Interview Advice
- Thread starter rhlentz
- Start date
Send a thank you note afterwards, even an email is better than nothing. I thought this was common knowledge as you always seem to hear it in classes that talk about career prep, etc. But I was very surprised how few people sent thank you notes after I interviewed some people.
I'm sure you've always been told to show up early as well, but don't show up too early. 5 minutes, 10 minutes max and expect to wait in the reception area until the scheduled time. Nothing irritated me more when interviewing than when the candidate tried too hard to impress (I had a guy show up 45 minutes early once). You're not respecting my time if you show up that far in advance of our scheduled and agreed upon appointment.
I'm sure you've always been told to show up early as well, but don't show up too early. 5 minutes, 10 minutes max and expect to wait in the reception area until the scheduled time. Nothing irritated me more when interviewing than when the candidate tried too hard to impress (I had a guy show up 45 minutes early once). You're not respecting my time if you show up that far in advance of our scheduled and agreed upon appointment.
Make sure your fly isn't open, don't swear, don't talk about waking up in the gutter Saturday morning after a fun night out. Don't ask the interviewer out, no matter how hot she is. Don't make a sound with any part of your body except your mouth, and by that I mean words, not whistles, clicks, pops, etc. If they have sports paraphenalia in the office, don't make fun, (on a side note, if they have hawkeye memorabilia around, just get up and leave, it's not worth it). Shave, wear a tie, be yourself, assuming you aren't a mass-murdering pedophile, and chalk it up to gaining experience interviewing if you don't get the job.
1. Do as much research on the company as you can. 2. Bring a list of questions to ask the interviewer (about company, goals for this position, etc). 3. Do not discusss money on first interview if you can aviod it. If they ask what you you want tell them you're sure they are fair and competitive. 4. As interview winds down, express your interest and ask what the next step is. 5. Get contact info and send thank you email.
REmember that you're interviewing them just as much as they're interviewing you. Come up with a couple good questions to ask them. I always like the "How do you prepare your new workers better than your competition?"
Be yourself and look them in the eyes.
Be yourself and look them in the eyes.
It's almost impossible to overdress for a job interview and even if you do, it will not likely affect the outcome. That is NOT true if you underdress.
Be yourself, smile, and be excited about the opportunity. I interview people all the time, and you can tell when people actually want to be there and are excited about it. Personality matters as much if not more than the skills.
thank you notes.
arrive 10 minutes early.
take notes.
ask questions (a couple written down before and during the interview)
ask about upward movement. What can this new job prepare you for in advancing in the company.
Find a good seat... usually not the first one you see walking in to the room... get one close to the interviewers.. try to not to sit across a table.
DO NOT:
ask about wages, benefits, vacation time, holidays and sick time ... anything to do with compensation. Let them bring it up.
arrive 10 minutes early.
take notes.
ask questions (a couple written down before and during the interview)
ask about upward movement. What can this new job prepare you for in advancing in the company.
Find a good seat... usually not the first one you see walking in to the room... get one close to the interviewers.. try to not to sit across a table.
DO NOT:
ask about wages, benefits, vacation time, holidays and sick time ... anything to do with compensation. Let them bring it up.
If you come in with a suit on and they are kicking it in jeans and hoodies, then you didn't do your homework...
and DO NOT do any of these:
show up in flipflops.
show up in a bikini with a long t-shirt over it (and it was an eyesore).
show up high, drunk and/or lacking sleep.
ask if the interview can only take 10 minutes.
leave the kids in the car.
text or read a text while in the interview.
yes.. I have each of these happen.. and many more than once.
show up in flipflops.
show up in a bikini with a long t-shirt over it (and it was an eyesore).
show up high, drunk and/or lacking sleep.
ask if the interview can only take 10 minutes.
leave the kids in the car.
text or read a text while in the interview.
yes.. I have each of these happen.. and many more than once.
Couldn't disagree more, it's there casual friday not yours.
Take some extra resumes with you.
Yeah, I always thought that you should dress for the position. I don't think I wore a suit when I first started out. When I interviewed for promotions or with other companies that would have been a step up, then I wore my suit.
You should dress a step up for the job you interview for. We have alot of interviews on Fridays to see how bad the candidate wants the job and most of all, how comfortable they will fit in. We don't discount people for overdressing, but the people that come in with a polo and khakis while we are in jeans and t-shirts often do better...
Also, bring a sheet of references...
Also, bring a sheet of references...
Funny story about making sure that you are zipped up.
My wife, 7 years ago, went into an interview with a nice outfit on. It was a jacket that you didn't wear a shirt underneath. It was nice looking. I remmeber asking her if she should put a shirt on underneath. She explained that it was desinged to be worn without one. It was tight to the body, so I could see what she was getting at.
This interview was in February. She got to the office and met the manager. Before she sat down she decided to take her winter jacket off. Problem was, she wasn't wearing one. She instead unzipped her dress jacket and pretty much exposed herself to the woman she was interviewing with.
My wife realized what she did, turned around and zipped back up. Come to find out, the lady didn't even notice. She was looking down when she sat down and started to review her application. She looked up and my wife was turning back around. Her face was bright red. She explained what had happened. They both laughed about it. She got the job.
I still tease her about it when she interviews. I tell her that if it's a guy she's interviewing with she might need to wear that outfit again. I'm not sure she has it anymore.
My wife, 7 years ago, went into an interview with a nice outfit on. It was a jacket that you didn't wear a shirt underneath. It was nice looking. I remmeber asking her if she should put a shirt on underneath. She explained that it was desinged to be worn without one. It was tight to the body, so I could see what she was getting at.
This interview was in February. She got to the office and met the manager. Before she sat down she decided to take her winter jacket off. Problem was, she wasn't wearing one. She instead unzipped her dress jacket and pretty much exposed herself to the woman she was interviewing with.
My wife realized what she did, turned around and zipped back up. Come to find out, the lady didn't even notice. She was looking down when she sat down and started to review her application. She looked up and my wife was turning back around. Her face was bright red. She explained what had happened. They both laughed about it. She got the job.
I still tease her about it when she interviews. I tell her that if it's a guy she's interviewing with she might need to wear that outfit again. I'm not sure she has it anymore.
Sound advice. Try to relax. I always get pretty uptight for interviews. If they ask if you want something to drink, politely decline or ask for water. Nothing worse than trying to stiffle a belch during an interview. I had most of a diet coke once during a 1 hour interview. By the end I had to pee and belch.
I didn't get the job.