To help you prepare for an interview and to know what to expect, below is a brief outline of our interviewing style and some tips to keep in mind.

The interview style

We use a competency-based approach when interviewing candidates.
The interview questions are designed to help us determine how well you have demonstrated the required competencies of the position in your past and current employment.

To prepare for the interview, refer to the competencies set out in the position advertisement and description. This will help you in referring to actual examples and relevant situations, whether from previous roles where possible, or volunteer work, school, hobbies and other parts of your life if relevant. It's best to think in advance of at least one example to illustrate each competency and when responding to the questions during the interview, be specific and detailed in your answers. You will also be questioned about your skills and previous experience. 

Like anything, there is a skill to answering questions well. If using a structure helps you remember things, you could try using the 'STAR' format:

The interview process

•  The interview will be held by a panel of two or three people
   
•  If you can’t make your appointment or will late, please contact us
   
•  Please bring any required documents to the interview
   
•  Tauranga City Council treats all information during the interview process as confidential – this includes your CV, interview transcripts and reference checks. If a candidate is unsuccessful with their application, these documents will be securely destroyed
   
•  If any special requirements are needed to enable you to attend the interview, please ensure you let us know prior to the interview

Other interview tips

• Try to refer to examples from the past two years where possible when answering competency-based questions
   
•  Its fine to spend a moment thinking of an example before you start or ask the interviewer to explain a question differently if you don’t understand 
   
•  Pay close attention to your interviewer’s working style during the interview, i.e. if they are probing for more detail, give it or if they are hurrying you along, shorten your responses
   
•  Lastly, it always helps to demonstrate you know about the organisation, so take the time getting to know us and the services we provide. You can do this by navigating through our website using the side panel on the left of the screen. If you want to know more about us, bring some questions of your own.