Interview Preparations
With all the legit concern about the job market, layoffs, etc. I have been thinking about ways the people should prepare themselves for job searches.
We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes the greatest strength is to be able to have Employers focus on what your strengths are.
One the keys areas I have seen make it or break for individuals is presentation. How you present yourself to a potential employer is something I see many forget. I have been on both sides of the table interviewing and being interviewed.
Be prepared!
Make sure you know about the company that you are interviewing with. Read up on who they are and what they do. Understand what their core business is, even if it has no direct relation to the potential job.
Make sure you understand the job. Anticipate what questions will be asked. Even if you know the technology (you had better) you need to understand it from a "description" side and "analytical" side so that you can answer the questions to their satisfaction.
Eye contact! If you come in and can not look people in the face, people think you are not being truthful. Also it shows that you are comfortable with the job demands.
May be hard but try and remember interviewers names and answer using their names. This impresses people and makes them feel that you are 100% in to getting this job.
Being nervous is ok, showing it is not. Try to avoid tapping feet, fingers, etc.
BREATH! Take pauses during answers. When you are answering questions with a long answer make sure you take what I call "dramatic" pauses. This does a few things. It lets them hear what you are saying and it lets you properly form you answer with out babbling.
Dress good! This does not always mean a full suit, but dress up for the job, act like they are going to pay you for it, because they might!
These are just a few things I believe in. It is not for everyone and may not suit anyone.
There are many other aspects to professional growth and hopefully we can all join in and share our experiences
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Thanks for starting this thread! These are very good suggestions.
The "Breathe" comment is very appropriate. If you're tense, then when asked a question you may jump to answer without thinking it through. This leads to meandering answers because you're thinking about the answer as you talk. Just stop, think, and then answer; I have to keep reminding myself of this in various situations.
Also, it goes without saying that you should be truthful about your experience. If you don't know the answer to a technical question, say so, but perhaps then mention what you do know about it, or how you might go about solving the problem.
When I was in college, an interviewer pointed to my transcript and asked what happened with Electronics-1 (which I had failed the first time around). Being truthful, I stated that I was glad I failed that course; if I had somehow managed to slip by with a C or D, I may have made a passing grade but I wouldn't have understood the material. But by retaking the course (and pointing out my subsequent "A"), I truly learned the subject matter. The interviewer stared at me for a moment, and said that was by far the best answer he ever received to such a question.
I find it quite worthwhile to read over your resume the night before the interview. Read it slowly, and make sure you remember the background relating to everything you wrote. Though you have read your resume hundreds of times, the interviewer has not; thus, he's reading every word, whereas you're apt to skimming it. Think about what experiences led you to put that statement on the paper....because chances are you will be asked about it, and you don't want to fumble through your memories trying to recall that information during the interview. It all should be in the forefront of your memory.
If you can't deal with small talk, learn to. It's invaluable to set the mood for the upcoming interview. Most people don't like to sit down and start interviewing immediately after shaking your hand. So get used to the idea of friendly chit chat, and realize it has implicit value during the interview. Remember, if the interviewer doesn't like your personality, he probably won't hire you, no matter what you know.
I also think this is a vital topic. As difficult as it is to get an interview these days it is important to make sure that you are prepared make the most of the opportunity.
Unfortunately for me the past several interviews I've had it was pretty obvious after a short period of time that either I didn't want the job or that it would be highly unlikely I would get an offer anyway.
Anyone got an opinion on tactful ways to end an interview like that and hopefully not burn any bridges to possible other opportunities with the company? I'm not really sure how to handle those situations and in the aforementioned cases I don't think I did a very good job of it.
I agree that attitude makes a big difference and unfortunately it has been a while since I've had an interview I was really excited about. I'm hoping that someday that will change. At this point I have more or less decided to hold off on accepting any interviews that don't meet that criteria.
The question then is how to tactfully turn down interviews without turning off recruiters. I don't want them to think I am not interested or not looking... Generally I have made an attempt where possible to recommend someone else in cases where it doesn't seem like a good fit for me.
I know what you mean. It can be difficult to know when and how during an interview to tactfully let them know. I know when I am interviewing someone I try to give them outs at certain points after I have given them information about the position. I appreciate it when interviewers do that to me as well. However many do not.
I think the earlier in the process the better, especially if they have lined up several people to interview you. Just be polite and let them know. Give them a truthful reason.
As far as recruiters, I will generally either do what you said and point them to other people who may be interested. I will let them know that although this did not fit you career path, you are still looking.
Several of my bad interview experiences could have been avoided had the job descriptions been accurate or the recruiter and/or hiring manager been up-front about simple things like the salary range... In one case I was being bait-n-switched to a much lower-end position which I wasn't interested in (essentially QA).
But assuming that for whatever reason after a certain point as a candidate you've decided this job isn't for you, do you just say "Thanks for the opportunity to interview, but I just don't think I'm interested in pursuing this further"? When I've tried to do that the reaction has been... well, not very good. Almost like they want to go through all the motions of the interview even though you'd think it should be obvious to them that it is a waste of their time too.
"In one case I was being bait-n-switched to a much lower-end position which I wasn't interested in (essentially QA)."
That is pretty bad ethics by the hiring company.
"When I've tried to do that the reaction has been... well, not very good. Almost like they want to go through all the motions of the interview even though you'd think it should be obvious to them that it is a waste of their time too."
That is surprising. I have done that a few times before and they were happy I told them as to not waste their time.
I would not know what to do in that situation. You can only say you are not interested in so many ways.
Yeah, I just don't know how to be much more tactful than I was...
At the end of the day, you can't control how somebody reacts, right? You say it with as much tact and appreciation-for-their-time as you can, and the rest is up to them.
As I think about it, if you're speaking to someone who just wants a head versus the right fit, then perhaps such a negative reaction is almost expected. Rather, if you're speaking to the company founder, manager, or entrepreneur, I would expect gratitude since their time is typically precious.
I think that is a big part of it. It really depends in the end what is the motivating factor for the people conducting the interviews.
I find if I am interviewing with someone who has specific needs and not just head count will be more professional.
You can't control how people reacts... I'm just trying to figure out the best way to handle it from my side to minimize the damage and hopefully keep from getting black-listed from future consideration with that company should something else come up at a later date that might be a better fit.
I'm not sure that it was a matter of people just trying to get someone to fill a seat (recruiters/HR maybe) but in some cases I've gotten vibes that managers sort of took it as a personal affront that someone would decide that they weren't interested. Sometimes they will give you the hard sell to try to convince you that taking a step down (like to QA) or in a different career direction (like to sysadmin) isn't really such a bad thing... It seems like it is less of an issue with companies that are apparently interviewing a large number of people than it does when they may not have dozens of people to fall back on.