BC2: Job Hunting-- Interviews

Interviewing  Developing an interview strategy Highlight strengths  2-5 achievements, character traits, or experiences.  Be specific! Minimize weaknesses  Age, gender, grades, lack of experience. Interview the organization

Interviewing  Before the interview Dress appropriately  Dress one-position-up.  Be well-groomed.  Avoid flashy jewelry and cologne/perfume. Be prepared  Extra resumes.  Something to write on and with.  Examples of your work.  Names, street addresses, and exact dates of references, work history and education.

Interviewing  Before the interview (cont.) Think Ahead  Do some research on the company.  Think about how you’ll get to the interview.  Prepare questions to ask.  Pay attention to the office as you’re waiting.  Be nice to everyone.

Interviewing  During the interview Act appropriately  Be your best-self.  Be confident, enthusiastic, attentive, and clear.  Be conservative (e.g. smoking/drinking).

Interviewing  During the interview (cont.) Parts of the interview  The Opening—2-5 minutes Easy questions about education/experience. Basic information about the company.  The Body—10-25 minutes Use questions from the interviewer to focus on your strengths. Ask your own questions to show your interest, enthusiasm, and knowledge of the industry/company/job.  The Close—2-5 minutes What comes next.

Interviewing  Traditional interview questions Tell me about yourself.  No biographies!  Focus on two or three strengths and be specific! What makes you think you are qualified to work for this company? (OR) I’m interviewing 120 people. Why should I hire you? What two or three accomplishments have given you the greatest satisfaction?  Focus on process as much as end result. Why do you want to work for us? What is your ideal job?  Match your answer to the job being interview for.

Interviewing  Traditional interview questions What college subjects did you like best and least? Why?  Don’t say… “___ because it was easy.”  Be specific about knowledge you gained or skills you improved. What is your class rank? Your grade point average? Why are your grades so low?  Have an explanation for low grades. Show me some examples of your writing.

Interviewing  Traditional interview questions Where do you see yourself in 5 years?  Demonstrate motivation. What are your interests outside work?  Focus on 1-3 that can be explained as strengths.  Don’t do too many or it will seem like you’ll have little time or energy for the job. What have you done to learn about the company?  Show interest, enthusiasm, motivation. What adjectives would you use to describe yourself?  Be positive and support them with specifics.

Interviewing  Traditional interview questions What is your greatest weakness?  Keep this work-related; not about your personal life.  Three methods: 1. Discuss a weakness that is not related to the job: [for a creative job like advertising:] “I don’t like accounting. I know it’s important, but I don’t like it. I even hire someone to do my taxes. I’m much more interested in being creative and working with people, which is why I find this position interesting.”

Interviewing  Traditional interview questions What is your greatest weakness? (cont.)  Three methods: 2. Discuss a weakness that you are working to improve: “In the past I wasn’t a good writer. But last term I took a course in business writing and that taught me how to organize my ideas and how to revise. I may never win a Pulitzer Prize, but now I’m a lot more confident that I can write effective reports and memos.” 3. Match a weakness with a strength: “I tend procrastinate. Fortunately, I work well under pressure.”

Interviewing  Traditional interview questions What is your greatest strength?  “I can really sell things”; “I learn quickly”; “I’m really good at working with people”; “I’m good at solving problems”; etc. Why are you looking for another job?  Stress what you’re looking for in a new job, not why you want to get away from your old one.

Interviewing  Traditional interview questions What questions do you have?  What would I be doing on a day-to-day basis?  What kind of employee development do you provide?  How do you evaluate employees? How often? Where would you expect an new trainee to be in 3 years?

Interviewing  Behavioral and situational interviews Behavioral interviews  Based on actual behavior in past experiences: “Tell me what happened the last time you wanted to get other people to do something.” “What exactly did you do to handle the situation?” “How did you feel about the results?” “How did your superior feel about the results?” Situational interviews  Puts you in a real-life situation and evaluates your response. “What would you do if you were on a project team and one of your co-workers never fulfilled their responsibilities?”

Interviewing  Stress interviews Rephrase aggressive questions and then focus on a strength.  Q:Why did you major in physical education? That sounds like a pretty Mickey Mouse major.  A:You’re asking whether I have the academic preparation to do this job. I started out in physical education because I’ve always loved sports. I learned that I couldn’t graduate in four years if I officially switched my major to business administration. But I do have 21 hours in business administration and 9 hours in accounting. And my sports experience gives me practical training in teamwork, motivating people, and management.

Interviewing  After the interview Follow up phone calls and letters:  Ask if there is any further information you can provide.  Remind the interviewer of what he or she liked about you.  Counter any negative impressions that may have come up during the interview.  Use the jargon of the company and refer to specific things you learned during your interview or saw during your visit.  Be enthusiastic.  Refer to the next move, whether you’ll wait to hear from the employer or whether you want to call to learn about the status of your application.

Interviewing  After the interview (cont.) Negotiating for salary and benefits  Wait until after you have a job offer.  Find out what the going rate is for the kind of work you hope to do.  Negotiate the package, not just the salary! Benefits: insurance, vacation, etc. Salary vs. Wage (with possible overtime) Commission and Tips Bonuses, Profit sharing, and Stock options Per diems and Expense Accounts Company Car vs. Mileage Travel Allowance and Parking

Interviewing  After the interview (cont.) Deciding which offer to accept  Analyze your own needs, honestly: What do you value?: money?, time?, prestige? What kind of working conditions do you desire?: alone or in a group? Specific instructions or freedom? High pressure or relaxed? Where do you want to live? What do you want out of the job?: just to make a living? A social-life? Self-actualization? Will you want to do this for 40+ hours a week?