Interview Tactics

1. Interview Tactics Research, Preparation, and Execution Contact Management

2. About JobGroup.org • Mission statement – JobGroup.org empowers professionals to effectively manage their careers by promoting networking, volunteerism, and job search skills. • Eight module curriculum presented weekly • Online resources • Networking events • Recruiter engagement • Volunteers Contact Management

3. About The Presentations • JobGroup.org is an organization that exists to facilitate your job hunt and career • We have compiled the best information that we have from our own experience and other sources • These presentations can benefit hugely from your input; don’t be shy about asking questions or contributing! Contact Management

4. About The Curriculum Contact Management

5. Previous Presentation – Interview Packet • Interview Packet theory • Interview Packet components • Software tools • Managing printing costs • ‘Recycling’ document components Contact Management

6. Next Presentation – Negotiating Compensation • Defining Negotiation • Value in conducting negotiations • Appropriate timing • Knowing your audience • Knowing your own value • What do you want/what can you get? • Forms of compensation • Preparation, Power Factors, and loading for bear • The end result Contact Management

7. Interviews in the Real World? Contact Management

8. Introduction • Value of the interview • Interview life cycle • Getting the call • Doing your research • Planning the interview • Telephone vs. in-person • Interviewer ‘skill’ • Psyching up • Steering the interview • Stock interview questions • Followup • Informational Interviews • The End Result Contact Management

9. Value of the Interview • Sometimes your first contact with potential boss • Opportunity for you to promote yourself • Opportunity for the boss to learn what he/she needs to know about you • Opportunity to learn about the boss and company • Usually the last phase of the filtration process • Have the greatest degree of control • You’re putting on a show! Contact Management

10. Interview Life Cycle Contact Management

11. Getting the Call • The good news: at this point you have bypassed 75-90% of the filtering process • Sometimes the initial contact between job seeker and job • Usually an HR functionary • Most often a phone call, but can be an email as well • No predicting when the call will come- Boy Scout Motto! Contact Management

12. The Pre-Interview • Second phase of the filtering process; usually looking for obvious misfits • Not well-spoken • Not truthful on resume • Poor answers to basic questions • Helps to be prepared with either stock or specific answers • Availability • Compensation • Resume details • Specifics of the application for the job posting • Watch out for the ‘filtration questions’ • Meeting the specific requirements for the job posting • Eligibility to work • Rarely- illegal questions (more to come) • Usually fairly quick (10-15 minutes), so be ready to move fast Contact Management

13. Initial Questions • Name(s) and title(s) of interviewer(s) • Interview format • Office location and neighborhood • Company specific questions • Culture • Upcoming corporate initiatives • Perks you might be interested in • Take good notes! Contact Management

14. Arranging the Details • Have your calendar ready for booking appointments • Location (address, room #) and time • Parking/security information • Leave plenty of time before (prep) and after (overflow) if at all possible • HR is usually good about emailing followup details but take good notes, just in case Contact Management

15. Doing the Research • The Boss • LinkedIn – his profile and your connections • Social media – Twitter, blogs, websites, etc. • Interests, projects, achievements • The Coworkers • From LinkedIn • Interesting projects • The Company • Company website – press releases, location, products • Google search • Social media – Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs • Glassdoor.com • Online local news • Create a series of ‘dossiers’ for all of the above • Note: no reason that you can’t do this research before applying! Contact Management

16. Interview Planning • Assembly of the interview packet • Your resume • Interviewer dossiers • Prioritized list of things you want the interview to know about you • Prioritized list of things you want to know about the company (in survey format) • Stock question Q&A list • List of topics you would like to avoid and deflection strategies (compensation, illegal topics) • Practice! Contact Management

17. Telephone vs. In-person • Telephonic interviews save time and money • Inferior in terms of non-verbal cues • Gesture • Facial expressions • Handshake • Interview packet • Your ‘presence’ • VTC is becoming more common • Be ready for it if at all possible • Suggest as an alternative? • If you are stuck with a phone interview: • Be aware of voice inflections • Pay much more attention to flow of conversation • Learn not to depend on non-verbal cues • Have quality equipment and environment available! Contact Management

18. Interviewer Skill • JobGroup confession time! • Dirty little secret: almost no one practices this skill! • Those that do tend to be in the HR field and will generally not be conducting an in-depth interview (unless you are applying for an HR job) • Therefore you should not expect that an interviewer will manage the interview skillfully • The Bad News: your interviewer may not structure their questions well (or at all) and ask poor ones • The Good News: you have an opportunity to steer the interview • More Good News: they WANT to hire you, so give them a good reason! Contact Management

