7 Days to Mastering the Art of the Interview

Transcription

1 7 Days to Mastering the Art of the Interview Top 10 Job Interview Preparation Tips Module 2 YOU can call them tips if you want, but what they really are is strategies. Subtle little strategies that when implemented will give your candidacy a boost and clearly separate you from your competition. 1. Do your homework Research the company beforehand so that you can showcase that knowledge during the interview. Look them up on the web. Find out who their customers are, their competition, the products they make, any new products they are planning to release. This will boost your credibility with the interviewer and will help you to formulate intelligent questions to ask him or her. This will also give you good conversation topics. Employers love to talk about their company. If you start asking questions about their new products, they will probably fall over themselves to tell you about them. But keep it relevant. If it s a huge company, talk about things that would be related to the division you are applying to. You don t want to go in there acting like you know everything about them because you just read their website. Just throw out little nuggets of info and ask a few intelligent questions and you ll look like a star. 2. Know where you're going Make sure to find out where the office is and how to get there. Don t rely on Google Maps. I used to even drive out to their office the day before the interview, just so I knew exactly where I was going. This is easier if you are unemployed, but if you re working, it might be tougher.

2 Do you know how long the trip will take? Do you have the name and phone number of the person you'll be meeting with? You want to have this in case you get caught in traffic and won t be able to make it on time. Do you know where to park? Do you know what floor and suite you are going to? Save yourself time and unnecessary stress by knowing these things before heading to the interview. Because you don t want to get all worked up getting there that you are sweating profusely. I ve done that a few times it s not very pleasant and ends up making for an uncomfortable interview. 3. Look the part Your clothing should be neat, pressed, and professional looking. As it can be difficult to know the culture of the office environment beforehand, err on the side of conservative. I ve always tried to dress one step above everyone who is working there. If they are business casual, then I wear a suit, or just a shirt and tie. If they are wearing jeans, I ll wear a shirt and tie, or just a collared shirt. If they are wearing suits, then I ll wear a tux, no just kidding. Just want to make sure you re paying attention. I would wear a suit, but a better one, I don t think there are any occasions that you should be wearing jeans unless you are interviewing for an unskilled job in a manufacturing plan. However, don't be afraid to inject some personality into your look, and don't neglect the details. Make sure to have a fresh haircut and clean, manicured nails. Even if the position does not require you to look good, you still want to look good in the interview if for no other reason than to look better than your competition.

3 4. Rehearse beforehand Prior to your interview, prepare answers to common questions the interviewer is likely to ask, such as What are your strengths and weaknesses? Why do you want to work here? Why should we hire you? And the ever popular: Tell me about yourself. Conduct a mock interview with a trusted friend as practice. Knowing how you ll answer these questions will set the tone for your interview. Teaching you how to answer these questions is not part of this training module. I ll work with you on questions like these and many others in a different training video. I would also suggest practice giving your answers in front of a video camera, as if the camera were your interviewer. Then pretend they asked you a question, and then read your answer back to the camera with a script. Then watch your video to see how you did. Look at your eyes, your mouth, how you sound, look for filler words. This will give you a really good idea of how you ll look and sound in a real interview. Keep doing it over and over until you get it right. But don t be too hard on yourself because you ll always be your own worst critic. 5. Secure your references Find at least three key people -- former supervisors, colleagues, or instructors, who are willing to serve as your professional references. Be sure to secure their permission beforehand, and be certain that they will speak highly of you if contacted by a potential employer. Don t use friends or family unless you have no other choice. Don t use references you can t trust. If you are not 100% certain that they will give you a positive reference, don t use them. My references were from three people who I could trust completely. One was a colleague, one was a former supervisor from many jobs ago, and one was a customer.

4 Anytime my references were called by an employer, they usually remarked in a joking way that, you pay your references well or that your references make you sound like you can walk on water. My references were from people who liked me and trusted me and many times, my references sold me to an employer. If an employer was ever on the fence about me, all they needed to do was call my references. My references were like a 5 star Amazon review. Once you listen to them, you ll have no doubts about me or my abilities and will hire me on their word alone. References are very powerful. Make sure you have excellent references and you won t struggle to get hired for any job. 6. Prepare a thank you letter After your interview, it's a great idea to send your interviewer a thank you letter. This topic is too big to cover here in this module. In fact I ve written, written an entire book on this subject. But let s hit the key points of sending a follow-up thank you letter. Here s a quick strategy you can use to write an effective follow-up letter. 1.) The content of your letter should be direct and specific. This is not a time to ramble on. Your letter has a single purpose. And that purpose is to remind them of your interest in the company, and of course to thank them for their time, that goes without saying. 2.) Refer to key points of the conversation you had with your interviewer and reference your qualifications and how you would fulfill the needs of the company. Connect the dots for them. Tell them that because you have done [blank] in your last job, you can certainly do [blank] for them in this job. 3.) Reference personal elements of your conversation and even close your letter with something like, I hope your son wins his baseball game this Saturday. Or whatever you talked about in the interview. 4.) The overall tone of your letter should be professional. 5.) Consider your follow-up letter as if it were part of the interview. If you are too stiff and cold, the letter may sound like a form letter and that wouldn t look good. If you are too casual, you might be interpreted as not being serious enough, and that would be bad too.

