Seven Steps to Interviewing Success

These proven interviewing tips and techniques will help you maximize your chances of getting a second interview and, ultimately, an offer. They should be used with each person you interview with and at each step of the interviewing process. Step 1 - Enthusiasm Always show as much enthusiasm as possible for the company and the position--even though you may not know that much about either. Remember, hiring managers are people and get nervous too. One thing they always look for is a candidate who is excited about the opportunity. That makes it easier for the hiring manager to ask a candidate back for a second interview or to make an offer--since they know the candidate will want to come back. Several ways to show enthusiasm are as follows: - Arrive 5 to 10 minutes early. - Dress appropriately and professionally. - Sit straight and on the edge of your chair. - Listen carefully to the interviewer and respond to the real questions. - Smile and relax. - Show confidence in yourself and your abilities. - Speak-up! Avoid coming across too quietly. Step 2 - Reasons for Pursuing the Opportunity This is also known as reasons for leaving your current position. You should always address this subject in a positive manner. You should say something positive about your current company, too. Also, rather than talking about the things you dislike about your current position or why you arent pursuing other areas/positions, talk about the reasons why you are pursuing this position. Examples: - The opportunity to make a contribution. - Growth and advancement potential. - Quality of the company. Things not to mention -- pay and benefits (See Step 6) Step 3 - Ask Good Questions!!! This three-tiered approach will lend a logical flow to your questions. Tier 1 - Questions about the Company Do your homework here! If the company is publicly held, read their annual report. If the company is privately held, call the company to request copies of any printed material they can provide such as company profiles, sales brochures and product descriptions. Get resourceful! Be alert to recent events and trends. Examples of areas to question: - Companys competitors and customers. - Companys strategies for growth.

Tier 2 - Questions about the Department/Division Narrowing your focus, prepare questions about the internal organization. Areas to ask: - Organization chart. - People/positions you would interact with most. - Reporting relationships - above and below the open position. - Interactions with other division, subsidiaries or corporate departments. - Interactions with outside groups including vendors, customers and governmental units.

Tier 3 - Questions about the Position This is the heart of the interview. Your questions here will serve two distinct purposes. First, to provide you with sufficient information to determine if the position is appropriate for your skill set and career objectives. Second, and more important from an interviewing perspective, to provide you with a view of what a hiring manager is looking for in your background. Areas to ask: - Specific duties and responsibilities for the position. - Areas which may have been neglected that will require special attention. - Projects to be addressed initially and over the next six months. - Existing or potential people problems. - Special training needs. An excellent question to ask each interviewer is what, in their opinion, it takes to be successful in this position and with their company. If you get the answer to this, youll know exactly what they are looking for in your background. This is natural lead-in to the next step. Step 4 - Discussing Your Qualifications This is your opportunity to sell yourself. Seize this opportunity. In todays highly competitive job market, you must distinguish yourself from other candidates. Dont be shy about it. Since the hiring manager will typically lead this discussion, be prepared to answer their questions fully and positively. Some keys to doing this: - Know your resume including dates of employment, accomplishments, etc. - Realistically relate your skills/strengths to the needs of the company and position. A good way to accomplish this is by using examples from your experience. That is, discuss a specific, positive situation by stating: a) what difficulty you were faced with; b) your solution to the difficulty and how it was implemented; c) the positive results, including dollar/time savings or other quantification, and d) how this example relates to the needs of the hiring manager. - Be prepared to field questions about weaknesses. Choose something that is NOT vital to your success in the open position. Avoid personality/character flaws. Present a game plan you have devised to improve the weakness. Confirm that you do not feel this weakness would limit your success in the open position. - Volunteer additional information about your skills and work habits that would make you successful in the position that the interviewer may not have asked. - Confirm with the interviewer that you have satisfactorily answered their questions.

Steps 1-4 will cover the bulk of most first interviews. Steps 5-7 will be covered quickly in most interviews, but are integral areas to prepare for and will become more critical in second interviews and beyond. Step 5 - Advancement Potential This is an area of obvious interest and concern to you and, therefore, is fair game for you to ask. In fact, most interviewers will discuss promotional opportunities from the open position as part of their interview. You, however, must be careful in how you approach this subject. The safest way to address: - Express a tremendous amount of interest in the position. - Ask the interviewer how she got to her level in the company. - Ask, If someone came into this position and performed very well, what additional responsibilities or promotions might be available? Step 6 - Salary and Benefits Its inappropriate to discuss salary and benefits on a first interview. You want to be prepared to discuss this issue if the interviewer brings them up. Suggestions on how to address questions of what salary you are looking for: - Do not give a specific dollar amount or a salary range. - Do provide the hiring manager with you current salary, review date, overtime, etc. - Let the hiring manager know that the most important thing to you is the right company and the right position, and you feel very good about this opportunity. - Let the hiring manager know that if they make a reasonable offer, you would be happy to come to work there. (Let the definition of reasonable wait). Your opportunity to negotiate the best offer comes when you know you are the final candidate--the one they want to make an offer to. Usually that will be revealed to you when an offer is made. Until that point--when you know an offer is imminent--avoid discussions about salary. Step 7 - Ending the Interview When the interview is winding down, there are a few key points to cover. The meeting may end quickly so be prepared. These points are important in order to set the frame of mind of the interviewer regarding you. They are as follows: - Thank the interviewer for his/her time. - Re-express your sincere interest in the position and the company. - Ask if there is anything else that you can add to clarify your qualifications for the position. - Ask the interviewer for a business card in case you think of questions later ( this will also help when you write your thank-you notes). - Firmly shake hands and exit.

