big interview today...UPDATED

[rudeguy]

Originally posted by: RIGorous1
make sure that resume is spelled correctly

tomorow has two r's... use spellchecker

lol...yeah...everything is all spell checked. I dont know why I always type tomorrow without the second r...I know how its spelled....must just be laziness

 

[Josephus]

Here are some interview tips, advice... I've been to many interviews and recieved this advice early in my career. Ask these three questions. If you do nothing else you will be remembered. When interviewing others, I often am impressed by intelligetn questions.


1. Early in the interview.... "What will my three top priorities be in this positin?"

2. Around the middle some time... "How long do you feel it will take me to be effective in this position."

3. Near the end... "Is there any reason you feel I will not be successful in this job?"

Show up ten minutes early. Bring your own writing instruments. Yes, bring a copy of your resume...

Good luck!!!

 

[rudeguy]

Originally posted by: Josephus
Here are some interview tips, advice... I've been to many interviews and recieved this advice early in my career. Ask these three questions. If you do nothing else you will be remembered. When interviewing others, I often am impressed by intelligetn questions.


1. Early in the interview.... "What will my three top priorities be in this positin?"

2. Around the middle some time... "How long do you feel it will take me to be effective in this position."

3. Near the end... "Is there any reason you feel I will not be successful in this job?"

Show up ten minutes early. Bring your own writing instruments. Yes, bring a copy of your resume...

Good luck!!!

thanks, and I already planned to ask the first two question. The last one is a nice touch though.


Anyone have any thoughts on the shoes/pants deal?

 

[DT4K]

I'd suggest brown shoes.
I think black shoes with light pants might look a little too unmatched.
But I guess as long as they aren't shiny and aren't too dressy, it might look ok.

 

[DT4K]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: GoodDad
ok, thanks for the serious replies. I will wear a shirt and tie, not a full suit, and bring a few copies of my resume.

a full suit wouldnt hurt. You can NEVER over-dress for a interview.

How about a tux?

 

[alm99]

Originally posted by: GoodDad

thanks, and I already planned to ask the first two question. The last one is a nice touch though.


Anyone have any thoughts on the shoes/pants deal?

What color is your belt? Match your belt color with your shoes. Just don't wear a brown shoes with black pants.

Remember to send a than you letter the same say so its there within a day or so.

 

[cchen]

Pretty much don't wear anything that will draw attention to yourself, so please please match your clothing.A suit wouldn't hurt. Basically, you don't want the interviewer to be looking at your clothes and thinking WTF?; you want all their attention to be on you and what you're saying.

 

[ojai00]

If you still didn't have your interview yet, remember to shave and fix up your hair. I'll suggest wearing a suit over just going with a shirt and tie. Good luck!

 

[TekChik]

OK...i'm not trying to hijack your thread, honest...but it IS kind of on the topic.

when in a phone or in-person interview and you're currently AT a job already, they always ask me why i want to leave my current place of employement and i never know what to say.

ideas?

EDIT: good luck on your interview if you havent already had it!

 

[Ilmater]

I wish I had seen this earlier. Here are the pointers that will guarantee you a good impression:

