Tools For an Effective Job Interview

Employment data
What you did
How well you did it
Salary level
Reason for leaving or considering change
Educational data
Class ranking
Honors and activities
Percentage of expenses earned

Personal data
Community affairs
Speaking engagements
Articles written
Family, hobbies, interest
Professional affiliations

Be Prepared to Answer:
“Describe yourself” questions
Pre-planned response should include
Education
Work credentials
Accomplishments

Personality questions
Example: “How do you perform under pressure?”
Give “the obvious answer,” supported by past or present experiences

Motive questions
These attempt to determine if you will enjoy the job or fit in, for example:
“Why should you want to work in a firm this size?” or, “What’s the ideal
situation for you?”
Answer in terms of your qualifications for the job: Don’t be vague, be specific
and be emphatic

Salary questions
Tell them what you are presently earning when asked
Avoid negotiating salary; state you would consider a reasonable offer once all
the facts have been gathered
Discuss with your recruiter how to best negotiate salary for each opportunity

Tough questions
Prepare answers in advance and answer them matter-of-factly
Why do you want to make a change?
What are your weaknesses?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
What kind of firm are you looking for?

Knowledge of the Company:
Know as much as you can about the organization, and be prepared with a list
of questions (written is OK).
But be careful not to cross examine.

Interest questions:
the firm, the department, background of the interviewer
Job satisfaction questions:
the importance of the work, your responsibilities and authority, career
potential
Avoid questions on salary, fringe benefits, vacations: these questions will be
answered at the appropriate time

Attitude:
Maintain strong interest throughout the interview; it will be too late to decide
you’re interested if you’ve been “just curious” throughout the interview
Smile, be friendly and relaxed, but never casual; show enthusiasm for the
things you see and hear that you like
Be positive, answering questions in terms of past performance
Never be negative (or overly positive) about past/present employers
Always dress conservatively

Additional tips:
Answer questions directly, and be careful not to digress.
Don’t monopolize the conversation; make sure your interviewer has time
to respond to your responses.

Conclusion:
Ask your interviewer “what’s the next step”
Thank your interviewer and express interest again
Call your associate at Whitaker immediately after interview
Write a brief thank you note to your interviewer
The Interview Preparation Process
Answer questions directly, be careful that you don’t digress
Don’t monopolize the conversation, give the interviewer opportunities
to respond

Goal: To Get a Job Offer
Your first goal of each job interview is to get an offer. Remember, you can
always turn it down. But you can never go back and change a “first
impression.” Strive for every interview to be a “winning interview,” that is,
find out about the job and convince them you can do the job.

~ by johndimple on February 12, 2008.