As you review these interviewing tips and techniques, keep in mind two things: First, the order of these tips are for the ideal flow of an interview. However, most interviews will start by the interviewer talking about your background (point four). Therefore, you will have to weave your questions into that discussion so you can tailor your answers about your background to fit the needs of the hiring manager. I recommend that if the interviewer starts out asking, So, tell me about yourself., come back with, Before I tell you about myself, would you mind telling me what you are looking for specifically in the person you want to hire? The interviewer is asking you to talk about yourself and how it relates to their needs. Its difficult to do that if you are not sure what the hiring manager is looking for. Second, these tips are intended to help you add structure and substance to your interviews. However, they are not intended to replace your interviewing style. You should try to blend these suggestions in with your own interviewing style to develop a customized, confident, and winning interviewing personality. NOTE: You should use these techniques with EACH interviewer you meet. Even feel free to ask the same questions of each interviewer. It is better to duplicate questions rather than not asking anything of the last interviewer. Keep in mind that they are evaluating you on your questions. TOUGH INTERVIEW QUESTIONS What are the reasons for your success in this profession? What is your energy level like? Describe a typical day. Why do you want to work here? What kind of experience do you have for this job? What are the broad responsibilities of a (e.g.) systems analyst? Describe how your job relates to the overall goals of your department and company. What aspects of your job do you consider most crucial? Are you willing to go where the company sends you? What did you like/dislike about your last job? What is the least relevant job you have held? What have you learned from the jobs you have held? How do you feel about your progress to date? Have you done the best work you are capable of doing? How long would you stay with the company? How long would it take you to make a contribution to our company? What would you like to be doing five years from now? What are your qualifications? What are your biggest accomplishments? How do you organize and plan for major projects? How many hours a week do you find it necessary to work to get the job done? Tell me how you moved up through the organization. Can you work under pressure? What is your greatest strength? What are your outstanding qualities? What interests you most about this job? What are you looking for in your next job? Why should I hire you? What can you do for us that someone else cannot do? Describe a difficult problem you have had to deal with. What would you references say? Can we check your references?

What type of decisions did you make on your last job? What was the last book you read? How did it effect you? How do you handle tension? How long have you been looking for another position? Have you ever been fired? Have you ever been asked to resign? Were you ever dismissed from your job for a reason that seem unjustified? In your last job, what were some of the things you spent most of your time on, and why? In what ways has your job prepared you to take on greater responsibility? In what ways has you job changed since you originally joined the company? How does this job compare with others you have applied for? What makes this job difference from your current/last one? Do you have any questions? What were some areas for improvement on your last evalutation? What are your short term goals? What are your goals for five years from now? Ten years for now? What kind of salary do you expect? How much do you expect to make in a year or two? Tell me what you consider the ideal position? Tell me what you consider the ideal company? Tell me about your favorite position/ least favorite, and why. Tell me about your best manager/ worst manager, and why. Tell me about yourself? Why should a company hire you? What can you offer that other candidates cant? Why did you choose a career in (current profession)? What made you decide to attend (your college/university)? Give us examples of how you have been successful in school, work or life? (Give us some examples of leadership qualities.) Tell me about one or two of your biggest disappointments in your work history. Give us examples of your strengths/ weaknesses? What made you interested in this position? Why are you leaving your current position? What do you know about us? What do you already know about the position? (How did you prepare for the interview) What qualifies you for the position we have available? How do you deal with stress? How do you resolve conflict? How would your most recent manager evaluate your performance? What would be some of the good points & bad points of that evaluation?

Good Questions for you to ask: How would you describe the work environment here? How would you describe your ideal candidate? What are the most important skills for this position? What do you think gives this company an edge over its competitors? How do you see the industry changing in the next 5 years? What is the companys biggest challenge right now? How is it planning to meet that challenge? If you have not been previously told why the position is open.ask. If the person was terminated or leftWhy do you think that individual did not work out? What is a typical day like in the department? (also get a feel for typical week/month) What are your expectations for the person stepping into this position? What do you foresee being the greatest initial challenges for someone stepping into this position? What challenges do you see 6 months down the road? What made you decide to work for (the company)? What is the most enjoyable part of working here? What is the most challenging part?

How do you see this position evolving? What is the career path for someone in this role? What type of training does (the company) provide? Who will be responsible for training this position? Is there any further information I can provide you that will be helpful to you in considering my qualifications?