can give more information. Additionally, sufficient duration to conduct the interview must be incorporated to avoid rushing and omitting crucial information. For a successful interview, the interviewer should be aware of all the information said as well as how the information is said (Nankervis, et al., p.104).

As an interviewee, I was able to prepare for most of the questions asked in the interview. However, I gave a relatively poor response to a question on how my strength would help me in the job. Further, the weakness I mentioned is too damaging to my prospects of selection. Generally, I managed to answer all the questions posed with enough supporting examples.

During the interview, I observed that the interview had good listening skills and he could create a rapport with the interviewee. Moreover, the applicant showed confidence in their body language. The applicant did not indicate that there were properly informed of the roles entailed in the job. More importantly, the questions I used were well structured and facilitate proper analysis of the candidate. Further, the questions were brief to ensure clarity to the candidate being interviewed.

Feedback sheet from Mock Interviews

Notes for job candidates.

Please tick box (5 = Excellent; 4 = Good; 3 = Average/Fair; 2 = needs improvement; 1 = poor) .

Reference List

Cummings, T. G. & Worley, C. G., 2009. Organization Development and Change. OH: Cengage Learning.

Lussier, R. N., 2008. Management Fundamentals: Concepts, Application, Skills Development. OH: Cengage Learning.

Nankervis, A. et al. 2009. Effective Recruitment and Selection Practices 5e. Sydney: CCH Australia Limited.

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The CARL framework of reflection

This framework takes you through Context, Action, Results, and Learning.

The CARL model is adapted from a job interview technique where you structure each of your answers according to the different aspect of the model. Given the reflective nature of successfully answering many job interview questions, this model can easily be used in general to guide your reflective process on experiences. CARL stands for:

• Context: Briefly describe the context of you experience
• Action: Explain what actions you took
• Results: Explain what happened as a result of your actions
• Learning: Identify what you have learned

One thing to be conscious of with this model is that it is possible to work through the stages while only describing at each level. Be sure you stop and ask yourself how and why the things happened – this will help move it from descriptions to reflections.

Below is further information on the model – each stage is given a fuller description, guiding questions to ask yourself and a couple of examples of how this might look in a reflection.

This is just one model of reflection. Test it out and see how it works for you. If you find that only a few of the questions are helpful, focus on those. If you think about each area you are likely to engage more critically with your learning experience.

This model, unlike a fair amount of other reflection models, does not explicitly require further planned actions. This is not essential for reflection, as identifying new learning is an extremely valuable process and will in many cases affect practice on its own. The model is frequently seen in interviews without the ‘learning’ stage, however it is important to include this stage in reflection as it allows you to critically extract knowledge and learning from the situation.

One potential challenge with using this model is that it encourages you to describe throughout - that is describe the context, the actions, and results and only think about implications in learning. While there can be benefits from solely describing as it can make you aware of the consequences of your actions, describing is not the same as being critically reflective. To ensure that you remain reflective throughout, keep asking yourself the question why – ‘why did I do what I did?’ etc.

For other models there is a natural place where you introduce and think about relevant theoretical literature. In this model each step can benefit from literature, as it can help explain your motivations, for example in actions you might want to use a particular theory to explain why you chose a specific action above another.

A number of helpful questions are outlined below for each of the sections. You don’t have to answer all of them, but they can guide you to what sort of things make sense to include in that section. You might have others questions that work better for you.

Here you will set the context for yourself or the reader. Describe what is essential to understand the situation.

Helpful questions:

• What was the context of the situation?
• What was the situation?
• Where was it?
• Who was there?
• What am I hoping to accomplish?

Depending on whether you are presenting the reflection, for example as an interview answer, or using the model as a helpful framework for your own reflective process, you may wish to tailor how extensive you are. If doing it for yourself, it can be very helpful to understand a full comprehensive context, whereas when presenting it to others you may wish to only include enough that the audience understand the context.

Examples of Context

The examples below show how the reflective process can happen at an overarching process level and a specific experience level. Both will tackle the same scenario, but their conclusions can be different. When reflecting both levels can be helpful.

