Interviewing

An interview is a professional meeting where both parties exchange information in order to make an informed decision. “Do we continue in the process?” or “Do we graciously walk away?”

1. Prepare:
Preparation is the key to a successful interview. The following components are mandatory! There is no excuse for failing to:

• Educate yourself about the company – Visit their website, read industry periodicals and business journals… This information will give you fuel for discussion and prepare you to ask better questions.
• Evaluate your career – Take time to review your career achievements and challenges. This will prepare you to answer questions more efficiently having specific examples, details and accomplishments to support your answer.
• Formulate questions – A list of 10 – 20 questions should be written out prior to going to the interview. They are to be business related, reflecting your interest in developing a thorough understanding of the company and the opportunity. Strategic questions will also demonstrate your knowledge, initiative and responsibility to this decision making process. As a professional, you should be able to remember these questions, so do not pull out the paper during the interview unless you absolutely are not able to think of a certain question.

2. Basic Interviewing Tips:

• Take a professional planner/portfolio with you. It should contain, paper, pen, contact information for the company (should anything happen), at least 2 extra resumes and 3 typed references.
• Dress for Success! We recommend a conservative, clean appearance with limited use of cologne or perfume.
• Allow yourself ample time to arrive… Don’t be late!
• Offer a firm handshake and make consistent eye contact.
• Speak clearly and make sure the tone of the conversation is both, conversational and professional, never interrogative or combative.
• Pro-actively listen and never interrupt the interviewer, this is not only rude but highly unprofessional.
• Have fun and enjoy the experience!

3. Build Chemistry

1. You know your market, but you must think PEOPLE!
2. People have to buy you before they buy from you.
3. People hire and accept emotionally first and justify logically later.
4. People are more sold by your conviction than by your persuasion.
5. The decision to hire is typically made in the first 30 minutes of the interview, with the remaining time spent justifying that decision.

4. Listen for:

Quantitative questions geared toward understanding how you will immediately impact the company.

Some commonly asked questions are:

• Why do you want to work for us?
• Why should we hire you?
• What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses in your current position?
• What are the things you are most proud of in your personal and/or professional life?
• Why are you looking?
• Tell me what you do during your typical day?
• Tell me about yourself?

These questions should be promptly and thoroughly answered, supported with specific examples and numbers.

Behavioral based questions utilize a basic premise; past behavior is the best predictor of future performance. These questions typically have multiple parts and require specific examples as part of your answer. For example:

• Which of your past jobs has been most demanding in terms of having to handle a variety of tasks at once?
• What competing demands did you have to deal with? How did you decide what to do first?
• How did it turn out?

To answer these types of questions we suggest utilizing the acronym PAR

Problem: Clearly state the problem.
Action: Discuss the action that was taken.
Result: What was the result of your action?

5. Close

Once you feel that the interview is coming to a close, which is after you have asked the questions that you prepared for the hiring manager, you must ask for the job…

Many times asking for the actual job is not appropriate at the time of the interview; however, it is always appropriate to ask for the next step in the process and ask for commitment to move to that next step.

Some good questions to ask include:

1. Is there any reason that we will not be moving to the next step in the process?
2. Is there anything that has been said or not been said that will keep us from moving forward in the process?
3. Can we go ahead and schedule our next meeting today while we both have our calendars?
4. These questions must be your words…practice them as part of your preparation.

6. Follow-up:

Always call your AltiMAX associate after the interview ends. This will allow us to help get you to that next step. Without your feedback, it is difficult for us to work with you and provide the necessary feedback for success.

Always send a thank you letter! Email is now acceptable.