Interview 1 Flashcards
(26 cards)
What do you know about the company?
Give 6 points.
- A charity, 12 years old
- Creating a movement around responsible investment
- To protect communities and the environment
- Grew out of a campaign by People & Planet that helped Britain’s largest pension fund adopt a responsible investment policy
- Then became FairPensions which ranked big UK pension firms for responsible investment
- Want to promote the idea that long-term thinking is the best way to maximise healthy returns
What is meant by ‘responsible investment’?
Give 4 points.
- Transparent
- Accountable
- Positive social and environmental impacts
- Value for money
Why do you want to work for SA?
Give 3 things.
- Share the organisation’s drive to promote responsible investment
- Determined to grow my knowledge of sustainable business
- Appreciate SA’s work on greenwashing in biomass
For ‘why do you want to work for SA?’, you said:
‘I share the organisation’s drive to promote responsible investment’
Expand on that. Give 6 points.
- Fair amount of experience as an ecologist - literature review, RA, MRes
- Really passionate about it but made me feel powerless
- In our society, those with money have the power
- All very well my being knowledgeable about the ecological effects of climate change, but if those with money don’t care then very little will change
- SA actively engages with these groups on their level
- Fundamentally important for reaching climate targets
For ‘why do you want to work for SA?’, you said:
‘I’m determined to grow my knowledge of sustainable business’
Expand on that. Give 7 points.
- Did online courses in GE and SF
- Found them super interesting but as a scientist it’s a new area for me
- I really want to be knowledgeable about these topics so I can engage with investors on their level
- Actually seem credible, so I can influence them
- Only so much you can learn through a screen
- I want to learn by doing
- From the website, SA employees have interesting backgrounds very different from mine, so would love a chance to work alongside and learn from them
For ‘why do you want to work for SA?’, you said:
‘I appreciate SA’s work on greenwashing in biomass’
Expand on that. Give 7 points.
- Forests are an emotive subject for me
- Most people have no idea how much human societies depend on them, often in hidden ways
- Having studied that in detail, I think we should be doing everything we can to protect them
- Greenwashing is frustrating for two reasons
- Lack of education: easily rectified
- Intentional: exploitative
- It needs to stop and I appreciate SA’s efforts to raise awareness as forests are so precarious atm
Why are you interested in the role?
- My field of interest/expertise
- Chance to actively engage with investors
- New area of campaigning to explore
When asked ‘why are you interested in the role?’, you said:
‘It’s my field of interest/expertise’
Expand on that. Give 4 points.
- CC is arguably the biggest challenge our species has ever faced
- I want to do whatever I can to help
- I want to be able to look back at this time period and say I tried to make a difference
- I know a lot about CC, but that knowledge is useless unless I do something productive with it
When asked ‘why are you interested in the role?’, you said:
‘It’s a chance to actively engage with investors’
Expand on that. Give 3 points.
- Engaging directly with investors will be new to me and I find the prospect really exciting
- It’s a chance to learn a lot about what drives them/the decisions they make
- And also for my work to have tangible impact, I find that really motivating
When asked ‘why are you interested in the role?’, you said:
‘It’s a new area of campaigning to explore’
Expand on that. Give 6 points.
- At UCL and Lush, the campaigning was informal as just chatting to ordinary people - relaxed, personal
- I’ve learnt a lot through my volunteering with Greenpeace, as lobbying my MP has been more formal, but still relies on that personal connection in that we talk about shared experiences/locally-relevant things in our constituency
- Influencing investors/businesspeople would be a new facet of campaigning for me
- People really relate to emotive content, for example sharing a story about your personal experiences, but it would be strange to do that in a professional setting
- Keen to learn how to be persuasive but still formal and professional
- I suppose its about identifying what they care about and marketing it in the appropriate way e.g. more logical, facts/data based
But that’s what I want to find out
Why should we hire you?
- Extremely driven: I’ve realised the importance of sustainable business, I want to learn more about it and this is a wonderful opportunity to do so, so I will do everything in my power to succeed in this role
- Analytical skills: can draw on my science background to solve problems/explore new ideas, will also give me credibility when talking about climate
- Inter-disciplinary perspective: have studied CC from scientific, economic, health and social perspectives, am emotionally intelligent, therefore can empathise with a range of stakeholders which is useful in solving problems
What is your superpower?
Give 9 points.
