• Profile the Company
• Research the Company
• What Do You Need To Know?
• Where Do I Find The Information About Companies?
• Develop Career Goals
• Write Down Answers/Scenarios
• Write Down Your Strengths
• Write Down Your Areas for Improvement
• Write Out Questions for the Interviewer
• Frequently Asked Interview Questions

Profile the Company

• Research the company thoroughly
• Where do you fit in?
• Tailor your skills to company’s needs
• Information you uncover reflects your interest and enthusiasm in position
• Establishes a common base of knowledge for questions

Research the Company

• Know the language of the industry
• Know the job duties
• Know the company
• Ask questions of a similar company

What Do You Need To Know?

• Age of company
• Services or products
• Competitors within the industry
• Growth pattern
• Reputation
• Divisions and subsidiaries
• Locations/length of time there
• Size
• Number of employees
• Sales/assets/earnings
• New products or projects
• Culture and values

Where Do I Find The Information About Companies?

• Internet
• Chamber of Commerce
• Trade Associations
• Alumni in the companies

Develop Career Goals

• Have a focus--at least act like it, even if you don’t have a clue
• Identify challenges you are looking for
• Know what you want to accomplish
• Have a plan or agenda

Write Down Answers/Scenarios

• Draft written answers to potential interview questions
• Develop job appropriate scenarios based on your research
  – A marketing plan for a new product
  – A solution to one of their problems

Write Down Your Strengths

• Relate them to the job
• Give examples of where you have demonstrated these
• How were they developed
• Identify your mentors and/or role models

Write Down Your Areas for Improvement

• Relate these to your work
• Show the positive side of these
• Identify the steps you have taken for improvement
• Detail the results and/or time frames expected
• Identify criticism you have received and its effects

Write Out Questions for the Interviewer

• Consider multiple areas
  – Corporate values
  – Anticipated responsibilities
  – Employment trends
  – Measures of work performance
  – Work environment
  – Quality of work
  – Personality factors
• Demonstrate your knowledge of the industry and company

Frequently Asked Interview Questions

• Tell me about yourself?
• Why are you interested in our organization?
• What goals have you set for yourself and How do you plan to achieve it same.
• Tell me how do you perceive your strengths and weaknesses?
• How do you evaluate yourself?
• What work experience has been most valuable to you and why?
• What has been your greatest challenge?
• What was to most useful criticism you received and who was it from?
• Give me an example of a problem you solved and the process you used?
• Give example of your team player activities?
• How to you motivate people?
• Tell me about a difficult situation that you face and how did you deal with it?
• What interests or concerns you about the position or the company?
• What Two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction?
• What characteristics do you think are important for this position?
• What are your expectations from your future employer?
• Why should we hire you?

Acknowledge Your Nervousness

• Train your butterflies to fly in formation
• Advance preparation reduces nervousness
• Practice answering the worst possible question they could ask
  o Ask permission to take notes or refer to questions if necessary
  o Relax--take a few deep breaths

Appearance Matters. . .A Lot!

• If you don’t dress seriously, they can’t take you seriously!!
• Make a good first impression
• Pride in yourself implies pride in your work
• Show your creativity in your work, not your appearance
• Dress conservatively
• Be well groomed and clean

Don’t Forget the Details

• Nicely styled hair
• Natural, clean looking face/makeup
• Clean your fingernails
• Skip the clunky jewelry
• Press your clothes
• Avoid strong perfumes or colognes

Professional Image for Women

• Best choices
  – Navy or black suit, solid blouse
  – Suit in solid colors, printed blouse
  – Straight dress with jacket, solid colors
• Wear polished, low heeled shoes
• Minimal accessories
• Hosiery - appropriate color, no holes, no darker than your hem
• Don’t wear anything too tight or revealing

Professional Image for Men

• Best choices
  – Business suit, dark colors (blues, grays, browns), white shirt
  – Suit with solid shirt
  – 2-piece suit, lighter colors, striped shirt
• Button your jacket when you stand
• Shine your shoes
• Socks-appropriate color, no holes, long length
• Avoid cigarettes

Attitude

• It separates winners from losers
• Be enthusiastic and eager
• Practice good eye contact
• Smile
• Walk with confidence
• Sit up straight (listen to your mother!)
• Adapt to your surroundings

Employers Notice Good Manners

• Be on time for the interview
• Treat the receptionist with respect
• Use Mr. or Ms. unless they ask you to use first names
• Don’t sit until you’re invited to

