tips for job interviews *** UPDATE Again...... 9/16/.... Now.. 9/17/

[chickenzoo]

Anyone have tips for helping to land a job during the interview.................? Hubby has 2 interviews Thurs......

&

Today he has a second interview for the same company.... different position.

 

[StupidBird]

From my sis: learn SOMETHING about the company. Sis let loose a rant the other day, while doing interviews, about all these people coming in clueless about the company. Look at their website. Google the news for industry issues/events/company releases. Try to do something! Having at least being able to mention the big splashy news headache of the week was something only one in about 40 people interviewed could address and this was going to be the job being interviewed for. Not asking for the interviewee to have answers, just have an inkling of the stuff the job / company faces.

Ok, that's that. DH says they can train for skills or knowledge needed, but a cheerful, able to get along with others, can figure out what to do kind of person is what they're after. Can you deal with difficult people and situations without losing your cool? Day after day after day? Navigate the political social minefield of the present working environment?

Hope this helps

 

[australorpchick]

Definitely know something about the company.
Be comfortable with a silent moment. It's actually harder than you'd think, because people get nervous and they tend to start rambling.
It's easy to have an answer for your greatest strengths. It's a lot harder to answer your greatest weaknesses without looking bad. Know what you're going to say before they ask. Make the weakness a positive, like "I enjoy working hard and I don't mind working late, but at times I take on more than my share of the workload, just to make sure everything gets done on time".

I forgot, just about every interview will end with do you have any questions. Have a couple (this ties in with researching the company). If you honestly don't have any questions, recap a few things the interviewer has said, make it seem like you just want to make sure you fully understand.

 

[sfw2]

Dress appropriately. In the corporate world, you should always dress for the job one level higher than the one you're applying for. Make sure everything is clean, wrinkle-free and shoes are shined.

Personal hygiene. I'm sure your husband is fine, but you'd be amazed how some people forget to shower/shave/comb their hair/trim their nose/ear hair before an interview.

If he's already got an interview, he's probably already spell and grammar checked his resume. When I was in management, I wouldn't even call somebody who wasn't detail-oriented enough to make sure their resume was error-free.

 

[PotterWatch]

I was just conducting interviews last week and got to see the good, the not so great, and the just plain bad. Definitely learn about the company. We had one person who had clearly done their research and had taken more than five minutes on our website learning about the company. The others had looked at the website but it seemed as they had given it only a cursory glance.

Look up common interview questions and the best way to answer them. We had one person give an answer to the question "Tell us a time when you had a conflict with a co-worker and what you did to resolve it." She gave an answer that really didn't paint her in a good light but obviously didn't realize it. If you google "best answers to interview questions", you will find a lot of sites that give really good tips.

Be around 10 minutes early, but not more than 15. Have some questions of your own prepared. What would you like to know about the job or company. Having some questions for your interviewer shows a higher level of interest.

Read the job description throughly beforehand and make sure you don't have any problems with the qualifications or job duties. The job I was interviewing for requires a good deal of driving to surrounding counties and was very clear on that point in the job announcement. Regardless of that, we had one person tell us they didn't want to drive to half of those places if they got the job. That person won't be getting a call back of course.

Bring copies of your resume just in case. Make sure you have a consise and relevant statement prepared in case they say "tell us a little about yourself." Hope the interview goes really well for him. Good luck!

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Rule #1- Don't wear a trenchcoat with a coonskin cap to the interview.

#2- Don't make them wait on you while you finish the Subway sandwich you brought with you.

#3- No farting or burping during the interview.

#4- Ignore the family picture on the desk. Do NOT tell the interviewer his wife is HOT.

#5- Leave the family dog at home.

I've always followed these rules, & have never had trouble getting a job.

 

[redhen]

Quote:

 

[debilorrah]

When they ask you to tell them about yourself, they do NOT want to know what your hobbies are. They want to know what skills you have that a relevant to the job you are interviewing for. After that is said, if you have a hobby that requires a skill that would bring something extra to the board, then tell them about it. Example: if you build things and use a lot of dexterity and you are applying for a job that requires dexterity, mention it.

 

[Spookwriter]

Honest truth....Had a man stop come in for an interview a few months ago,
he showed up wearing short pants and work boots. His two buddys stood
in the parking lot smoking cigarettes.

He said they were going fishing after the interview. Could I hurry up?

You're right...he doesn't work here.

It may just be our own little trucking company, but that doesn't mean I
don't have professional drivers.


.............I've had interviews where people bring their wife, their children, their
friends. Had one where the man actually asked if I cared if his girlfriend "lived"
in the truck full time. He asked that I not tell his wife.

 

[catnip]

All the above has been excellent advice. Also, a candidate should be kind to everyone while there for the interview. From the receptionist on up, you never know who exactly you could be talking to.

Years ago, we were interviewing candidates for a compensation/benefits position in my HR office. I happened to be covering for for our front desk secretary. A candidate came in, was rude and snotty while she was dealing with me since she thought I was the secretary. (In fact, I was the recruiter for the position.) I didn't correct her assumption since I wanted to see if she changed her attitude while waiting. Needless to say, she couldn't bother herself to be polite to the person at the front desk, so she wasn't a good candidate for our office. No job for her.