Posts Tagged ‘Interview Prep’

How To Impress During Small Business Interviews

Posted by • February 13th, 2012 • Leave a comment

Love is in the air at small companies. No, we’re not just talking about the chocolate and gift shops that are swamped with last-minute Valentine’s Day shoppers. We’re talking about all the small businesses where the co-owners co-habitate. They’re the real mom and pops of American business. Almost half of small businesses that are members of the National Federation of Independent Businesses have a second family member involved, whether they’re married or fathers and daughters and sisters. Small business, those with fewer than 50 workers, account for half – and sometimes more – of total hiring most months, according to the ADP National Employment Report. They represent 43 percent of total U.S. payrolls, the Small Business Administration reports, using 500 workers as its cutoff for small.

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How To Really Impress During A Job Interview

Posted by • January 26th, 2012 • 2 Comments

Next to a root canal appointment, few things in life are as nerve inducing as the job interview. In this day and age, the face-to-face interview is typically the first time a prospective employee will speak to an actual person. This “actual” person literally has your career in the palm of their hand. They will determine, based on this portion of the hiring process, whether or not the process will continue or come to a screeching halt. Wow! No wonder you’re nervous. Right? Below are a few ideas that will go a long way toward taking some of the pressure off of you and making the most of your time with the interviewer.

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5 Tips To Nail A Job Interview With A Tough Recruiter

Posted by • September 20th, 2011 • 4 Comments

That elusive job or internship is almost yours. You just got off the phone after nailing the phone interview. You have a follow-up, in-person interview scheduled for next week. Your confidence is sky high. You’re going to get hired! Not so fast! The phone interview was with a fellow Gen Y. It was a friendly, relatively light conversation as the two of you had great chemistry and a lot in common.
Next week’s interview is going to be different. It’s with an old school hiring manager. A veteran. A Baby Boomer. (Add dramatic music, here). The mere thought significantly diminishes your hopes. Why? Many of these hiring managers are more experienced people… often Boomers. Interviews with older recruiters are often much tougher. And the hiring manager’s job is to hire the best person for the job, period. Follow our top 5 tips, and you’ll interview prepared and with confidence – ready to impress the toughest recruiters.

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3 Don’ts Before A Big Interview

Posted by • September 9th, 2011 • 9 Comments

We have all read reports on the political prisoner who fasts to protest something – no food, just water – a hunger strike just to make a point. There are some of you who fast to cleanse your system and some who fast or deny yourselves certain niceties for Lent. The fast or denial of ‘things’ causes one to focus on priorities, to improve, prepare and to get closer to ourselves or our maker. Call me crazy, but can we use the same approach to preparing for an important interview? I believe we can and offer the following three ‘fasts’ to consider.

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Was Your Interview A Joke?

Posted by • April 28th, 2011 • 27 Comments

Perhaps this experience sounds familiar: you left a job interview feeling confused, ragged, disappointed or angry? You fear that not quelling those emotions will douse yet another job opportunity fire. Many times, job seekers are so focused on securing their next gig they allow a company free rein to treat them as a liability versus an asset.

By reframing the interview assessment process, you can empower yourself, recouping your positive energy and regaining job search muscle. Though your instincts to hit the interview ball out of the park are solid, you do have options when you have reached home base and the company offers you the coveted job.

Following are some questions to ask yourself when evaluating a company’s preparedness to bring on new talent, and thus, to help you determine if THEY are a right fit

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Researching The Job Interviewer

Posted by • August 16th, 2010 • 3 Comments

The big interview looms. Three days from now you’re going to walk in and meet the woman – who if all goes well – could be your next boss.

While you hopefully know that you need to research the organization before an interview, take time to learn all you can about her, the interviewer. That includes family, social activities, community and charity involvements and of course, professional credentials. If you’re serious about this job, allow two or three hours to delve into the hiring manager’s background, interests and approach to leading. Here’s how to do the research:

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Seven Essential Things To Know Before You Interview

Posted by • February 18th, 2010 • Leave a comment

Preparation and research are the keys to effective interviewing. For each interview you schedule, be prepared to do about 90 minutes of online research. Having a firm grasp of the terrain creates a competitive advantage and gives you the ability to steer the conversation.

Here are the seven things you need to know before you interview and how to find them out. In a very interesting way, this mimics the process that the company will be using to try to understand you. If you actually spend 90 minutes looking into the interviewer, you’ll know more about her than she knows about you.

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Interview Fright…How To Beat It!

Posted by • January 12th, 2010 • Leave a comment

Last week I was sitting at a Peet’s Coffee with a college senior who is graduating next May from my Alma Mater, Purdue, and she sheepishly asked me, “How do I make sure that I am really, really good in a job interview?”  I thought about it for a moment and then went into coaching her on how to be best prepared, etc.  But as I thought about it later, I should have seen it in the blush of her face and the timidity of how she asked the question, what she was really asking is how to get over what we all feel as we sit in an interview; stage fright or what I call interview fright!  It’s real, it’s part of being human and we all get it, so let’s talk about a few ways to overcome it, or at least make it better so that the fright and nervousness doesn’t impede the strong impression we are trying to make:

Know your lines! Every stage director, presentation consultant, etc., will tell you that being prepared is the best offensive and defensive move you can make to overcome your fright.  The more you interview the better you will be.  The ...

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