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Before the Interview: Preparing for Success. A. Gene Nelson Senior Professor Department of Agricultural Economics. Steps in preparation. What are your career goals? What are your talents and experience – strengths and weaknesses? What are your career alternatives?
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Before the Interview: Preparing for Success A. Gene Nelson Senior Professor Department of Agricultural Economics
Steps in preparation • What are your career goals? • What are your talents and experience – strengths and weaknesses? • What are your career alternatives? • What’s the best alternative for you? • Employer • Nature of work • Location • Career path – opportunities for advancement • What’s your strategic plan for landing the interview that will get you that job? • What if you get an offer? Think about it ahead of time.
Exploring occupations • See the BLS Career Guide: http://www.bls.gov/oco/cg/ • What do you enjoy doing? • Have you done an internship yet? • What are your parents, friends, and relatives doing? • Learn about the typical career paths for this occupation.
Studying prospective employers • Check them out on Yahoo Finance • Are they growing? • Good place to work? • Best companies in Nation/Texas? http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/ • The 100 best places to work in Houston http://www.chron.com/business/top-workplaces/ • What are the opportunities for you to grow in this organization?
How to get the interview? • Texas A&M Career Center • Career Fairs • Who do you know? • Have you built your network yet? • Web search, cold calls, visits, etc. • Be proactive.
Going into the interview • Anticipate the questions! • Why do you think you are a good fit for this position? • Why do you want this job? • What can you contribute to this organization?
The big three questions • Can you do the job? STRENGTHS • What are your skills, experiences, and strengths? • What will you contribute? Unique? • Will you love the job? MOTIVATION • Are you motivated? Do you want the job? Do you show it? • Can they tolerate working with you? FIT • Are you a good fit for the organization? • Do you like the people? Common interests? • Will you be happy where the job is located?