Great article from Aileen Pincus outlining some must-do items for a Job interview.
In brief:
Check out the full article for details on each of these points.
Deborah Walker on Quintcareers.com offers these 10 very simple, but critical bloopers to avoid when going out to interview for your next job.
1) Poor handshake
2) Talking too much
3) Talking negatively about current or past employers/managers
4) Showing up late or too early
5) Treating the receptionist rudely
6) Asking about benefits, vacation time or salary
7) Not preparing for the interview
Verbal ticks
9) Not enough/too much eye contact
10) Failure to match communication style
Very sound reasons are given for each of these points. I encourage you to check it out!
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Over on one of our new favorite sites, IttyBiz there is another collection of what not to do during the job hunting process.
Jamie offers some helpful reminders for when you’re filling out and submitting applications, with some examples of what not to do.
The areas covered include:
1.) Proofread.
2.) Take the application process seriously.
3.) Make it easy.
4.) Follow Instructions.
Simple, yes, but as Jamie points out, there are people every day who mess up on the simple process of filling out and submitting a job application…the time when they want to be putting their best foot forward.
CrackInterview.info has a pretty good list of the top 64 questions you might be asked in an interview, and also how to best answer some of them.
Here are some:
Q1 Tell me about yourself.
Q2 What are your greatest strengths?
Q3 What are your greatest weaknesses?
Q4 Tell me about something you did – or failed to do – that you now feel a little ashamed of.
Q5 Why are you leaving (or did you leave) this position?
Q6 The “Silent Treatment”
Q7 Why should I hire you?
Q8 Aren’t you overqualified for this position?
Q9 Where do you see yourself five years from now?
Q10 Describe your ideal company, location and job.
An example answer for the first question:
TRAPS: Beware, about 80% of all interviews begin with this “innocent” question. Many candidates, unprepared for the question, skewer themselves by rambling, recapping their life story, delving into ancient work history or personal matters.
BEST ANSWER: Start with the present and tell why you are well qualified for the position. Remember that the key to all-successful interviewing is to match your qualifications to what the interviewer is looking for. In other words you must sell what the buyer is buying. This is the single most important strategy in job hunting.
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HR World has a tremendous article which outlines 100 resources for preparing for job interviews.
Here are the section headings for the list:
Great stuff!
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Robert Ellis Smith on Forbes.com has a look at what information a potential employer can request from a candidate during the interview process…and what information is off-limits.
It actually varies state-by-state, and many of these differences are noted. For instance, 31 states ban policies prohibiting off-duty smoking. So asking a candidate whether they smoke at home, could be murky waters for an interviewer to enter.
The star of the piece is the article In Pictures, which is an online slide-show that addresses many of the most common issues that come up in the interview process.
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Mashable.com has a post listing out over 70 tools that can help job seekers get an edge in today’s market.
Here are 5 of our favorites from the list:
Elance - We’ve used this one to find freelance gigs as well as to hire people to do stuff for us.
Emurse - we reviewed this online resume service shortly after they came online.
Isabont - Use this service to manage your entire job search process.
Jobburner - A slick AJAX-y technical job search engine.
Whototalkto - A place to exchange information about work experience at a company…whether you have worked there, or want to work there.
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A good tip from GetHiredNowTV’s Channel on YouTube:
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A few observations from the interviews I recently helped conduct for a technical position.
Overall, this was a pretty good crew we brought in, but each of them could’ve done things a little better. We selected 3 to bring back for second interviews, but one of them, our top candidate informed us that she’s already accepted another position. So that means we’ll only be doing two second round interviews, and one of them will be selected for the position.
Here’s some observations from the first round.
The manager I was working with stated beforehand that since he had to wear a shirt and tie for the interviews, there better be no one that was dressed casually. This position is a professional one, after all.
The first candidate came in wearing a faded polo shirt and jeans, with a somewhat ragged nylon jacket which he never removed. He also smelled very strongly of cigarette smoke. His interview went ok, but his appearance and smell sort of turned us off. If he couldn’t take the trouble to make himself presentable for the interview, what would be like to work with on a daily basis?
The second interview was dressed fine. However, when asked about some of her background, she proceeded to bash several of her previous employers. Not cool.
Our third interview was with an impeccably dressed gentleman who was very charming. Our fears were that he was too overqualified for the position and would quickly be unsatisfied in the position, which is clearly labeled an entry level job. His resume clearly stated that he was seeking a position as a Sr Network Administrator. We still wanted to see if he would be able to accept doing the entry level work, and could see that he was clearly looking at it as a jumping off point, just a temporary stop on the way to bigger and better things. The problem is, there really wasn’t room for that type of growth.
I also had a bit of concern with how he answered some of our questions. He clearly had prepared well for the interview, and knew all the tips and tricks that a site like this, and many books will help you to use during an interview. The problem I had was that it was terribly transparent. His responses were canned, unnatural. He played “by the book” without letting us see more of who he really was. He also showed signs that he could be a bit overbearing, and if that is in the interview process, again, what would be be like in the office.
Our fourth interview started off a little slow, but grew on us as time went on. He didn’t really slip up at all, and is one of our second interview candidates.
The Fifth interview was a favorite coming in based on his resume and the quick phone conversation. He was nervous once he arrived, and had a distracting nervous laugh with many of his answers. Skill and personality wise, he seems a good fit. Our biggest concern is the distance he lives from the site. He’s getting a second interview as well.
The final interview was our best. She was terrific from start to finish and really impressed us with her skills, background and poise. We came away feeling she was the favorite. When contacted about a second interview however, she disappointed us by informing us that she had taken another job.
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We’ve had a chance to sit on the other side of the table this week, having been asked to assist in the hiring process for a technical position. We reviewed a few dozen resumes and then selected a half dozen people to interview.
A few observations of what not to do from the resume stack:
There were a few other gaffes that stood out, but those were the cream of the crop. We’ll have some more observations from the interview process soom…
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