An interview is the best opportunity you will have to gather information and sell yourself to a prospective employer.  Communicating your skills, abilities and achievements during the interview is a key factor to securing a good position!  Your credentials alone won't sell you.  Unless you have highly specialized technical skills, you can bet the company has other qualified candidates besides you in the wings.  Each interview must be approached with much thought and preparation or your high hopes & expectations may be shattered.  Investing a few minutes to read this will help you prepare for this critical step.

 

Purpose of the Interview
An interview is an opportunity to exchange information.  Frequently, you will go through more than one interview with a company before you are offered a position.  Remember, your primary goal during an interview is to get a job offer, or at least an additional interview.  Do not reject a position before you get an offer!  You must receive an offer before you can seriously consider all aspects of the opportunity.  Then and only then will you be in a position to accept or reject.

 

During the interview be prepared to both:
(1) Answer specific questions about your background, experience and objectives.  While a certain amount of information about an individual is gained through a resume and through the search firm; many questions remain unanswered.  Basically, an interviewer wants to hear answers to these questions:  Can you do the job? Will you do the job? Do you fit in?  Your goal is to convince the interviewer you are competent and temperamentally suited to join the team.

(2) Ask intelligent, probing questions about the company, its needs, and the specific position.  Relate this information to yourself and your qualifications.

 

Preparation for Your Interview
*    Develop and maintain the right attitude about the interview.  Often "happily-employed" candidates tend to develop "I'm not really looking" or "What can you do for me?" attitudes.  Such attitudes will keep you from mentally preparing for tough questions.  Candidates who do not take interview preparation seriously can be counted on to make numerous mistakes such as appearing uninformed and/or failing to match their skills with the employer's needs.

*    Clarify your professional short and long term goals.  Be able to articulate them clearly.  Short and long term goals should be consistent.

*    Remember all the details and chronology of your work history.  Interviewers will frequently use your resume to help them formulate questions.  In addition to being familiar with the information on your resume, be ready to expand on any portion of it, and able to relate it to the needs of the person interviewing you.

*    Learn as much as possible about an organization before you arrive at the interview.  Familiarize yourself with recent company developments, pertinent financial data, new products that have been introduced and outlook for the future (obtain an annual report, 10K, magazine articles, etc.).  Contact your recruiter and request more information about the company, the job, the compensation range and the qualifications needed to be hired.  The more you know about an organization before you arrive at the interview, the better you will be able to respond to the interviewer's questions.

*    Review anticipated questions.  Develop responses that communicate enthusiasm and show the interviewer your interest in the position.  Keep your answers specific and be positive.

 

Impressions
Your Appearance - The way you look makes a strong impact on people you've never met.  If your appearance is too flashy or if you look like you have slept in your clothes, that impression may overshadow the credentials you possess.  So dress neatly and conservatively for the interview.

 

Your Actions - Actions do speak louder than words. Be aware of yours.

*    Arrive on time.  If you have travel complications, let the interviewers or your recruiter know immediately.  Ideally you should be five to ten minutes early for your appointment.

*    Initiate a friendly conversation with secretaries and receptionists.  Carefully make them your ally.  It is surprising how often a boss's final decision is influenced by a secretary's perception of you.

*    Be polite, alert, and relaxed.  Indicate a genuine interest in the interviewer through eye contact, a firm handshake and by using his or her name throughout the interview. Do not be a poker face - smile occasionally.  Let your personality show a little!

*    Sit up straight, avoid nervous habits, smoking, or chewing gum.  Slouching, leaning on the interviewer's desk, and moving about constantly are all irritants.

*    Be yourself - and be the same self - no matter how many interviewers you meet.  Make sure that everyone has the same picture of who you are.  Generally the most important reason for hiring you is that he/she "likes you".  Just make sure the person they like is the real you.

*    Enthusiasm is contagious, and one of the most frequently cited reasons for hire!  Do not be afraid to express your genuine interest and excitement about the position, company, and their goals.  Often employers will hire someone with less experience over another applicant with better credentials because he/she showed more aggressiveness, more interest, and a much stronger desire for the position than the candidate did with all the credentials.

