Recruiting students and companies since 2003

Interviewing in the 21st Century

All the phoning required in 21st-century interviews places a special emphasis on phone skills.

If you speak to a secretary, be nice to him or her. Find out the person’s name on your first call and use it on subsequent calls. “Thank you for being so patient. Can you tell me when a better time might be to try to get Mr. or Ms. X? I’ll try again on [date].” Sometimes, if you call after 5 PM, executives answer their own phones since clerical staff has gone home.
If you get someone’s voicemail, leave a concise message – complete whit your name and phone number. Even if you’ve called 10 times, keep your voice pleasant.
If you get voice mail repeatedly, call the main company number to speak with a receptionist. Ask whether the person you’re trying to reach is in the building. If he or she is on the road, ask when the person is due in.

Developing an Interview Strategy

Develop an overall strategy based on your answers to these three questions:

1. What about yourself do you want the interviewer to know?

Pick two to five points that represent your strengths for that particular job. The facts may be achievement, character traits (such ad enthusiasm), experiences that qualify you for the job and separate you from other applicants, the fact that you really want to work for this company, and so on. For each strength, think of a specific action or accomplishment to support it. For example, be ready to give an example to prove that you’re hardworking. Be ready to show how you helped an organization save money or serve customers better.
Then at the interview, listen to every question to see if you could make one of your key points, bring them up at the end of the interview.

2. What disadvantages or weaknesses do you need to minimize?

Expect that you may be asked to explain weaknesses or apparent weaknesses in your record: age, sex, physical disabilities, lack of experience, so-so grades, and gaps in your record. Plan how to deal with these issues if the arise.

3. What do you need to know about the job and the organization to decide whether or not you want to accept this job if it’s offered to you?

Plan in advance the criteria on which you will base your decision (you can always change the criteria).

Parts of the interview

Every interview has an opening, and a close.

In the opening (two to five minutes), good interviewers will try to set you at ease. Some interviewers will open with easy questions about your major or interests. Others open by telling you about the job or the company. If this happens, listen so you can answer questions later to show that you can do the job or contribute to the company that’s being described.
The body of the interview (10 to 25 minutes) is an all-too-brief time for you to highlight your qualifications and find out what you need to know to decide if you want to accept a plant trip. Expect questions that give you an opportunity to showcase your strong points and questions that probe any weaknesses evident from résumé. (You were neither in school nor working last fall. What were you doing?) Normally the interviewer will also try to sell you on points and questions: “we haven’t covered it yet, but I want you to know that I.. .” “I’m aware it’s almost 10:30. I do have some more questions that I’d like to ask about the company.”
In the close of the interview (two to five minutes), the interviewer will usually tell you what happens next: “We’ll be bringing our top candidates to the office in February. You should hear from us in three weeks.” One interviewer reports that he gives applicants his card and tells them to call him.” It’s a test to see if they are committed, how long it takes for them to call, and whether they even call at all.”
Close with an assertive statement. Depending on the circumstances, you could say: “I’ve certainly enjoyed learning more about General Electric.” “I hope I get a chance to visit your Phoenix office. I’d really like to see the new computer system you talked about.” “This job seems to be a good match between what you’re looking for and what I’d like to do.”

Answering Traditional Interview Questions

First interviews seek to screen out less qualified candidates rather than to find someone to hire. Negative information will hurt you less if it comes out in the middle of the interview and is preceded and followed by positive information. If you blow a question near the end of the interview, don’t leave until you’ve said something positive – perhaps restating one of the points you want the interviewer to know about you.
Successful applicants use different communication behaviours than do unsuccessful applicants. Successful applicants are more likely to use the company name during the interview, support their claims with specific details, and ask specific questions about the company and the industry. In addition to practicing the content of question, try to incorporate the tactics.
The following questions frequently come up at interviews. Do some unpressured thinking before the interview so that you’ll be able to come up with answers that are responsive, honest, and paint a good picture of you. Choose answers that fit your qualifications and your interview strategy.

