updated interview employability guidance with PR suggestions

Author: james-covatic

org-cyf-guides/content/employability/interview/competency-interview/index.md

@@ -113,12 +113,16 @@ That’s an answer worthy of a gold STAR.
 
 ## A bonus tip
 
-But what if you can’t tailor your answer or if the question is too specific to use any of your pre-prepared answers? Here’s the secret tip… Offer an alternative question and answer that instead. To continue with the conflict resolution with a co-worker example, let’s say I’ve never quarrelled with a co-worker, or at least, I don’t have an answer ready for that, but I do have a conflict resolution scenario with a customer ready to go…ask the interviewer if you can answer _that_ question instead — and then answer it. Not only does it sidestep awkward silences, it shows adaptability, flexibility and gives you an opportunity to showcase your experience in a different way. You are still giving an example of the competency they are evaluating..
+But what if you can’t tailor your answer or if the question is too specific to use any of your pre-prepared answers? Here’s the secret tip… Offer an alternative question and answer that instead. To continue with the conflict resolution with a co-worker example, let’s say I’ve never quarrelled with a co-worker, or at least, I don’t have an answer ready for that, but I do have a conflict resolution scenario with a customer ready to go…ask the interviewer (and please do not neglect to ask, or you may be accused of not listening to the question) if you can answer _that_ question instead — and then answer it. Not only does it sidestep awkward silences, it shows adaptability, flexibility and gives you an opportunity to showcase your experience in a different way. You are still giving an example of the competency they are evaluating..
 
 So to finish up — let’s look at how that alternative question exchange might look like:
 
 **Interviewer:** “Can you provide an example of a time when you encountered a conflict within your team? How did you approach resolving it?”
 
 **Candidate:** “Hmm…nothing is immediately springing to mind right now, but perhaps I can tell you about a time when I had to resolve a conflict with a customer instead? — during my last role <and insert your STAR pre-prepared answer here>”
 
+**Interviewer:** “Sure! Go ahead.”
+
+**Candidate:** “During my last role...<and insert your prepared STAR answer here>"
+
 And if you do find yourself completely stuck for an answer — don’t panic, just say “nothing is coming to my mind right now, perhaps we can continue with the next question and if an answer pops into my head later, we can circle back”. It happens to everyone.

org-cyf-guides/content/employability/interview/introducing-yourself/index.md

@@ -54,7 +54,8 @@ As an example from a CYF volunteer: "My best answer to his question will be very
 
 - Your experience, e.g. *"I've got x years of experience in backend development"*
 - Your most recent role, e.g. *"I've been doing cool stuff at this company for the last x years"*
-- Why you are interested in this role, e.g. *"I'm currently looking for a new role that will offer me opportunities to develop in areas x, y, and z"*
+- Why you are interested in this role? e.g. *"I'm currently looking for a new role that will offer me opportunities to develop in areas x, y, and z"*
+- Why you are interested in this company? Does the business have a reputation for technical excellence? Do they have a strong commitment to developing junior talent?
 
 **Topics to avoid:**
 
@@ -68,11 +69,11 @@ So that's all theory — what might this answer look like in practice? Below are
 
 ### Early career James
 
-I'm James, and I'm a recent graduate from Aston University in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science. As part of my degree I did a 12 month industrial placement with Service Birmingham as a .NET developer working on management information systems for Adult Education Providers. During my final year, I was the Aston University nominee for the City of Birmingham Silver Jubilee Engineering Award that recognises the best engineering student across all the universities in Birmingham. Right now I'm looking for graduate roles that will enable me to grow and strengthen my skills as a software developer.
+I'm James, and I'm a recent graduate from Aston University in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science. As part of my degree I did a 12 month industrial placement with Service Birmingham as a .NET developer working on management information systems for Adult Education Providers. During my final year, I was the Aston University nominee for the City of Birmingham Silver Jubilee Engineering Award that recognises the best engineering student across all the universities in Birmingham. Right now I'm looking for graduate roles that will enable me to grow and strengthen my skills as a software developer and I know that *Company X* has a well deserved reputation for developing junior talent.
 
 ### Mid career James
 
-I'm James, and I'm a mid-level software engineer with 4 years of experience, working primarily in .NET development roles in the local government sector. My most recent role was with Service Birmingham, who are responsible for Birmingham City Council's ICT provision. As part of that role I lead the development of the City Council's Public Consultation Database, which was launched last year. Right now I am looking for a role that offers new challenges — in particular I would like to broaden my horizons beyond the .NET stack and make use of my knowledge of data science and machine learning.
+I'm James, and I'm a mid-level software engineer with 4 years of experience, working primarily in .NET development roles in the local government sector. My most recent role was with Service Birmingham, who are responsible for Birmingham City Council's ICT provision. As part of that role I lead the development of the City Council's Public Consultation Database, which was launched last year. Right now I am looking for a role that offers new challenges — in particular I would like to broaden my horizons beyond the .NET stack and make use of my knowledge of data science and machine learning. Company Y is known for its commitment to innovation in the machine learning field and I feel that I could really sharpen my skills alongside your team.
 
 ### Current career James