June 24, 2021, by Lisa Chin
Mastering your interview skills and mock interview
PhD Careers Series
In collaboration with Careers Advisory Service, we partnered up with Dyson for another instalment of virtual PhD Careers Series on Wednesday 16 June 2021. This webinar featured an informative and insightful presentation by Dr Kelvin Ho who is a Senior Engineering Manager at Dyson.
In the webinar, Dr Ho talked about the post COVID-19 pandemic trends in industrial hiring landscape and offered one-to-one mock interview opportunity.
The new normal
COVID-19 has fundamentally changed how we work and, for some, where we work from. Dr Ho began the session by addressing the continued impact of COVID-19 on the employment landscape. For the world of work, one of the biggest effects of the pandemic and the accompanying lockdowns is the reduced employment opportunities. “Companies are firing, not hiring,” said Dr Ho. Despite the hard truth, there are ways to embrace this new normal and turn it into a competitive advantage. And for this, Dr Ho delved into some of the critical attributes that PhDs should have and capitalise on.
Leveraging on your capabilities and potentials
So why should we hire you?
This is arguably the question that will definitely be asked in any job interview. “Companies want the best, but the best fit is more important,” said Dr Ho. In addressing this burning question of what are the industry expectations for PhDs, Dr Ho outlined the main capabilities and key potentials that the industry seeks. “Capability matters,” emphasised Dr Ho as PhDs should leverage in the empowerment of skillsets to improve their employability.
Preparing for your interview
What you should do before and during your interview?
“Study the company,” advised Dr Ho. Do what you are good at – research. Do some background research before you show up to an interview. Other advice that Dr Ho shared includes be authentic and honest. Dr Ho further elucidated some career-killing mistakes that PhDs should avoid.
The job-seeking and interview process may be different from what it was before, but the important conversations you have with possible future employers are still centred around what you can bring to the company and what you desire from your employer.
Dr Ho also addressed the questions that our postgraduate students asked and posted in real-time through the live chat platform.
Practising your interview skills
As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. A substantial part of the webinar was the one-to-one mock interview opportunity. This mock interview served as a great practice avenue to improve your interviewing skills.
In summary
Get that industry position that you dream of!
We hope that the webinar was helpful for our postgraduate students in gaining knowledge and insights into the reality of industrial job hunting and interview. We also hope that it got you to think ahead and see how you can start building a career, outside academia, that fulfils you, in a world that has been affected greatly by the pandemic.
We are pleased to see and hear the positive messages by some of the participants. One of them mentioned that Dr Ho’s sharing was very authentic.
“Thank you for joining us at this webinar. If you need any career advice, please get in touch with us via email to careers@nottingham.edu.my. We are more than happy to assist you,” wrote Ms Alicia Ch’ng, Head of Careers Advisory Service.
Special thanks and acknowledgement: Dr Kelvin Ho, guest speaker; and Dyson
For any enquiries or more information, please contact us at graduateschool@nottingham.edu.my.
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