Interviewing for Results: A Recruiter’s
Perspective
Presented to: Women in ECE, Georgia Institute of Technology
January 31, 2013
Kate Thompson, Eaton Corporation
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved.

Agenda
 Why Behavior Based Interviewing?
 Mix & Match Exercise – Gain practice identifying
competencies that are often assessed during
interviews
 Review Basic Preparation for a Behavior Based
Interview
 Interview Prep. Exercise- Practice aligning your
experience to a job
 20 Questions Exercise - Test your ability to think like
a recruiter
 Interview Simulation Challenge - Put your skills to
the test!
 Q&A
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved. 2

Behavior Based Interviewing
A standardized method of interviewing
designed to measure how you will perform
on the job
The principle behind the technique is the
belief that the best indicator of future
performance is past behavior.
Behavior based interviewing is based on
competencies needed for a specific role
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved. 3

Mix & Match Exercise
The challenge:
Match the competency that is being assessed
by the interviewer with the correct interview
question
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved. 4

Mix & Match Exercise
Question Competency
Please describe a time when you Implementing Processes; Systems
had to give up on a project.
Tell me about a time when you Ethics and Values
had to manage an event, but
could not personally attend that
event.
Give me an example of a time Mental Agility
when you had to present an idea
to a superior that challenged the
status quo.
Let’s discuss a time when you Managerial Skill
made a mistake.
Can you give an example of a Drive for Results
time when you were asked to do
something that was new to you?
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved. 5

Mix & Match Exercise – Answers
Question Competency
Please describe a time when you Drive for Results
had to give up on a project.
Tell me about a time when you Implementing Processes; Systems
had to manage an event, but
could not personally attend that
event.
Give me an example of a time Managerial Skill
when you had to present an idea
to a superior that challenged the
status quo.
Let’s discuss a time when you Ethics and Values
made a mistake.
Can you give me an example of Mental Agility
a time when you had to do
something that was new to you?
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved. 6

The Basics - Interview Format
• On campus interviews…employers visit campus to recruit
engineering students
 Check-in
 Introductions
 Small talk/ice breaker
 They ask you questions (standard, behavioral, technical)
 You ask them questions
 Closing
 Follow-up
Next steps: On-site interview
• Site interviews… typically a more in-depth interview, where you
visit a company’s facility for multiple interviews, meetings, etc.
Next steps: If successful an offer!
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved. 7

Prepare - Know Yourself
It’s your responsibility to help the interviewer understand why you are
a good choice for the job.
You should be able to…
 Demonstrate your values
 Speak knowledgeably about your resume
 Discuss your future goals/career interests
 Know the organization and align your strengths accordingly
 Back up your statements with evidence and specific examples
When interviewing, career goals and interests should align with the
employer needs. Be able to discuss…
 Why did you select engineering? More specifically, your major?
 What areas within your field do you want to pursue?
 What you see yourself doing in five years?
Common Pitfall: Not aligning interests with the job you are interviewing for.
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved. 8

Prepare - Know the Job
 Read the job description thoroughly, pay close
attention to the qualifications, basic and preferred
 Identify which qualities you have that match up with
job requirements
 Think about specific examples you can use to illustrate
how your education, experience and personal
interests are a fit!
 Review the company website
 What are their products/services? Locations?
 How does the company describe itself in the “careers”
section? In the sections for customers & investors?
 Review any sections that describe careers & culture
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved. 9

Exercise – Prepare for an interview
 Take a look at the job description in front of you, which has been
adapted from actual job description.
 Can you identify the key behaviors, performance indicators,
personal characteristics, and technical skills that are required for
the job at hand?
 What examples from your own skill set might be applied when
answering a behavioral-based question?
Common pitfall: Trying to memorize all of the possible behavioral-based questions that you may
face. A more effective strategy is to break down the job description (as we are doing here), pick
your best examples to give to the employer as evidence of your potential to meet those
qualifications, and practice describing your examples using the formula.
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved. 10

Understand Behavior Based Interviews
Use STAR model to formulate your answers:
STAR MODEL
Situation - Describe a specific event or situation, of what you have done
in the past do NOT provide a generalized description
Task - What goal were you working toward?
Action - Describe the actions you took to address the situation with an
appropriate amount of detail and keep the focus on YOU
Result - Describe the outcome of your actions and don’t be shy about
taking credit for your behavior.
SPECIFIC examples are the key to success!
 Quantify if possible (“increased membership by 25%...”)
 Quote (“my supervisor told me…”)
 Pinpoint changes or improvements resulting from your action
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved. 11

A STAR Response Example
“Describe a work or school project that challenged your technical skills.”
Specific situation/task: At my internship last summer, my engineering skills were put to the test
when I was given the assignment of reviewing Product Line-A to identify the issues and
increase production.
Action: I had never been faced with such an assignment, so before I started, I first did some
research to understand the current process and identify the problem area of product line-a.
I talked with the line operators, conducted a time study I had learned in class and talked to
the supervisor. After gathering the data, I realized that the machine operators had to take
200 steps to complete the process for one part and there was a significant amount of
variation depending on the worker. I then began to assessed what changes I would need
to make to improve the layout to make the workers more efficient and safe. After creating
my new product line set up utilizing Lean methodologies. I also ran my recommendations by
the line workers to gather their feedback to incorporate that in my line design.
Results: My recommendation was to re-design the layout of Product Line-A by changing the
placement of 2 machines and 1 part bin to decrease the number of steps the line worker
had to take from 200 to 75 thus reducing each part completion by 45 %. Not only will the re-
design reduce the workers steps, but increase the company's bottom line as Product Line-A
will now be increasing productivity to 300 parts per day. My supervisor was very excited
about the findings and supported my recommended re-design. I then had the opportunity
to present to the Plant Manager for final approval. The last week of my internship the re-
design of Product Line-A was implemented and the workers had immediate and positive
feedback. I also got an outstanding performance evaluation from my supervisor.
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved. 12

Interview Simulation Exercise
The Challenge:
 Work in teams of two to come up with a
question that might be used to assess the
competency that will be shown on the
screen
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved. 13

Desire to Lean
“ BBI Question”
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved.

Dealing with Ambiguity
“BBI Question”
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved.

Interview Simulation!!
• Work with a partner to create a
STAR response to answer each of
the questions that we’ve created,
• Be prepared to share with the
group!
© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved.

© 2012 Eaton Corporation. All rights reserved. 17