Interviewing Tips / Importance of Soft Skills

1. Interviewing Tips / Importance of Soft Skills Jennifer LemsonRecruiter III Spectrum Health

2. Interviewing • The most important thing: LIKEABILITY • What is likeability? • Everything your mom has been trying to teach you…yes it is important!! • Be courteous • Smile • Extend your hand when greeting someone • Do not eat, chew gum or have anything in your mouth during interviews.

3. Interviewing • Don’t talk too much, but don’t give short one-sentence answers either. Find a happy medium. • Know something about the organization that you are interviewing with • Don’t be late • Lean forward slightly…don’t slouch

4. Interviewing • If on a phone interview…smile • Make eye contact • It’s ok to pause while thinking of an answer to a question. • Dress professionally • Be prepared to answer behavioral based questions • Follow up an interview with a quick email or hand written note

5. Examples of Behavioral Based Questions • Tell me about a specific time when you were in a stressful situation and how you responded to it? • What do you do when your schedule is interrupted? Give an example of how you handle it. • Tell me about a difficult situation with a co-worker, and how you handled it. • Tell me about a time when you had too many things to do and you were required to prioritize your tasks.

6. 7 essential questions to ask in an interviewBy Michael Kingston • Why is this position vacant? • What have your most successful candidates brought to the company? • What does success look like in the first 90 days? • What challenges is the company currently facing? • How do you retain your top talent? • Why do you work for this company?

7. Soft Skills Soft skills are characteristics that make us more likable. Likability is an important factor in the hiring process.

8. Important Soft Skills to DevelopBy Miriam Salpeter • Listening: No one wants to work with someone who isn’t a good listener. How can you show you’re a good listener? Follow directions carefully when you apply for the job. Practice listening actively when you talk to people. • Adaptability: Being flexible and having a good attitude while welcoming the unexpected is a valuable skill.

9. Important Soft Skills to Develop • Teamwork: It’s hard to find a job description that doesn’t mention working with a team. You can practice being a team player by actually joining a team outside of work. • Judgment: You can’t teach someone to have good judgment. If you’ve ever posted something on Facebook and lived to regret it, you could probably use some extra practice on the good judgment front.

10. Important Soft Skills to Develop • Strong work ethic: Are you willing to work until the job is done? Do you pitch in and show initiative, even when it’s not necessarily your job? If that doesn’t describe you, think about how you can change. • Communication: Probably the most important of all soft skills. Employers evaluate this from the start. The interviewer will know right away if you can communicate well by how you introduce yourself and how you address questions. Prepare what you will say in an interview.

11. Final thoughts • First impressions are everything • Be LIKABLE • Practice for your interview • Be prepared to answer Behavioral Based questions

12. Questions? Connect with me on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferlemson