After bombing an interview, she joined an interview prep Academy and landed her dream job in three weeks. She learned a three-point answer structure and the IMSO framework, which let her think faster and adapt examples on the fly. The structured approach replaced her scattered solo study.
So when I started the Academy, I'd recently taken part in the interview for a substantive post, but unfortunately I hadn't scored highly enough. So I'd been offered a locum post, which I was initially quite upset about, but actually it still meant that I could then be in the department and get more experience and hopefully improve my chances of getting a substantive post in the same department. Shortly after having my interview and not being successful, that's when I heard about the Academy. So it was perfect timing really for me to then start preparing for the next interview because I'd been told that it was going to be in a couple of months' time. So I had a few weeks, a few weeks to prepare. I watched the webinar. Everything just resonated with me as to what I'd done wrong during my preparation for my previous interview. So I was basically spending days and days on my own in an office reading report after report. But actually, I think if I was then asked a question on it, I wouldn't have actually had a structured answer to give, even though I'd done so much reading. The second thing was preparation. So I thought I was preparing, but actually, again, I was preparing on my own, rehearsing answers on my own. I wasn't used to that pressure of somebody firing questions at me. And also it was understanding the process. So I didn't really realise that you go in as a bit of a blank canvas and it's sort of a level playing field. So listening to the webinar, I thought, wow, this really makes sense. So it sounded like something that I'd really benefit from and learn a lot from. So. Good. I'm glad you joined, and I know you answered that question with a 3-point structure as well, which is quite impressive work. So clearly it's embedded. It really felt like so much pressure because it meant so much to me. I really wanted this, and I didn't want to have to go through this again. But actually, having done the course and having so many questions, I've practiced so many structures and examples. In a way, I was actually looking forward to having the opportunity to then to showcase everything that I'd done, all my work, and I definitely felt a lot more confident than I did the first time around. So in my interview, there were lots of example questions, and some of them I had practiced, but there were some that I hadn't quite prepared for. But actually having structures like IMSO meant that I could quickly think on my feet and then find an example and then structure it in that way rather than just rambling. The only other thing that I really found useful was defining the USPs, I think, and knowing that You can use them in every question, even though it doesn't always seem obvious at first. Because when I did my interview the first time round, I don't think I talked about any of my USPs. Whereas this time I knew that you can slightly twist the questions to, or use them as an opportunity to then get an example in there to showcase your USPs. So yeah, that was another thing that really, really helped. It's something that you can fit in around your life, even if you're really busy. You can watch recordings, you can do the videos at a time that fits in with you. I think you can adapt it to, to every situation. With it being over several weeks, it really gets you into the habit of preparing, doing a little bit every day. So I think people should definitely, definitely sign up. Yeah, I think it could benefit everybody.
