Interview Advice please

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DunDally

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My daughter has an interview for a position as a student vet nurse at a small animal practice that also has an exotics clinic. This is her dream job and she is, of course very keen to make a good impression but, at 20, she has never attended a formal interview before. After obtaining excellent GCSE results she decided to do an NVQ in horse care and management (under an outreach scheme run by Bridgwater College where you train on a working yard and tutors come to you for the theory modules) before looking for a student vet nurse placement. Well one year turned into four and she has now completed level 3. During her training as well as working on the yard, she worked at a local boarding kennels for dogs and cats and, this year, at a professional show yard as a groom/rider. There was no formal interview for either job. In each case there was an informal chat on the phone followed by “come and have a week’s trial” which she did and at the end of day 1 in each case was told she had the job.

She is only too aware of how difficult it is to find a training placement and does not want to make any basic errors. For example with regard to dress, should she go for full on formal skirt, blouse and jacket or would something slightly more casual be acceptable. What sort of questions should she ask? She is not daft by any means but is getting herself into a bit of a panic about her inexperience of the interview process. I have tried to help but having been in the same office job for 16 years, it is a long time since I have been in that position.

Not sure if its really relevant but she has ridden since the age of 6

She has a reference written by a work colleague of mine who’s ex-racehorse she has re-schooled over the last 18 months and she has asked the owners of the boarding kennels if they would also be prepared to give her a reference so she can take these to her interview.

Sorry if this is a bit long but If anyone can give any pointers, both daughter and myself would be very grateful
 
Sounds like a great opportunity and I think her previous experience should help her out quite a lot. Personally if its an actual interview I'd go in traditional formal dress as I'd think it would be unlikely for them to ask her to do anything practical so its better to be smart and make a good impression, she can always take a change of clothes in the car if she's really panicking.
It's a good idea to take references and to make sure she knows her CV inside out and can talk about anything she's put down on there confidently. I'm not sure exactly what they'll ask but I'd imagine their main aim is to assess her enthusiasm and how well she'd fit into the team etc.
Wishing her lots of luck and remember to tell her to keep calm, breathe and be herself, I'm sure she'll do great! Let us know how she gets on :)
Also might be worth posting this in the Vet forum on here as you might find someone who actually works in this role or similar.
 
I think she should wear her smart outfit for the interview. Nobody is going to mind if she is 'too smart' but if she is not presented as well as they might expect then it may count against her.
Make sure she does some research in to the organisation. Nothing worse than somebody coming to an interview who has not even bothered to find out about the company. This may give her some ideas of questions in case they ask her at the end of the interview if she has anything she wants to ask.
She should not be afraid to admit to being less knowledgeable in certain areas, so long as she shows an interest and willingness to learn.
If she is likely to affected by nerves I would set her up a mock interview before the real thing. preferably with somebody she does not know. It need not be long, ten mins would be enough for her to get a feel for it and for somebody to give her feedback on how she was. Maybe you have a friend who could do it for you? Need not be subject specific, there are plenty of generic questinos you could ask.
 
Even if they have a copy of a cv or application I always print a copy of the CV and put it in a zip folder/plastic A4 etc just to reiterate what they may have read etc. It will make her seem keen/professional. Never assume they know. The person who asked her along may not be the one interviewing etc

She has plenty of experience and she just needs to tell them what she has done aiming for etc

They may open the interview with tell us about yourself but keep it brief. Unless they encourage her to continue talking. Good luck she sounds well placed.
 
Definitely dress smart! Everyone remembers someone who dressed casually...and all for the wrong reasons!

Tell your daughter to think of some good questions. Not basic things like "how much holiday do I get" but questions that show you are really interested in the job and what the role entails. My failsafe question is always about training & career development and how it is structured in the company, although if she is going in for a student job she would probably already know that!

She may also want to prep some answers to potential HR style questions they may ask. For example, have you ever had to work as a team, have you ever had to work with a difficuly colleague and what did you do?

Lastly, tell her to relax! Out of all the applicants, THEY picked HER and THEY want to meet HER. Therefore, be positive! That thought helped me in previous interviews and took away a lot of the pressure!
 
Smart dress, shake hands on meeting, sit back in the chair but don't cross arms, be relaxed and know why you want the job, try and be confident, have a list of questions to ask, make eye contact, if your daughter is really nervous try rescue remedy or kalms just to take the edge off.
I had a test in stripping weapons, when I was an instructor for the army cadets, I asked the examiner if I could talk my way through it while stripping the gun down, I was so nervous my hands were shaking, but because by talking her through it, she knew I knew how and I passed
 
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