- Be prepared
You should
be familiar with the company you are applying for, as well as its industry
sector. Before the interview, look up and memorize the information you
will need to know: field of activity, news, products, history, competitors,
corporate culture, sales, number of employees, etc.
- Clearly explain your
profile
The
interviews provides recruiters with the opportunity to find out more about your
professional business analysis
qualifications, as well as your personality. Be prepared to describe
yourself clearly and consistently, with no hesitation. Analyze yourself beforehand
to identify your strengths, weaknesses, motivations, objectives and likes.
You should
be prepared to back up each of your skills with a specific experience. It may
be helpful to create a table with two columns outlining the required skills and your corresponding experience.
Example:
|
Good
technical writing skills
|
Updated the documentation as per the company's
standards
|
|
Sense of
initiative
|
Proposed
new processes or improvements for existing ones
|
|
Thoroughness
|
Observed
the standards and procedures defined by the project office
|
|
Customer-focused
|
Followed
up with users to make sure their needs were satisfied
|
- Give confident,
specific answers to questions
Recruiters may ask your four types of questions:
"Are you punctual?"
- Behavioural questions (based on past experience):
"How did you coordinate testing and integration
within the module? "
"How would you go about identifying points of
integration with external systems?"
- Questions to check your understanding
"How would you define object-oriented
modelling?"
Examples of frequently asked questions:
-
What are your weaknesses?
-
What are your strengths?
-
How would you describe yourself?
-
Why are you interested in this
job?
-
What do you know about our
company?
-
What are your professional
objectives?
-
Why should I hire you?
-
If you were in my shoes, who would
you hire?
-
How could your experience be of
use here?
-
How do you see your role as
business analyst?
-
What qualities do you like in a
boss?
-
Which job did you like the
most/the least? Why?
-
How do you react
to the unexpected?
-
Can you work under pressure?
-
What are you most proud of
professionally?
-
What have you learned from your
mistakes?
Justify your past:
Has one of
your jobs been unrelated to your speciality? Have you had a professional
failure? Expect to have to justify these weaknesses.
- Ask relevant questions
Be
prepared to ask the recruiters questions. This will show your curiosity and
motivation.
Examples:
-
Which department do the financial
analysts belong to?
-
Who will my boss be?
-
What types of systems do you use?
-
What are the possibilities for
advancement?
-
Are there opportunities for
professional development?
-
Why is the position vacant?
Tip:
Check out
books and Web sites for recruiters for more information about recruiting
interview processes.
Du CV à
l’embauche, Eveline Marcil-Denault, Éditions Quebecor, 2005