5 6.) You can send them via or postal. 7. Etiquette tips Be sure to arrive 10 to 15 minutes before the interview, but no more than 15 minutes. Visit the restroom and check your appearance in the mirror. Announce yourself to the receptionist to let him or her know that you have arrived and that you have an appointment with (Mr. or Mrs. so and so.) Turn your cell phone off so it doesn't ring during your meeting. You don t want that thing ringing while you are in the interview room. If you smoke, don t smoke right before your interview otherwise everyone in the room will be able to smell it on your breath, except you. And they will know that it s you who just stunk up the room. Don t smoke in the car and smell up your clothes, or everyone will smell it. If you have to smoke, make sure you do it at least an hour before your interview. And I always wash my hands as soon as I get there because it helps them stay dryer and not so clammy so when I reach out to shake their hand, my hands feel dry to them. Sometimes my hands are just so clammy, that I keep a handkerchief in my pocket and then reach my hand in to keep it dry. That s just me. I used to get nervous too when interviewing for jobs. 8. Bring necessary documentation Make a checklist of documents that you will need for the interview, and make sure that you have them in your briefcase before leaving home. These documents may include extra copies of your résumé, a passport, driver's license, Social Security card, or portfolio of writing samples or other professional work. If you have various certifications from your industry, you might want to bring those so you can verify your level of certification. If you are a recent graduate, you should also bring along your college transcripts.

6 And you should always have copies of references with you, just in case they ask you for them. 9. Sell yourself The interview is your chance to shine, so now is not the time to be humble. Develop a 25-second sales pitch that sings your praises. In business this is called an "elevator speech," a compelling overview of why you? That can be recited in the time it takes to ride the elevator. It should include your strengths, your abilities, and what sets you uniquely apart from other applicants and what you are looking for and where you are heading in your career. If you don t like the word selling or maybe you don t see yourself as a sales person or you think sales people are bad. Do this: educate them about yourself. Tell them things you have done in your past jobs that are related to the requirements for this job. Connect the dots for them and show them why you are qualified and why you are the right person for this job. Let them know that because you have done [blank] in your last job, here how you can do blank for them in this job. That s how you sell yourself that s how you win that s how you beat out competition and win the job. That s how people with less experience and less education will win the job over you every time if you don t sell yourself or educate them about what you can do for them. 10. Don't neglect to ask questions Based on your earlier research, ask how the responsibilities of the position relate to the company's goals and plans for the future. But if you are uncomfortable asking such a powerful question, then don t. Stick with small questions. Interviewers are often favorably impressed by candidates who show that they are knowledgeable about the organization.

7 But you want to ask meaningful questions. That s the key. Ask intelligent questions that will help decide if you want to work there or not. Don t ask inane questions that don t make any sense. Ask questions that will help you qualify them. Like, why are you looking for someone, did someone leave? Or what do you like about working here? Or can you tell me more about the company culture and is it the same across all the departments? It s a two way street. You don t have to work there. You need to interview them to see if they are a fit for you. This is really important that you have this mindset because it changes the way you interview and puts you in a stronger position. 11. Follow up And I don t mean a thank you letter. Well I do recommend that, but that s not what I mean. Find out when you can follow-up. So at the end of your interview, ask them when they plan to make a hiring decision or what are the next steps. This is valuable information you can use to place a well-timed follow-up call. Once you know their timeframe, say 3 weeks, then you can follow-up with them in 2 weeks, and find out where they are in the hiring process or whether they are scheduling second interviews. It s also a good idea at the end of the interview to ask them if they mind if you follow-up with them in x amount of time. If they say we re 3 weeks out, then ask if you can followup in 2 weeks. They will certainly say yes and now you have their permission to call them. In fact, they might be expecting your call. It s very powerful stuff. And of course as I mentioned earlier, don't forget to send an thanking the interviewer for his or her time and consideration, as well as restating your interest and commitment to the position. Remember to keep this in mind: Every interview is a valuable learning experience. Even

8 if you don't get this particular job, when the next interview rolls around, you'll be much better prepared and more at ease with the whole process. All of which can go a long way to boosting your confidence and improving your chances of being offered the next job. That's all there is to it.