Interview Advice

[TITAN126]

I'll be graduating from school in May so I've been applying for a bunch of jobs lately. I have a few interviews coming up and I'm not really sure what to expect. I've never interviewed at any major companies before, just local places for the summer. What's worked well for you? What hasn't worked? What do you recommend?

 

[imapig]

You need to tell the interviewer as to why you can help the company... Interviewers want to know that you have the companies best interest. Make sure when you go in that you understand as much about the company your interviewing for.... Never sit down unless your told to. Firm handshake,but not cracking bones and look into their eyes... Pay attention and don't allow your eyes to wonder all over the room....They also want to know that your in a stable situation so avoid telling them you live in a cardboard box on a heated grate in a back ally in downtown Boston....Hope this helps....

 

[3 Point Stan]

Expect multiple rounds of interviews, sometimes with more than one interviewer.

It's like the NFL Combine these days.

 

[TBrownslady]

Best interview I had was the interviewer asked me if I could have one super power what would that be. Then the rest of the interview was talking about football.

But yeah we got to interview some people for our department. One thing is be sure to have some questions in mind. We would tell them we were the more informal interview and to ask us anything they wanted and all we got was blank stares. Have some kind of personality and make sure your hair is clean and you are showered and smell good.

 

[TITAN126]

You need to tell the interviewer as to why you can help the company... Interviewers want to know that you have the companies best interest.

How can I do that while at the same time making myself stand out from everyone else? I feel like everyone is going to have a similar answer for that.

Make sure when you go in that you understand as much about the company your interviewing for....

What type of stuff? Some of the things I was thinking of were what exactly they do, who their major clients are, important people within the company, maybe a little history...anything else?

Never sit down unless your told to. Firm handshake,but not cracking bones and look into their eyes... Pay attention and don't allow your eyes to wonder all over the room....They also want to know that your in a stable situation so avoid telling them you live in a cardboard box on a heated grate in a back ally in downtown Boston....Hope this helps....

Thanks, always helpful to keep those little details in the back of your mind.

 

[TITAN126]

Expect multiple rounds of interviews, sometimes with more than one interviewer.

It's like the NFL Combine these days.

Yeah, the first one I have is next Tuesday. Then if I survive that, they'll be another round of interviews on Wednesday with two interviewers. Two round actually isn't that bad. I heard that Goldman-Sach's can have up to ten rounds of interviews.

 

[anderson]

Ask questions. Questions that show you've researched the company and have an interest.

You can get tons of info on companies and managers on sites like Linkedin (other than the corporate websites).

 

[TITAN126]

Best interview I had was the interviewer asked me if I could have one super power what would that be. Then the rest of the interview was talking about football.

That would be sweet!

But yeah we got to interview some people for our department. One thing is be sure to have some questions in mind. We would tell them we were the more informal interview and to ask us anything they wanted and all we got was blank stares. Have some kind of personality and make sure your hair is clean and you are showered and smell good.

Thanks, I know I need to come up with some dynamite questions. Do you remember any particular questions that really blew you away? I'll make sure I'm all showered and smelling good too lol.

 

[anderson]

What industry are you interviewing within?

 

[Flagg the Wanderer]

How can I do that while at the same time making myself stand out from everyone else? I feel like everyone is going to have a similar answer for that.

If that is your response to this, you should reconsider the question. Let me emphasize (and slightly adjust) the important words:

You need to tell the interviewer specifically why/how you can help this particular company... Interviewers want to know that you have the companies best interest.

So, in other words, your skillset is X (and this is shown on your resume, of course). Your particular education, skills, and experience do not just "qualify you for the job." They have prepared you specifically for this job, and to do X, which is generally important to all businesses and specifically to this particular company because of Y, which you found in your research.

But don't go overboard. You're presumably not applying to be a strategy officer. Show how you can do your job, be efficient, avoid wastefulness in terms of additional or remedial skills training, and have a history of reaching beyond your job description to take on new challenges. Have a couple of stories ready of times when you have done this or something similar at other jobs or even in school.

They want to know that you're invested enough in the interview to have researched the company more than just the website (as mentioned, LinkedIn is good, also look at Hoovers, etc., especially if you're a business/finance type guy.) They want to know that you're not going to make trouble, and you're going to focus on your work. They want to know that you're going to be engaged and trainable.

Most importantly, make sure that you tell them that while you were in school, you racked up nearly 3,000 posts on a football messageboard featuring a girly pic thread that is tens of thousands of posts long.