19. Psyching Up • Positive affirmation • Dress to look AND feel good • Pack your notes and Interview Packets • Find your Happy Place and calm down • Avoid strong sensory outputs: scents, colors, fashions, cosmetics • Shoot for an air of quiet confidence • Leave your negative emotions at home: it’s not about you! Contact Management

20. Steering the Interview • Conversational skill & artistry • Find ways to answer interviewer questions with your prioritized list of things you want them to know about you • When presented the opportunity to ask questions, use your prioritized question list • Ideally, you will be gently driving the entire interview (don’t be pushy though) AS A CONVERSATION! • Deflect as needed but be ready with answers that you can live with Contact Management

21. Illegal Interview Topics • Race • Sexual orientation • Religion • Military status • Nationality • Age • Marital/Family status • Affiliations • Personal Life (smoker, drinker, Facebook) • Disabilities • Arrest record • How to deal with being asked? (answer, deflect, assist, decline) Contact Management

22. Sample Questions: Work History • What were your expectations for the job and to what extent were they met? • What were your responsibilities? • What major challenges and problems did you face? How did you handle them? • What have you learned from your mistakes? • What did you like about your previous job? • What was the biggest accomplishment in this position? • What was it like working for your supervisor? • What do you expect from a supervisor? • What problems have you encountered at work? • Who was your best boss and why? • What have you been doing since your last job? Contact Management

23. Sample Questions: About You • What is your greatest strength? • How will your greatest strength help you perform? • How would you describe yourself? • Describe a typical work week. • Describe your work style. • How do you handle stress and pressure? • What motivates you? • Are you a self motivator? • What are you passionate about? • What are your pet peeves? • What do people most often criticize about you? • When was the last time you were angry? What happened? • If the people who know you were asked why you should be hired, what would they say? • Do you prefer to work independently or on a team? • Give some examples of teamwork. • What type of work environment do you prefer? • How do you evaluate success? • If you know your boss is 100% wrong about something how would you handle it? • Describe a difficult work situation / project and how you overcame it. • Describe a time when your workload was heavy and how you handled it. Contact Management

24. Sample Questions: The Position • What interests you about this job? • Why do you want this job? • What applicable attributes / experience do you have? • What can you do for this company? • Why should we hire you? • Why are you the best person for the job? • What do you know about this company? • Why do you want to work here? • What challenges are you looking for in a position? • What can you contribute to this company? • Are you willing to travel? • What is good customer service? • Is there anything I haven't told you about the job or company that you would like to know? Contact Management

25. Contact Management

26. Just Plain Bad Questions • What were your starting and final levels of compensation? • What did you dislike about your previous job? • Have you ever had difficulty working with a manager? • Who was your worst boss and why? • What is your greatest weakness? • Why were you fired/did you resign? • How many hours do you normally work? • Tell me about yourself. • If you could relive the last 10 years of your life, what would you do differently? • Are you overqualified for this job? • What do you find are the most difficult decisions to make? • What has been the greatest disappointment in your life? • How long do you expect to remain employed with this company? • What will you do if you don't get this position? • Where do you want to be in five years? • Questions that have little or nothing to do with your ability to perform the work, show a profound lack of planning or forethought, or ask you to disqualify yourself Contact Management

27. Potential Questions for Interviewers • What are the biggest challenges the person in this position will face? • Can you describe a typical day or week in the position? • What important projects will this position be tasked with in the near/mid/long term? • What would a successful first year in the position look like? • How will the success of the person in this position be measured? • How long did the previous person in the role hold the position? What has turnover in the role generally been like? • How is this company projected to grow in the near/mid/long term? • How would you describe the culture here? What type of people tend to really thrive, and what type don't do as well? • How would you describe your management style? • Thinking back to the person who you've seen do this job best, what made their performance so outstanding? • Are there any reservations you have about my fit for the position that I could try to address? • What is your time line for getting back to candidates about the next steps? • When formulating questions, do not ask yes/no questions- use the interrogatives! Contact Management

28. Follow Up • Regardless of the outcome: • Thank everyone in the process within 24 hours or so of the interview • Follow up in accordance with the process you discussed during the interview • If you don’t get the job, stay polite, professional, and friendly! • Questions • Should you try to connect on LinkedIn? Contact Management

29. Informational Interviews • Many of the elements of a traditional interview • Purpose is to give you/the interviewer an opportunity to exchange information • Take it seriously! • Make an extra effort to display gratitude • If you hadn’t done so before this interview, add the interviewers to your LinkedIn profile • Big differences • marketing aspect is much less important (though NOT unimportant) • Fewer opportunities to walk into booby traps Contact Management

30. The End Result • Have an opportunity to market yourself well • Give a potential manager every reason not to filter you out • Learn a great deal about a potential employer, manager, or business contact • If all goes well: get the job you want! Contact Management

31. This Presentation is Available Online • http://www.jobgroup.org/curriculum Contact Management