1. The On-Site Bristol Interview

Every applicant who passes their tests(s) will be invited for an interview at On-Site Bristol.

These interviews are formal, last about 20 minutes and use the rules laid down by Bristol City Council to ensure fair recruitment and selection. There will be two members of staff interviewing you and they will be using a set list of questions that will be asked of all interviewees. Interview notes will be taken and scores given in line with the answers that you give.

This means that each interviewee is given an equal chance, that selection from the interviews is objective, linked directly to the apprenticeship for which you are applying and not based on whether or not the interviewer liked your face. It also means that we can give feedback to those that are unsuccessful, to help them prepare for other interviews.

The interview is designed to ensure that you have the right attitude to become an Apprentice, assessing your interpersonal skills, motivation and commitment to training. This interview will give you an opportunity to tell us about yourself and why you want to work in construction. On-Site Bristol staff will want to know about your school attendance and behaviour record, if you have done particularly well at anything in school as well as what your GCSE results are likely to be.

Any work experience of any sort, spare time activities, work you may have done in your house or garden and teams or clubs you are a member of, are also of great interest to us and will be taken into account during interview.

If you are unable to attend your interview at the time or on the day arranged, please let us know as soon as possible. This will give us the best chance of being able to re-arrange the time and date to suit you. If you leave it to the last minute to tell us you can’t attend, it may not be possible to re-arrange and you could miss out on the chance of an apprenticeship.

On the day of your interview with On-Site Bristol, make sure that you arrive in good time. If you are late, we might not be able to interview you that day and, if we can’t re-arrange for another day, you could miss out on your apprenticeship.

You should take the interview seriously, and dress appropriately. We will also expect you to bring your record of achievement from school, together with any other assessment of your performance or qualifications.

Remember, the interview will also give you the opportunity to find out more about On-Site Bristol’s Apprenticeship Programmes. You could think about some questions in advance, even writing them down to help you to remember to ask them.

2. Employer Interviews

Interviews with employers can be very varied. Some, usually with larger companies, might be very formal, with more than one person interviewing you and structured like the one you’ll have with On-Site Bristol. Others may be more informal, with just the owner of a small company.

The purpose of an interview is to give the organisation a chance to assess you and for you to demonstrate your abilities and personality. It is also an opportunity for you to assess them and to make sure their organisation and the position are what you want.

It's not just about them asking you questions - it also gives you the chance to find out if the jobs really what you want by asking them questions.

The Interviewer may ask you:

What do you think that you can bring to the position?
What made you apply to our company and what do you know about it?
What are your strengths & weaknesses?
Would you consider yourself a team player?

You could ask the Interviewer:

When would you expect the new employee to start?
Who will I be working with?/With in which team will I be working?
Do you have staff meetings to monitor successes or problems?
How is training organised and what will you be offered?

These are a few examples of what may be asked in an interview situation but you never know so the best thing to do is be prepared, be friendly and think about your answers, don’t just blurt the first thing out that you think of.

Preparing for an interview is very important. Don't just turn up at an interview. You will be calmer if you know your stuff and the interviewers will see that you're well motivated and positive.

Five pre-interview essentials:

• Confirm you'll be attending. Ring up and use it as an opportunity to check practical stuff like parking or directions.
• Find out what the interview will be like. Who'll be interviewing you? Are there any additional tests or exercises as part of the interview?
• Anticipate questions you're likely to be asked. Most are predictable. Fix in your mind the points you want to cover, but don't try and stick to a script.
• Plan what to wear. Check it fits and there are no buttons missing or hems flapping. If you know you look good, you'll feel more confident. Clean, smart and simple is best, whatever the job. You need to look like you've made an effort, even if the actual job entails wearing oily overalls.
• Make sure you know where you're going, how long you need to allow to get there and what buses you might need to catch. If you’re not sure how to get there use one of the many websites that bring up maps and directions. Most, like Multimap (http://www.multimap.com) or the RAC’s routeplanner (http://www.rac.co.uk/web/routeplanner) only give driving instructions, but Transport Direct (http://www.transportdirect.info) also gives you public transport and even walking directions.

Be yourself. Remember - you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you!