*    Project self-confidence by speaking positively about your abilities, experience, and willingness to acquire new skills.  Eliminate pauses such as "like", "you know", "uh", and "I mean".  Seize the opportunity to sell yourself.

 

During Your Interview
*    Quickly and discretely survey the interviewer's office for clues on personal interests such as family photos, golf ball paperweights, nautical pictures, etc.  Ask about one or another during the meeting to become involved on a personal level.  But avoid being lured into intimate chitchat.  A job interview is hardly the time for true confessions.

*    Be an equal and active participant in the interview.  Answer questions directly plus expand to reinforce a point, introduce a new thought, or establish credibility in another area.  But do not monopolize the conversation, even if the interviewer does not say much. 

*    Answer questions in an articulate and organized manner.  Speak slowly, and be sure to use emphasis and inflection where appropriate.

*    Listen carefully, and be as concise as possible in your answers.  If you are not sure how much detail is wanted, ask.  You cannot answer questions intelligently unless you understand them.  In fact, sometimes an interviewers' question will imply the answer they desire.

*    Focus the primary attention on the company, the job at hand and your ability to contribute.  Relate your work experience directly to the needs of the organization.  You can inject examples of your success or you can quote the positive feedback of a superior as evidence of your ability.  Or you might even draw a comparison between the situations.

*    Always speak positively about former employers and experience.  It is a fatal mistake to complain about a previous supervisor or situation during an interview.  Look for the educational value in your negative experiences and speak from that viewpoint.

*    Don't be a know-it-all.  Do not challenge authority or pry into corporate affairs.  Remember, you have been brought in as a prospective employee, not as a technical consultant.  Do not offer solutions to the employer's apparent problems.

*    Be flexible - without compromising yourself.   Avoid controversial subjects and other issues that generate strong emotional reactions.  But you do not always have to agree with the interviewer.  Occasionally, interviewers attempt to entrap interviewees into agreeing with an ambiguous comment or opinion.  If you disagree, state your opinion honestly, but do not push your point.

*    Think positively.  Be assertive and aggressive.  Play up your strong points and don't dwell on shortcomings.  Take the initiative in answering questions and volunteering information, keeping in mind that comments should be to the point.

*    Never lie or overstate your credentials, salary or past areas of responsibility.

*    Don't talk about money until the interviewer brings it up.  It is far better to appear interested in the job opportunity and its ramifications for your future development than to make salary demands before the employer is ready to discuss this subject.       Try to avoid any discussion of money in the first interview.  If asked, however, you cannot ignore the question.  A possible answer is "The job is more important than the money so let's focus on my capabilities and qualifications."  If you are required to give some figure just state your present salary and indicate you are looking for a reasonable increase commensurate with the responsibilities of the position.  If he/she is still pushing for a better answer, offer a range only.  Be sure to retain flexibility in this area, giving the employer a desired range rather than a hard-and-fast figure.  Additionally, be sure you understand the entire package since fringe benefits can add measurably to the value of a prospective offer.

*    Save your questions on benefits, vacation, sick leave, etc. for later.  There is plenty of time to pursue those questions after a company has demonstrated an interest in making you an offer.

 

Closing the Interview
When the interviewer ends your meeting, do not attempt to prolong it.  Briefly summarize your qualifications and reiterate your strong interest in the company and the position.  Ask what the next step is in the interviewing process and what else he or she needs to make a decision.  Ask each interviewer for their business card.  Thank the interviewer for his or her time and leave on a positive note - let them know you want the job!

 

After  the  Interview
*    Call your recruiter (if you are working with one) within 24 hours after the interview.  He or she will be getting feedback from both you and the company, and will want to discuss it with you.  If you want the job, we can say a lot of things on your behalf to the organization that would be too forward for you to say yourself.  If you have some hesitations, tell us what they are.  We may be able to work them out for you.

*    Send a thank you note by the following day.  Keep it brief and to the point.  Thank the interviewer again for his or her time, restate your qualifications in terms of what you can do for the company, and express your interest in the position.

 

GOOD  LUCK !!!