 

[TITAN126]

What industry are you interviewing within?

Business/Finance right now...I applied for a few other jobs in the energy sector and with the government, but I haven't heard anything on those yet.

 

[imapig]

If that is your response to this, you should reconsider the question. Let me emphasize (and slightly adjust) the important words:
So, in other words, your skillset is X (and this is shown on your resume, of course). Your particular education, skills, and experience do not just "qualify you for the job." They have prepared you specifically for this job, and to do X, which is generally important to all businesses and specifically to this particular company because of Y, which you found in your research.

But don't go overboard. You're presumably not applying to be a strategy officer. Show how you can do your job, be efficient, avoid wastefulness in terms of additional or remedial skills training, and have a history of reaching beyond your job description to take on new challenges. Have a couple of stories ready of times when you have done this or something similar at other jobs or even in school.

They want to know that you're invested enough in the interview to have researched the company more than just the website (as mentioned, LinkedIn is good, also look at Hoovers, etc., especially if you're a business/finance type guy.) They want to know that you're not going to make trouble, and you're going to focus on your work. They want to know that you're going to be engaged and trainable.

Most importantly, make sure that you tell them that while you were in school, you racked up nearly 3,000 posts on a football messageboard featuring a girly pic thread that is tens of thousands of posts long.

I agree,but most of all don't act like you want to be President in 2 years....

 

[TITAN126]

If that is your response to this, you should reconsider the question. Let me emphasize (and slightly adjust) the important words:
So, in other words, your skillset is X (and this is shown on your resume, of course). Your particular education, skills, and experience do not just "qualify you for the job." They have prepared you specifically for this job, and to do X, which is generally important to all businesses and specifically to this particular company because of Y, which you found in your research.

But don't go overboard. You're presumably not applying to be a strategy officer. Show how you can do your job, be efficient, avoid wastefulness in terms of additional or remedial skills training, and have a history of reaching beyond your job description to take on new challenges. Have a couple of stories ready of times when you have done this or something similar at other jobs or even in school.

They want to know that you're invested enough in the interview to have researched the company more than just the website (as mentioned, LinkedIn is good, also look at Hoovers, etc., especially if you're a business/finance type guy.) They want to know that you're not going to make trouble, and you're going to focus on your work. They want to know that you're going to be engaged and trainable.

Thanks Flagg, that really helps. I'll be sure to check out LinkedIn and Hoovers.

Most importantly, make sure that you tell them that while you were in school, you racked up nearly 3,000 posts on a football messageboard featuring a girly pic thread that is tens of thousands of posts long.

Should I also include the 9,000 posts I have on another website? ROFL

 

[anderson]

Business/Finance right now...I applied for a few other jobs in the energy sector and with the government, but I haven't heard anything on those yet.

Anything in business finance, tell them that you don't mind selling variable annuities to your friends and family

 

[Steve-o]

Be prepared for the stock questions.

"So, tell me about yourself..."

"What's your biggest weakness..."

etc... These questions sound (and are) really dumb, but you can really really bomb them, pretty easily.

Interviewers usually ask if you have any questions for them, and I always ask them what they like about working there. Sometimes, they really struggle to come up with an answer, and it's a good sign that you probably don't wanna work there.

 

[BradyLady12]

How can I do that while at the same time making myself stand out from everyone else? I feel like everyone is going to have a similar answer for that.

Wear a loud tropical print shirt, suspenders, a big polka-dot bow tie and pants that are too short. That'll make you stand out. I work in advertising so I know what works.

 

[imapig]

If you have CEO aspirations show up with a huge strap-on...

 

[TITAN126]

Be prepared for the stock questions.

"So, tell me about yourself..."

"What's your biggest weakness..."

etc... These questions sound (and are) really dumb, but you can really really bomb them, pretty easily.

Interviewers usually ask if you have any questions for them, and I always ask them what they like about working there. Sometimes, they really struggle to come up with an answer, and it's a good sign that you probably don't wanna work there.

Thanks Steve-o, I'll make sure to have something prepared for those questions. That's also a great question to ask the interviewer.

 

[TITAN126]

If you have CEO aspirations show up with a huge strap-on...

How about this?

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[3 Point Stan]

Linkedin is great.

Also, clean up your Myspace, Twitter & Facebook if you have any of them. Definitely tighten security as well.

Have some basic knowledge of the "industry" for which your company conducts business (I weight this over even basic knowledge of the company itself) and ask questions related to it. The one thing I expect from everyone who walks in the door is to learn our business.