Here you can describe what your actions were in relation to the context specified above. To critically engage with the reflection it is important not only to describe your actions, but think about why you did these actions and not something else.

• What did I do?
• What else happened (other actions)?
• Why did I choose this action?
• What other actions could I have chosen? (not necessarily giving you the same result)

Examples of Action

Here you can discuss the results that came from your actions and what the implications are of the results.

• Did I accomplish what I wanted?
• Did my actions accomplish what I wanted in the way I expected?
• What are the implications of my actions on myself/others/similar situations in the future?
• Could different actions have given me the same result?
• Is there a way I could improve my results or actions?

Examples of Results

Here you have a chance to conclude using the insights gained from the three sections above. While not explicitly suggested by the model, if you want to include an action plan this is a natural place to do so.

• What did I learn from the experience?
• Would I do the same thing again or would I change something?
• What should I do next time I’m in a similar experience?
• Should I change anything about the way I do things? What?

Examples of Learning

Adopted from

The CAR model of interview techniques, for example BlueSteps (2011) CAR interview Technique.

This article was published on 2024-10-15

Samples Of Harvard Business School Post-Interview Reflections

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If you managed to get an admissions interview with Harvard Business School, you now have 24 hours to create something that is unique in MBA admissions: the post-interview reflection. Every MBA applicant who gets an interview is required to submit a written reflection through Harvard’s online application system.

These post-meeting memos take many forms, from brief ‘thank you’ notes to fairly long missives that go into deeper biographical detail. The longest reflection published in 2020-2021 edition of The Harbus’ MBA Admissions & Interview Guide stands at 1,295 words, while the shortest is a mere 228 words long. The guide includes 23 different post-interview reflections along with dozens upon dozens of interview questions with analysis. Available for $66.63 via download here , the guide is written by current HBS students, culled from successful applicants to Harvard Business School who enrolled in the MBA program and are now immersed in HBS culture. “We were in your shoes not long ago and we understand the nuances of preparing for the HBS interview, from first-hand experience,” write the guide’s editors.

In almost every case, the students who have written successful post-interview reflections express unbridled enthusiasm if not awe at what they discovered during their visit to campus. And many candidates make clear their intentions to contribute to the HBS community. “Whether I am the President of a club, a member of a team, or the person who dresses up in (a) costume making a fool of myself to spread the word about a cause, I’ll be the one shamelessly all in,” concluded one applicant.

SAMPLES OF POST-INTERVIEW REFLECTIONS BY SUCCESSFUL HARVARD MBA APPLICANTS

The newly updated 2020-2021 Harbus MBA Admissions & Interview Guide

Some vividly (and always enthusiastically) describe their interactions with other MBA students while on the 40-acre campus. “During the day, I came across several interviewees that worked at venture capital firms. When I gave them my elevator pitch for (the address changing service that I’ve been working on), they expressed interest and wanted to learn more about the business model and potential market size,” wrote one candidate. “I had never approached a VC with ideas before and quickly realized the tremendous opportunities that exist for entrepreneurs at HBS.”

Others reflect on the diversity of the students they bumped into while on the expansive grounds of the Harvard Business School. “When I attended a class today, I saw the rainbow of flags scattered across the room and heard the sound of many accents,” wrote a female applicant who worked in private equity. “The level of diversity was unlike anything I have witnessed.”

How should you think about this requirement of the admissions process at HBS? With permission from The Harbus , we’re publishing four of the 23 sample reflections from the latest Admissions Guide. We hope they whet your appetite to buy the complete guide and gain access to the full collection of interview questions and reflections. The post-admission interview memos have been written by both men and women, candidates in a variety of fields from private equity to technology, by both domestic and international applicants.

DON’T MISS: HBS INTERVIEW PREP: YOUR POST-INTERVIEW REFLECTION or PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH HBSGURU.COM FOUNDER SANDY KREISBERG ON POST-INTERVIEW REFLECTIONS

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