Practice Your “Soft Skills”

• Greet people with a firm handshake
• Stand up to meet people
• Keep your guard up during lunch or dinner
• Practice your dining etiquette
• Remember “please” and “thank you”
• Be good at chatting and small talk

What to Bring to an Interview

• Several copies of your resume
• Your portfolio, if applicable
• New notebook and a nice pen
• Briefcase or leather folder
• Names, addresses, and phone numbers of references

Put Yourself in the Interviewer’s Shoes

• They have an agenda
  – To determine if you have the skills
  – Identify your personal attributes
  – Assess your motivation

Interviewers Are Looking to Hire You

• Help them by
  – Showing how you fit their company
  – Exhibit your personality
  – Share your career goals

Be HONEST

• DO NOT lie on your resume
• DO NOT lie in the interview
• Either of these can get you eliminated from consideration or FIRED if discovered after hiring

What Do Winners Show

• They are capable of doing the job or learning it quickly
• They are willing and eager to do the job
• They need little motivation or supervision
• They are friendly and would work well with other employees

Use Proper Language

• Speak clearly and distinctly
• Avoid slang expressions
• Don’t swear
• Control your
  – “ums”
  – “you knows”
  – “likes”
  – “that kinda stuff”

Tell Me About Yourself

Create a 60-second sound byte
Include
• Geographic origins
• Reason for choosing major
• Educational background
• 2 or 3 strengths related to position
• Specific expertise and accomplishments
• How you can contribute to company
• Identify your career goals
• Speak clearly and honestly
  
  Behavior Based Interviewing
• Previous behavior predicts future behavior
• Examples show the meaning you have made of education and experience
• Provides insight on how the candidate’s mind works

Answer Questions with a STAR Approach

• S ituation
• T ask
• A ction
• R esults
  
  Situation
• Give the situation for your answer
• Choose a professional example from your job experience, course work, volunteer work, or student activities
• Set the stage so the interviewer can relate to your answer
  
  Task
• Tell what the task was at hand
• Dwell on the positive, don’t blame or point fingers elsewhere
  
  Action
• Describe the action you took to resolve the problem or bring about the success
• Explain your role in the action
• Identify specific skills you used
  Results
• Explain the results
• Provide details, dollar amounts, success
• Apply these results to the position for which you’re applying
  STAR Provides an Outline
• Helps you answer completely so you give enough information
• Lets you know when to stop so you don’t ramble
• Allows the interviewer to see you as a problem solver and decision maker

Do’s

• Research the company
• Prepare for tough questions
• Greet interviewer enthusiastically
• Focus on what you have to offer, not what you want
• Know your rights as an interviewee
• Have a good attitude, be positive
• Show confidence
• Be professional
• Follow up with a note or phone call

Dont’s

• Don’t discuss salary, benefits, or vacations until an offer is made
• Don’t display personal habits, i.e. smoking, chewing gum, tapping a pencil, stretching, jiggling a foot
• Don’t lie
• Don’t get too chatty about non-job topics
• Don’t blame others or disparage employers

Listen Carefully

• It’s important to understand the questions correctly
• Ask for clarification
• Don’t be afraid to ask if you can take a few seconds to think about your answer

Telephone Interviews

• Dress up and use a professional environment to maintain your professionalism
• Have your notes organized, highlighted, and within easy access
• Without non-verbal communication, be aware that it is difficult to “read” the interviewer
• Make sure your voice conveys enthusiasm
• If more than one person on the other end, have them identify themselves when asking their questions

Panel Interviews

• Get names and positions for all participants in advance if possible
• Address all with good eye contact
• Relate your answers to others that were similar from other participants
• Shows your ability to relate to diverse groups

Day Long Interviews

• Keep your energy up
• Continue to give complete answers to all questions even though you’ve been asked multiple times that day
• Listen for consistencies and discrepancies to assess company culture

Details Needed for Follow-up

• Write down the interviewer’s name, department, address, and phone in the notebook
• Ask for their business card
• Use interviewer’s name

Follow-up the Interview

• Send a short thank you note within 24 hours
• Remind them of key points from the interview
• Emphasize your interest
• State when you expect the next contact to be

Evaluate/Retrain

• How did you do overall?
• What were your strengths?
• What needs improvement?
• Develop a follow-up chart for tracking