1. Tell me about yourself.
   Don’t launch into an autobiography. Instead, state the things about yourself that you want the interviewer to know. Give specifics to prove each of your strengths.
2. What makes you think you’re qualified to work for this company? Or, I’m interviewing 120 people for two jobs. Why should I hire you?
   This question may feel like an attack. Use it as an opportunity to state your strong points: your qualifications for the job, the things that separate you from other applicants.
3. What two or three accomplishments have given you the greatest satisfaction?
   Pick accomplishments that you’re proud of, that create the image you want to project, and that enable you to share one of the things you want the interviewer to know about you. Focus not just on the end result, but on the problem-solving and thinking skills that made the achievement possible.
4. Why do you want to work for us? What is your ideal job?
   Even if you’re interviewing just for practise, make sure you have a good answer – preferably two or three reasons you’d like to work for that company. If you don’t seem to be taking the interview seriously, the interviewer won’t take you seriously, and you won’t even get good practise.
   If your ideal job is very different from ones the company has available, the interviewer may simply say there isn’t a good match and end the interview. If you’re interested in this company, do some research so that what you ask for is in the general ballpark of the kind of work the company offers.
5. What college subjects did you like best and least? Why?
   This question may be an icebreaker; it may be designed to discover the kind of applicant they’re looking for. If your favourite class was something outside your major, prepare an answer that shows that you have qualities that can help you in the job you’re applying for: “My favourite class was a seminar in the American novel. We got a chance to think on our own, rather than just regurgitate facts; we made presentations to the class every week. I found I really like sharing my ideas with other people and presenting reasons for my conclusions about something.”
6. What is your class rank? Your grade point? Why are your grades so low?
   If your grades aren’t great, be ready with a nondefensive explanation. If possible, show that the cause of low grades now has been solved or isn’t relevant tot the job you’re applying for: “When I started, I didn’t have any firm goals. Once I discovered the field that was right for me, my grades have all been B’s or better.” ”I’m not good at multiple-choice tests. But you need someone who can work with people, not someone who can take tests.”
7. What have you read recently? What movies have you seen recently?
   The questions may be icebreakers; they may be designed to probe your intellectual depth. The term you’re interviewing, read al least one book or magazine (regularly) and see at least one movie that you could discuss at an interview.
8. Show me some samples of your writing.
   Many jobs require the ability to write well. Employers no longer take mastery of basic English for granted, even if the applicant had a degree from a prestigious university.
   The year you’re interviewing, go through your old papers and select the best ones, retyping them if necessary, so that you’ll have samples if you’re asked for them. If you don’t have samples at the interview, mail them to the interviewer immediately after the interview.
9. Where do you see yourself in five years?
   Employers ask this questions to find out if you are a self-starter or if you passively respond to what happens. You may want to have several scenarios for five years from now to use in different kinds of interviews. Or you may want to say, “Well, my goals may change as opportunities arise. But right now, I want to … .”
10. What are your interests outside work? What campus or community activities have you been involved in?
    While it’s desirable to be well-rounded, naming 10 interests is a mistake: the interviewer may wonder when you’ll have time to work.
    If you mention your fiancé, spouse, or children in response to this question (“Well, my fiancé and I like to go sailing”), it is perfectly legal for the interviewer to ask follow-up questions (“What would you do if your spouse got a job offer in another town?”), even though the same question would be illegal if the interviewer brought up the subject first.
11. What have you done to learn about this company?
    An employer may ask this to see what you already know about the company (if you’ve read the recruiting literature, the interviewer doesn’t need to repeat it). This question may also be used to see how active a role you’re taking in the job search process and how interested you are in this job.
12. What adjectives would you use to describe yourself?
    Use only positive ones. Be ready to illustrate each with a specific example of something you’ve done.
13. What is your greatest strength?
    Employers ask this question to give you a chance to sell yourself and to learn something about your values. Pick a strength related to work, school, or activities: “I’m good at working with people.” “I learn quickly.” “I’m reliable. When I say I’ll do something, I do it.” Be ready to illustrate each with a specific example of something you’ve done.
14. What is your greatest weakness?
    Use a work-related negative, even if something in your personal life really is your greatest weakness. Interviewers won’t let you get away with a “weakness” like being a workaholic or just not having any experience yet. Instead, use one of the following three strategies:
    a. Discuss a weakness that is not related to the job you’re being consider for and will not be needed when you’re promoted. (Even if you won’t work with people or give speeches in your first job, you’ll need those skills later in your career, so don’t use them for this question.) End your answer with a positive that is related to the job.
    b. Discuss a weakness that you are working to improve.
    c. Discuss a work-related weakness.