The employment landscape has changed over the last decade so I thought to write this article on taking a job interview.
Be Prepared
Do your homework on the company and spend some time soul searching yourself. Try to find information about the company`s current strategies in the industry. What phase are they currently in? Are they in a growth phase, a hold phase or are they downsizing? What is their market position which should give an indication of their current strategy. Think about yourself and how you will present yourself to the interviewer. How will you describe yourself? What examples will you give about yourself and your background? How do you think the interviewer will receive this description of yourself? A part of preparing yourself is looking at the interview through the eyes of the other person. Get a good feel for the impression people have of your profession.
Resume
Bring at least two copies of your resume with you, one for the interviewer and one for yourself. If you are able to find out beforehand who else will be in the interview, or if you will be meeting other people, be sure to bring enough copies of your resume. The style of resume is up to you, remembering what is consistent with your profession and the industry. As you enter the interview room one of the first things you should do, after introductions, is provide your interviewer with a copy of your resume.
Attire
Dress according to your profession and according to the company's industry. As you can imagine, someone applying for a design position in a fashion company will dress differently than someone applying for a logistics management position.
Talking About Yourself
Be clear as to how you will talk about yourself. Give good thought to your strengths, which is one of the most common questions in a job interview and be wise in talking about your weaknesses. Everyone has weaknesses, but to spend 10 minutes talking about them will likely leave the interviewer with the impression that you have a lot of shortcomings despite your honesty about it. Remember the impression people have of your profession and keep in line with it in talking about yourself, if it is to your advantage. If you think it is an inaccurate impression, make sure to show this to the interviewer with what you say and do.
Asking Questions
Many interviewers will ask you if you have any questions. It will be up to you to gauge if the interviewer is sincerely interested to hear your questions or just being thorough in their interview technique. You can mention the information you have learned about the company in leading to your questions, "I see that your company is planning to bring new products to the market and you hope it will make ABC company the market leader." I'm wondering if this growth will create opportunities for me to move within the company? Don't ask questions to get information that you should have found in your preparation about the company. You should ask questions about things that are important to you to know. If professional development is important to you then ask about it. If traveling is something you are looking for then ask about it. Good questions would be about the company`s work style and their approach to getting things done, or asking about coworker`s credentials and backgrounds. You would want to ask about your manager and long term expectations toward you.
Answering Questions
Keep in mind that the interviewer is creating an impression of you, so you want to make sure you describe yourself appropriately when answering questions. If your going to stray from the truth, it is you who will reap the consequences. You want to show that you are knowledgeable of your field of work but you don't want to come across bold. It is helpful to already know the workplace style of the company so you can show that aspect of yourself if it is possible, and does not require you to compromise yourself too much. Talk more about those things which are important to the company and give the many examples you have prepared about your background, experience and personal situations.
Things To Get From The Interview
Interviews are not always formatted question and answer sessions. Often the interview can take a casual turn where both people will talk of themselves or give examples or tell stories of various topics of interest to the interview. Regardless of your interview format, try to satisfy yourself on certain things like why they are hiring for the position, and what happened to the last person who had that job. Find out if you can speak to someone who had the position previously or people who worked with the last person in the position. You may want to know if they offer any type of orientation when you start the position or if any type of new hire training is provided. If you can get a walk through the office or facility it will help you form an impression of the place.
Talking Money
It is advisable to not bring up the topic of money unless the interviewer brings it up first. Instead talk of personal and professional rewards you hope to get from the position and the company. If the interviewer asks your expectations about money, answer them considering what you know about the company and the position within that industry.
Finishing The Interview
Always finish on a positive note. You can either talk about your good impression of the company or the position or talk about how you are interested in it. Use positive language when talking, assuming you are interested in the position. If you are not interested in the position you may consider explaining this to the interviewer very diplomatically. In my own experience of this, the interviewer was glad to hear it and both of us left the interview with no false expectations of what would happen next.
I would not suggest going for close for the position, unless perhaps you are interviewing for a sales position, in which case you are probably meeting the interviewer's expectation of you. If the interviewer does not explain what will happen next in the interview process, offer to follow up the interview with a phone call in a few days. Always follow up the interview with a letter to the interviewer thanking them for the opportunity to interview for the position.