- Bring your resume!!!! Even if it's interview 3 or 4, he may forget his or something. It just always looks good to bring one, and it SURELY can't hurt.
- Bring a list of references (two is enough, but three or four aren't bad to have either)
- Wear a nice suit, and if you don't know how to tie a tie correctly, go here and learn how
- Get ready for common questions:
___ - What is your greatest strength in your opinion?
___ - What is your greatest weakness in your opinion?
___ - Where have you shown leadership in your life?
- BE HONEST!!! I can't stress this one enough. Especially in your "greatest weakness" answer. Having a weakness is common. Everyone has one. Being self-aware is VERY important to a recruiter, so tell him what it is and tell him how you try to mitigate it.
- GIVE EXAMPLES!!! Look at those common questions and have examples ready of times you've displayed those strengths or shown leadership. If you can't come up with any examples... THEN COME UP WITH EXAMPLES (sorry, there's no work-around)!!!!
- Lots of eye contact is important. When you look away, you seem nervous or like you're trying to make stuff up, both of which are characteristics of a bad candidate.
- Be confident. If you can convince yourself that they SHOULD hire you and that you WOULD be a good asset to the company, then you will be able to portray this in the meeting more effortlessly.
- Be courteous. If it's a woman, always open doors for her and such. It shows class, and no matter what recruiters say, they all appreciate it.
- Be early. Not on time, and certainly not late, but early. It shows eagerness and preparedness, both great qualities.
- Be happy. Just being a good person to be around is a plus for any company. Joke a little, smile a lot, and just be glad you're there. Interviewers LOVE this.
- Have questions. They're not looking for robots. Ask questions about the company or about your job in particular. I bring a binder with AT LEAST 5 questions written down to ask the recruiter after he/she's done. You don't have to ask them all, and if he/she seems eager to leave the room or get somewhere, don't force the issue, but usually they've got time. The more questions the better, so it can't hurt to have more than 5 if you've got time. It's OK to ask about pay during the first interview, but don't expet and answer and be very understanding if they say they can't discuss that yet. Get a reasonable expectation of salary in your head and then up it just a tad for when they ask you about salary. You can say that you're willing to negotiate, but setting a high target (not unreasonably high, mind you) shows your confidence in your work.
- IMMEDIATELY send a thank you letter. It helps you stand out above all the other candidates, and it's just generally a good thing to do. My roommate sends his priority so that it gets there soon.

I think that covers everything, but I think the most important thing is just to be truly confident. The rest of it kind of falls into place if you're confident.

GOOD LUCK! HOPE THIS HELPS!

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: TekChik
OK...i'm not trying to hijack your thread, honest...but it IS kind of on the topic.

when in a phone or in-person interview and you're currently AT a job already, they always ask me why i want to leave my current place of employement and i never know what to say.

ideas?

EDIT: good luck on your interview if you havent already had it!

This depends on your reasoning. You should generally be honest, but you can always just say you're looking for a change (unless you've been at your current job less than a year or two).

What's your reason?

 

[nageov3t]

about the shoes/pants deal...

I'd recomend black shoes, no matter what type of pants you wear.

either way, your shoes should always be darker than your pants (at least as far as work outfits go). that's a helpful way of figuring out which shoes are appropriate

 

[StageLeft]

Goodluck!

 

[TekChik]

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: TekChik
OK...i'm not trying to hijack your thread, honest...but it IS kind of on the topic.

when in a phone or in-person interview and you're currently AT a job already, they always ask me why i want to leave my current place of employement and i never know what to say.

ideas?

EDIT: good luck on your interview if you havent already had it!

This depends on your reasoning. You should generally be honest, but you can always just say you're looking for a change (unless you've been at your current job less than a year or two).

What's your reason?

Part of my reason is that, even though I like this company and most of the people here, my direct manager is very difficult to work for. I've been here for a year and a half and i don't feel like i'm part of our 4-person team. Of course I'm the only female network admin, but still...at first i asked a lot of questions and tried to get involved, but i've kind of given up. Also, they told me that the position had the strong possibility of growing into a team leader/IT manager position (which is what i WANTED), but after seeing the way it REALLY is, i'm pretty sure that's not going to happen. minor things include distance of commute and pay (i could be making a lot more for being in this field 7 years...)

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: TekChik

Originally posted by: Ilmater

Originally posted by: TekChik
OK...i'm not trying to hijack your thread, honest...but it IS kind of on the topic.

when in a phone or in-person interview and you're currently AT a job already, they always ask me why i want to leave my current place of employement and i never know what to say.

ideas?

EDIT: good luck on your interview if you havent already had it!

This depends on your reasoning. You should generally be honest, but you can always just say you're looking for a change (unless you've been at your current job less than a year or two).

What's your reason?

Part of my reason is that, even though I like this company and most of the people here, my direct manager is very difficult to work for. I've been here for a year and a half and i don't feel like i'm part of our 4-person team. Of course I'm the only female network admin, but still...at first i asked a lot of questions and tried to get involved, but i've kind of given up. Also, they told me that the position had the strong possibility of growing into a team leader/IT manager position (which is what i WANTED), but after seeing the way it REALLY is, i'm pretty sure that's not going to happen. minor things include distance of commute and pay (i could be making a lot more for being in this field 7 years...)

