What is an interview? First, it’s a business meeting and should be conducted in the accepted decorum of such a meeting. It’s important to maintain that decorum even if the interviewer does not. More importantly, however, an interview is your opportunity to bring a proposal to a prospective employer. That is, you are bringing your skills and experience to the company in exchange for income and career potential.
PRE-INTERVIEW PLANNING
You should be well prepared for the interview for the obvious reason that you want to be able to present yourself accurately to your prospective employer. But, at least as important, is that the characteristic of being prepared will weigh heavily on a hiring decision. Here are some tips on being prepared:
Take several copies of your resume, one in a binder/transparent folder with the interviewer’s name and job title on it. The extra copies of this (and other documents) would be for interviewers added to your schedule.
Take letters of reference, two copies of each. Leave one set with the interviewer.
Take anything that says “well done”, “innovative work”, etc., awards, competitions, ranking in the team.
Have a list of questions ready (it is wise to do some research on the company before the interview).
Check the location. Plan to arrive at least 15 minutes early to freshen up, etc. and allow for traffic problems.
Dress for the occasion – conservatively.
Know your numbers, for example:
How long have you worked on that equipment/project?
How many months/years did you work in that specialist area?
How much did you earn last year?
How many did you sell?
What was your ranking in the sales team/out of how many?
Re-read your resume before you get to the interview. Whatever questions you feel may be difficult to answer, be prepared to answer them without hesitation.
Know you strengths and weaknesses. It is a very common interviewing technique to have you assess yourself. Try and make a weakness a “strength” (e.g. “I just can’t finish until the job is done” or “I dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s – it drives some people crazy!”).
THE INTERVIEW
You have arrived – at least 15 minutes early. You have time to freshen up and ensure your paperwork is in order. It is now about 5 minutes before the interview and you inform the receptionist who you are, and who you have an appointment with. Your interview has already started, even before you meet your interviewer.
First Impressions Count!
Not only with the person interviewing you, but with every single person you came into contact with when you arrived on the premises (even the parking lot!).
When you walk into the office of the interviewer, shake his/her hand firmly looking him/her in the eyes, smile and say good morning/afternoon.
Offer the interview a binder with his name on it, containing a copy of your paperwork.
Take out your notebook and pen.
The interviewer may open the conversation with small talk, and/or general comments on your background, or perhaps with an overview of the position they are looking to fill. However he opens the meeting, take a special mental or literal note of what he/she is saying, as this could be useful when presenting yourself for the position later in the meeting. During his presentation make notes, and at the end of the interview, if there are any of your questions unanswered, ask the interviewer if you could go ahead and ask?
General Points To Note:
Don’t talk about what you can’t do.
Don’t use negative terminology.
Don’t talk about not winning competitions, tell them you came 4th out of 27 – sounds much more positive!
Don’t put yourself in a box – have a list of your strengths, skills and experience.
Try not to call yourself by a job title – this could “typecast” you, and will make it more difficult for the prospective employer to see you in any other role.
Generally the first interview is not the time to discuss salary and personal benefits. This is the meeting to determine whether or not the company is one you would consider joining, the job is one you would consider doing, and you are a candidate they would consider hiring.
As the interview concludes, you might ask if the interviewer has a business card you could have. Determine at this point what the next step is. Are you calling him? Is he/she calling you? When?
At the end of the interview, shake hands and leave with his/her card or some information for follow up.
Follow Up
As soon as you get home email/fax or mail a follow up thank you letter. This is so important. It can be as short and sweet as:
Dear Ms Smith: Thank you so much for your time today. It was a pleasure to meet you, and to learn more about your company. I look forward to hearing from you on… Yours truly.
The Second Interview
When you get a 2nd interview, it is very important that you are as sharp as at the first interview. Do the whole pre-interviewing planning process again. Find out who’s interviewing and put names and titles on each binder.
The second interview will be more intense and you will need to be just as prepared and just as sharp as at the first. Salary requirements will most likely be a topic at the second interview and you should be prepared. Follow up the second interview in exactly the same way as the first.