Tammi's World

Hint Hint

Contagion has a post up about some interviews he conducted last week. And....with my interview tomorrow, I thought this might just be a good time to offer up some of my thoughts on the whole process.

I am one of those weird people who actually enjoy interviewing. Seriously. I look at it as an opportunity to learn something, meet people and well, just have a wonderful conversation.

But there are tricks to being a good interviewee. Having been on both sides of the table, I'm lucky. I know a lot of the tricks. I've done what Contagion describes, and double teamed. One of my co-workers and I would go into the interview. I would explain the info I wanted to glean from the interview, let them ask the questions and I would observe. Now, most of the positions I was interviewing for the folks had to deal with the public, so I needed to judge their social skills. Plus - it gave the other interviewer the opportunity to build their interviewing skills and develop into management.

You don't greet everyone in the room with a handshake and eye contact? Yeah - you're done. I don't care how good you are at answering the questions. You never know who is who. Don't burn ANY bridges.

Interviewing is sales. You are selling yourself, your skills, your abilities. You've got one shot to make a first impression. Period. Here are just a few of my tips.

*Like I said, greet everyone in the room with a handshake and eye contact. If they are not introduced, ask. It's ok. It shows confidence.

*Dress appropriately for the position. Tomorrow I'm interviewing with a company that is extremely casual. I'll be wearing a pair of casual dress pants, nice shirt and causual jacket with flats. If I get the interview with THE company? Oh, it's a suit. But not a standard business suit. My position there would include presentations and working with the public. A little "flair" is good. The last interview? Yeah, that was conservative business attire. Dress for the company. And no matter what, make sure you look pulled together. I've had folks show up in little sun dresses, jeans and tee-shirts. Yeah, those applications? I threw them out. You can't be bothered to look decent, I can't be bothered to hire you.

*Come prepared. They will always ask if you have any questions. This isn't just about you. It's the chance to learn about the company/department/industry that you are interviewing for. Make out a list of questions. Ask them what they see as a typical day for that employee. Ask about seasonaility. Is there a slow time, (possible lay-offs) or a very busy time (OT). Ask questions about the company......how long have they been in business, in that area, in that market?

*And on that same vein, do your homework. Research a bit. If it's an internal position - ask people questions about the management, role of the department in the company. If it's a new company - go on line. Read, dig. Then work what you've learned into the conversation.

*Invest in nice resume paper. It looks more polished and when they are thumbing through the stack of resumes the feel is different. It catches their attention. Seriously - it works. Now, the resume itself needs to be well done, but if they don't pull it out of the stack, it doesn't do you any good. Just a little hint.....

Anyway - I guess my point is that it takes a bit of effort to pull off a good interview. And if you're gonna do it, you might as well enjoy the process. And the other important thing is to remember - just because you got the interview doesn't mean you HAVE to take the job. This is you interviewing THEM as well. You want to be happy where you are. You need to be comfortable with their management system, their mission, their way of doing business.

If you don't make that extra effort you might just end up where I am right now. Writing a post to remind yourself of how to get a job.......

Posted by Tammi at April 10, 2006 07:24 AM | TrackBack