Career Information Online

When you get a call to set up an interview you’re probably pretty excited.  Most people write down the when and the where but don’t ask any questions about the interview.  If you ask a few questions of the company representative on the phone you’ll be better prepared to do well in the interview. 

What questions should you ask?  A few questions you might want to consider include:

• Who will be conducting the interview (name and title)? 
• Is this the direct supervisor for this position? 
• Will anyone else be involved in the interview (and if so, their names and titles)?
• Do I need to bring anything with me to the interview (like reference letters, work samples, drawings, etc.)?
• Approximately how long will the interview take (if you’re interviewing before work or on your lunch hour)?
• Will I be expected to take any tests (for measurable skills, personality inventories, etc.)?

The questions you ask will help to prepare you for your interview.  It would be unnerving to go into an interview expecting to speak with one person and find yourself across from five interviewers.  Asking a few questions will help you be on top of your game when you go in for the interview.

Many of the articles you’ll find on this blog are positive and meant to be helpful to prevent you from making a big mistake in a job interview or in your job search process.  So what are the mistakes you can make in an interview?  Here are a few that you’ll want to avoid.

Dressing inappropriately for an interview.  You don’t have to wear a Brooks Brothers suit to be properly dressed for an interview, but you do need to wear a professional looking outfit.  I once interviewed a person who was in head to toe pink – pink top, pink pants, pink shoes and even pink nail polish.  Needless to say she didn’t make a professional appearance.

Poor personal appearance.  Along with dressing appropriately, make sure your clothing is clean and free of rips or tears, and that you have an overall pulled together look.  If it’s a new outfit, make sure to cut the tags off the sleeve of the jacket.  Trust me, people forget.

Bad manners.  Under this heading I’d include arriving late, arriving way too early, chewing gum, bringing in a drink to the interview, not standing up when introduced to someone, keeping your cell phone out on the table, answering your phone if it rings, and having a limp fish handshake.  This sounds silly, but it used to drive me crazy when I would interview a woman and she would leave her coat on and her purse on the table.  You might think that this is really being picky, but it was one of my pet peeves.  It made me think that person was just stopping by for a quick minute, rather than willing to invest the time in speaking with a potential employer.  My mother used to say use your company manners.  Same applies in an interview.

Failing to prepare for the interview.  This includes not doing any research on the company, not preparing to discuss your strengths and weaknesses, and not having any questions prepared for the interviewer.  See our other articles on how to prevent making these mistakes.

Talking about money.  There is a time and a place to talk about money – the interview is neither the time nor the place.  You don’t want to price yourself out of the job or make yourself look as if the only thing you care about is money.

Bad mouthing prior employers and co-workers.  You don’t want to look like a malcontent.  How does that old saying go – if you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say anything at all.  Speaking poorly about previous employers makes you look like a complainer.

Not asking for the job.  If you liked what you heard in an interview, be sure to tell the interviewer that.  Don’t ever leave a job interview without asking for the job if it is an opportunity that interests you.

When you go out on your next interview take care not to make any of these interview mistakes.

I was reading an article in an industry newsletter that said the single most important factor when evaluating a job opportunity is the company’s culture and values.  In other words, “what will it be like to work for this company?”  I started to think about how you can truly determine a company’s culture, and outside of working for the company for a few months it is going to be difficult to know what the culture will be like.  There are a few questions that you can ask in the interview process that might help you get a handle on what kind of culture this company offers.

First, what kind of hours are employees expected to work?  Are you given the opportunity to telecommute or to utilize flex schedules?  Do the successful employees get to work early every day and stay late?  Are you expected to put in extra time on the job (whether or not you are compensated for it)?

Next, what kind of dress code does this employer have?  If you have always worked in a casual dress environment you might find a formal suit and tie environment stuffy and unbearable.

Does the company offer any training and development programs for the employees?  How often are these programs offered, or how often is an employee able to take part in them?  What kind of programs do the offer?

How is the work environment structured?  Are you working in cubicles or is it an open bullpen type of environment?  Is it a bright and cheerful office space, or is it dull and drab?

Does the company have any kinds of on-site perks (like a daycare facility or gym)?

There are no right or wrong answers to these questions.  The culture that is comfortable for one person might not be a good fit for you.  Try to ascertain the culture of the company in the interview process so you’ll be able to include it when making a decision about a new job.

Should you post your resume online?  Many people will say that you shouldn’t post your resume.  You put all your personal information out there for anyone with a subscription to that resume database to see.  If your current employer has a subscription to that job board they might stumble across your resume and figure out you are on the market. 

But there is a way to post your resume while maintaining your privacy, and that is to select the “confidential” option if the job board offers it.  Monster offers the option to post your resume while blocking out your personal contact information, name of current employer and names of references.  Interested companies will contact you via email through the job board to let you know they want to have a conversation with you.

If you’re looking to move to another city or state, posting your resume online will give you exposure to employers in that geography.  You can select your preferred job locations when posting your job.  I would also suggest including an objective statement that says you want to obtain a job as X in the new city or state.  With a few minutes at home you can give yourself exposure to many potential employers.  If you were to research employers in your desired city or state it could be a long and arduous task.

Don’t just dismiss the idea of posting your resume online.  There are some benefits to doing so.