PingSpike
Lifer
You gotta nail those interviews. Like some one else said, if they're calling you in for interviews then your resume or lack of experience can't be that terrible. It may be hurting you and need some buffing out, but the fact that they let you in the building means you had a chance. Yes, some places have moron hiring departments that waste their and your time or describe the job completely wrong, but you can't do anything about that.
I don't know if this will work for you, but I was in the same kind of interview slump when I was trying to break out of my mediocre first job after college.
I'm not the quickest at giving good answers to questions in an interview. So what I do is I study my resume and the company before I go in. You have to have some knowledge about their company and what they do, it makes you look interested and indicates that you are taking this seriously. If you study your resume and the job description, you can see any short comings that they will ask you about coming, and try to prepare a good response. Look at the job description, and find situations that you have worked in before that apply to the bullet points. Prepare a short antecdote from your past experience for at least the most important ones. They don't have to be perfect fits, just have to be something. Write this shit on index cards and go over them. You don't have to memorize them, just remember the basic concept you're trying to get across. The goal is to have a good answer that makes you look like a good fit for the position ready before the question is asked. This greatly reduces my mumbling and "I don't knows"....those are brutal so avoid them! Right before the interview, run through them real quick so the answers are ready to go.
There are tons of other stupid details that of course should be done, thats all in those normal interview guides. Brush your teeth, dress right, take a shower, that stuff. I try to mention all the people I met with during the interview in the thank you note and if I can, a common topic we discussed. It looks a little "trying to hard" but I think it helps cement your impression or at least get them to remember you. I figure if you do good on the interview, you want everyone to at least remember your face instead of confusing you with some other slub that sucked it up big time.
During the "showing you around" part that always occurs, ask questions and if they haven't already been used...deploy your antecdotes whenever they seem to apply, but try to work it into the more casual part of the conversation during this phase. You can look at the campus closely after you're hired, for now...NEVER STOP SELLING!
The hardest part is adapting to the interviewers style, on the fly...you never really know what kind of person they are until you show up. If they're talkative you can come of as rude and a blabber mouth when you're trying to sell yourself. And its easy to do if you're nervous, its kind of a balancing act. I have more of a reactive passive style naturally, which I had kind of been working to overcome but still works ok with most interviews. I blew one interview though because the guy just sat me at a table (after making me take a test) and kind of expected me to do all the talking. Live and learn!
I don't know if this will work for you, but I was in the same kind of interview slump when I was trying to break out of my mediocre first job after college.
I'm not the quickest at giving good answers to questions in an interview. So what I do is I study my resume and the company before I go in. You have to have some knowledge about their company and what they do, it makes you look interested and indicates that you are taking this seriously. If you study your resume and the job description, you can see any short comings that they will ask you about coming, and try to prepare a good response. Look at the job description, and find situations that you have worked in before that apply to the bullet points. Prepare a short antecdote from your past experience for at least the most important ones. They don't have to be perfect fits, just have to be something. Write this shit on index cards and go over them. You don't have to memorize them, just remember the basic concept you're trying to get across. The goal is to have a good answer that makes you look like a good fit for the position ready before the question is asked. This greatly reduces my mumbling and "I don't knows"....those are brutal so avoid them! Right before the interview, run through them real quick so the answers are ready to go.
There are tons of other stupid details that of course should be done, thats all in those normal interview guides. Brush your teeth, dress right, take a shower, that stuff. I try to mention all the people I met with during the interview in the thank you note and if I can, a common topic we discussed. It looks a little "trying to hard" but I think it helps cement your impression or at least get them to remember you. I figure if you do good on the interview, you want everyone to at least remember your face instead of confusing you with some other slub that sucked it up big time.
During the "showing you around" part that always occurs, ask questions and if they haven't already been used...deploy your antecdotes whenever they seem to apply, but try to work it into the more casual part of the conversation during this phase. You can look at the campus closely after you're hired, for now...NEVER STOP SELLING!
The hardest part is adapting to the interviewers style, on the fly...you never really know what kind of person they are until you show up. If they're talkative you can come of as rude and a blabber mouth when you're trying to sell yourself. And its easy to do if you're nervous, its kind of a balancing act. I have more of a reactive passive style naturally, which I had kind of been working to overcome but still works ok with most interviews. I blew one interview though because the guy just sat me at a table (after making me take a test) and kind of expected me to do all the talking. Live and learn!
