Posted By stephen d clarke Hi, I had a county council interview recently for post of corporate H&S advisor and had a presentation to give but only given info about the topic on the day of the interview. I was given 30 min to prepare a presentation on how I would implement the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order at the council. I was given a set of coloured board writers and clip board sheets. Technically I was good on the detail of what was needed should be in place etc but I failed on the implementation as I didn't know the council and how it worked. Steve

Posted By DP Steve Clarke - you went for an interview with council for an Health Safety Advisors job and they wanted you to do a presentation on the RRO? Did the job have fire safety in the spec? Or did they land that one on you?

Posted By CW Thanks for the info so far fellas. Stephen what grade/ scale was the position? It seems a little harsh to drop what I would call a specialist subject on you especially if it wasn't mentioned in the JD. I would hope that any subject they drop on me will be more general, unless it is CDM 2007 or Car 06 - are you reading XXXXXXXXX council ;-)

Posted By CW Groups? it says nothing about being in a group. Is that a common thing, get a load in at the same time? I have seen that scenario on graduate recruitment days at a previous employer but that was for a specific task.

Posted By PhilP Col You've got mail

Posted By stephen d clarke Hi, Unless you are told otherwise by the interviewing panel at the start I would say there is no right or wrong way. If it was me I would use it as an opportunity to take the lead and tell them that either you would take questions during the presentation or after. From my experience they will usually sit back and wait until the end to fire some questions at you. Preparation, knowing your stuff and self confidence are key to a successful interview you need some luck aswell. Research what their current issues are, should be in their annual H&S report on the internet, if you can't find anything look for info on similar councils i.e. similar size/locality/industry/area etc they will in all probability have the same problems. Steve

Posted By David Passmore I had an interview with a local authority last year for a H&S Officers position. I had already filled in an on line profile questionnaire (approx 1 hour) two weeks prior to interview. I was aware that I would have to provide a 15 minute power point presentation prior to the actual interview - the subject of which would be given to me on the day prior to the interview. I actually prepared blank slides with the authorities logo on them and saved them on a flashstick. Also,I actually took my own laptop for familiarity or should there be software issues.(From painful past experience) On the day, I was given the subject - the discovery of asbestos which had been 'fly tipped' near a school. I was given pictures of the site and had to compile a presentation on how I would deal with the situation. Prior to the presentation, I obviously had to explain to the panel that I was not aware of the council's own policies and procedures on such an incident as I am sure there were requirements in place. The presentation was fine and was commended, but then I had another grilling for an hour by the panel - in all, the interview/presentation took two and a half hours. Who got the job?? - Nobody! I was informed by telephone that none of the candidates got the job and the position had not been filled. Was the position ever advertised again? - No! Another thing with local authorities is not what you know - but who you know! Good luck with the presentation anyway. DP

Posted By ipaterson Maybe we're nicer up here in Scotland but we would give you plenty of notice re presentation. Subjects we have used recently are the impact of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, how to inmplement HSG65 or similar, how to raise the profile of H&S Section. The subject will tend to be very general unless the remit is for a specific area - you can't know everything in detail but you should have a good knowledge of management techniques. If its only a 10 minute presentation I would only use a couple of slides - remember death by power point! What is generally being looked for is evidence that you are up to date, have good communication skills and can think on your feet. Good luck Irene

Posted By Brando Went for a job with a local council a few years back. Was asked to prepare a presentation when I arrived on a piece of forthcoming legislation and how it would effect the council. I did the forthcoming smoking legislation. Went into a large room filled with dowdy looking council folk. Gave my presentation. At the end one woman screamed at me "WHY HAVE YOU NOT TOLD US THIS BEFORE!" Rather confused I asked her what she meant.She screamed back that the legislation came into effect in 4 months time so why had I left it so long to tell them? Still confused I asked her if we were now role-playing. She went bright red and thundered out. No-one else said a thing.It was like being in a Monty Python sketch. Didn't get the job!! Brando

Posted By andymak While working as a H&S officer for a County Council, I went for another job internally based in the childerns schools and families department. The format you describe is quite common as you can see from the responses you have had, however they are being a bit mean not giving you notice of the content of the presentation. It could literally be anything as councils can be quite random! My presentation had to be on a sports person that inspired me and why, I chose a little known British sportsman who was a world champion in a sport I actually do, I majored on how the person inspired me because they enthused young people to suceed, showed dedication and always presented a professional image for both the sport and their sponsor. I was offered the job but couldn't agree terms. When you know the subject I would urge you to think about the department the job is in, what that department does and pitch it on that basis. Unless you are being interviewed by other H&S people and the subject is very much H&S specific I would not major on technical detail of legislation, more cause and effect to demonstrate understanding of the question being posed and impact if any on the department concerned. Good luck and don't forget to let everyone know how you get on!

Posted By CW I had the interview yesterday, I won’t post what the format or the contents were as they are interviewing all week, I think I was the first as well and I would be a bit daft to give that information just in case a fellow candidate is reading. I maybe being selfish but needs must and all that. I *think* I did ok but I could have done better on reflection, much better. I came away and penny’s were dropping every few minutes as in - I could have expanded on that better or I should have used this example or asked this question. I suppose that goes for any interview but like I said I could have done much better. I was asked a question that totally threw me, wasn’t expecting anything like that, but to be fair I am still struggling 30 hours later to come up with anything better as an alternative to the answer that I gave. I sat down for my 30 minute preparation of the presentation and was asked 3 times if I was ready, after 10, 15 and then 20 minutes. I don’t know if that was part of the process to apply a little pressure or not but I don’t think it helped. Also I was in an office where three women were chatting about something that was quite distracting, especially as there was a brief power cut that lost one of them an email that apparently they had spent all morning composing, que mass hysteria until one of them realised it might have gone into the drafts folder, luckily it did. As far as I am aware there are 11 people up for interview and in the advert it asked for the diploma or working towards, I don’t have the diploma but I would hazard a guess that a few others have, and more importantly experience within this field. All in all a very positive experience for me, one that I have already learnt a lot from but in all honesty I would be amazed if I got anything other than a thanks but no thanks letter. Thanks to everyone who offered help and advice, it was taken on board and used during the interview. Once again, many thanks, Col Ps, my garden is looking better than it has done for years ;-)

Posted By CW Dear all, unfortunately I did not get this position. I was apparently a strong candidate but there was someone who had quite a few years experience within local government who "could hit the ground running" arguably I could have done the same but I wasn't making the decision. The presentation was about management systems, when I saw the topic on the paper I could have kicked myself as on previous interviews I had taken a management system file that I had developed in my previous position - that would have been ideal and I would have demonstrated my capabilities much better, as it was I had decided to leave it at home as I already had in my case what I thought was enough examples of my previous work - lesson learnt! The written test at the end of the interview was basically to review risk assessments - bread and butter stuff and I was surprised that it was as basic as it was. A good experience that just wasn't meant to be but one that I have learnt from. Obviously I am still available so should any of you know of any positions I would be very interested to hear from you, click my name to mail me. Once again thank you to everyone who offered help and advice. Col

Posted By David Passmore Col Disappointing I know, but I did notice in your posting that the candidate who got the position had 'many years experience in local government' As I indicated in my earlier posting, particular in local governments etc, although I emphasise NOT ALL - it is a case of not what you know but who you know! Keep your head up and learn from the experience. DP