Interdisciplinary perspective
- Nothing is ever clear cut
- There are so many ways to look at a situation
- E.g. oil palm workers in Malaysia
- I make a real effort to consider situations from all sides
- Have studied CC from scientific, economic, health and social perspectives
- Emotionally intelligent, can draw on that
- Means I can communicate with different stakeholder groups to identify common ground
- Useful to this role as, to create better SF products, we need increased communication between different groups like scientists and businesspeople
- Confident I can do that
What are your strengths?
- Visualise and enact change
- Analytical
- Building relationships
For ‘what are your strengths?’, you said:
‘Visualise and enact change’
Expand on that. Give 4 points.
- Positive: lots of bad things are happening but if we gave into them, we’d never do anything. There’s also lots of amazing things happening, change is possible!
- Inspirational: I try to lead by example in my personal life to inspire others, and spread that message positively not through shame e.g. baking vegan treats
- Resilient: pretty unshakeable inner composure, tend to recover from setbacks quickly and turn them into a positive learning experience
EXAMPLE: climate action - studied it, made changes in my personal life (vegan, buy second-hand etc.), volunteering, talk to friends/fam about it,
For ‘what are your strengths?’, you said:
‘Analytical’
Expand on that. Give 6 points.
- Seek and analyse information
- From diverse sources, including people
- Cost-benefit analysis of different options
- Inform decisions on best available evidence
- No evidence: direct experience, valid testimony, common sense
EXAMPLE: python project
For ‘what are your strengths?’, you said:
‘Building relationships’
Expand on that. Give 7 points.
- Open person
- Genuinely interested in other people and learning about their experiences
- Emotionally intelligent, helps me relate to people
- Have a good memory, remember details about people’s lives
- Sincere, helps to build trust
- So tend to form relationships easily
EXAMPLE: colleagues across the College at ICL
What two skills do you need to improve?
Explain how you are actively working on them.
Too detail focused, over-analyse to the point where I struggle to make a decision: realising the importance of parking something to create space for perspective, e.g. going for a walk during job applications
Working against a mental timer because I’m so focused on being productive: realising its okay to pause for a moment, e.g. pen/paper during interviews
How would you research something?
Give 6 points.
- Set a clear objective
- Establish what kind of data you need and which info sources are most relevant
- Try to conduct with no pre-conceived ideas
- Seek info from as many diverse (yet relevant) sources as possible
- Seek perspectives from experienced colleagues if possible
- Be sure to look at all viewpoints to avoid bias
After doing research, how would you make a decision/recommendation?
- Do a cost-benefit analysis of all available evidence
2. Assume you will be questioned on it - prepare to justify your decision
What makes an effective campaign?
Give 5 points.
- Know your audience: think about their interests/what they will respond to (e.g. type of media used) - don’t assume everyone cares about the same things you do
- Build rapport: identify shared experiences, evoke emotion - but be aware of the context
- Have a body of evidence ready: facts/data to support your argument - sceptics will question you on it
- Make the issue relevant to whoever you are trying to persuade - why should THEY care about it?
- Explain the benefits - to them and wider society
How would you communicate effectively?
Give 8 points.
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
- Mixed media – target different learning styles
- Simple bullet points- more digestible
- Appropriate level of jargon - accessible
- Speak slowly, clearly – easy to follow
- Flyers/handouts/email the PDF – something to refer to
- Links to more info – encourage further reading
- Qs at the end – check understanding
- Adapt language/level of detail – builds confidence
How would you solve a problem?
Give 5 points.
- Do my research: you can’t solve a problem you don’t understand
- Ask teammates: brings diverse perspectives
- Use info to brainstorm all possible solutions and their impacts
- Be creative: write down everything that comes to mind, even if it seems silly
- Do a cost benefit analysis to help me choose
What motivates you?
Give 2 points.
- Learning: there are so many fascinating things to learn about, I like changeable environments because there’s always something new to experience
- Helping others: very empathetic person, enjoy other people’s company, find helping them very rewarding
Describe a colleague who inspired you and why.
Give 6 points.
- Not respected by her male subordinates because she was female, an immigrant and non-religious
- They constantly undermined her and wound her up
- She handled the whole thing with admirable grace and composure – never got flustered/angry, never sunk to their level with childish insults, firmly held her authority over them, didn’t give in to pressure
- Worked harder than they did to show what she was capable of
- Still had humility – helped them when they were in need
- She showed me a) how to be a good leader and b) how to rise above other people’s behaviour