Then this is easy: Say you don't feel that you're a member of your team, you're not getting what you were promised (promotion-wise) or what you're worth (salary), and you don't like the commute. That description is just fine, so you can feel free to elaborate to the employer.

 

[Ness]

Originally posted by: loki8481
about the shoes/pants deal...

I'd recomend black shoes, no matter what type of pants you wear.

either way, your shoes should always be darker than your pants (at least as far as work outfits go). that's a helpful way of figuring out which shoes are appropriate

Yupppp.

You should try and get your shoes and belt to match. You'll look better that way. So as long as the black belt looks good, the shoes should look okay, too.

 

[nageov3t]

Then this is easy: Say you don't feel that you're a member of your team, you're not getting what you were promised (promotion-wise) or what you're worth (salary), and you don't like the commute. That description is just fine, so you can feel free to elaborate to the employer.

rather than saying that you don't feel like your part of a team, say that you're looking for a more team-oriented workplace. take the focus off of what you're leaving and onto what you're looking for.

 

[CPA]

Make sure you also ask questions related the company and it's business. If you haven't already done so, research the company's history and try to parlay some questions off of it. You want to show that you are interested in the company as well as the position you are interviewing for. It's also always a good thing to ask some questions about the interviewer as it relates to their view of the company.

 

[rudeguy]

Originally posted by: Ilmater
I wish I had seen this earlier. Here are the pointers that will guarantee you a good impression:

- Bring your resume!!!! Even if it's interview 3 or 4, he may forget his or something. It just always looks good to bring one, and it SURELY can't hurt.
- Bring a list of references (two is enough, but three or four aren't bad to have either)
- Wear a nice suit, and if you don't know how to tie a tie correctly, go here and learn how
- Get ready for common questions:
___ - What is your greatest strength in your opinion?
___ - What is your greatest weakness in your opinion?
___ - Where have you shown leadership in your life?
- BE HONEST!!! I can't stress this one enough. Especially in your "greatest weakness" answer. Having a weakness is common. Everyone has one. Being self-aware is VERY important to a recruiter, so tell him what it is and tell him how you try to mitigate it.
- GIVE EXAMPLES!!! Look at those common questions and have examples ready of times you've displayed those strengths or shown leadership. If you can't come up with any examples... THEN COME UP WITH EXAMPLES (sorry, there's no work-around)!!!!
- Lots of eye contact is important. When you look away, you seem nervous or like you're trying to make stuff up, both of which are characteristics of a bad candidate.
- Be confident. If you can convince yourself that they SHOULD hire you and that you WOULD be a good asset to the company, then you will be able to portray this in the meeting more effortlessly.
- Be courteous. If it's a woman, always open doors for her and such. It shows class, and no matter what recruiters say, they all appreciate it.
- Be early. Not on time, and certainly not late, but early. It shows eagerness and preparedness, both great qualities.
- Be happy. Just being a good person to be around is a plus for any company. Joke a little, smile a lot, and just be glad you're there. Interviewers LOVE this.
- Have questions. They're not looking for robots. Ask questions about the company or about your job in particular. I bring a binder with AT LEAST 5 questions written down to ask the recruiter after he/she's done. You don't have to ask them all, and if he/she seems eager to leave the room or get somewhere, don't force the issue, but usually they've got time. The more questions the better, so it can't hurt to have more than 5 if you've got time. It's OK to ask about pay during the first interview, but don't expet and answer and be very understanding if they say they can't discuss that yet. Get a reasonable expectation of salary in your head and then up it just a tad for when they ask you about salary. You can say that you're willing to negotiate, but setting a high target (not unreasonably high, mind you) shows your confidence in your work.
- IMMEDIATELY send a thank you letter. It helps you stand out above all the other candidates, and it's just generally a good thing to do. My roommate sends his priority so that it gets there soon.

I think that covers everything, but I think the most important thing is just to be truly confident. The rest of it kind of falls into place if you're confident.

GOOD LUCK! HOPE THIS HELPS!

wow...thanks for the very well thought out post, too late I had already had my interview before you posted it

I pretty much did everything you said though, except for the thank you letter. They seem to call me back before I have time to send one out!

 

[rudeguy]

ttt