Career Information Online

When you’re given an opportunity to interview with a company you’re probably thinking about yourself.  How much money will it pay?  What will be my responsibilities?  Will I get a chance to be promoted?  While it is important to determine if this opportunity is right for you , it’s just as important to tell the hiring manager what’s in it for them if they hire you for the position.

One of your goals in an interview should be to determine what the needs of the company and the hiring manager are and then clearly tell them why you meet their needs.

How can you do this?  First, listen carefully to what the interviewer is saying and asking.  He/she will probably give you a list of the requirements, responsibilities, and goals associated with the position.  Take this information and formulate some statements about your background, skills and experience that demonstrate how you can meet the interviewer’s needs.

Second, ask pointed questions to uncover this information.  Ask the interviewer specific questions about the role this person will play in the company and the goals and objectives of the position.  Ask him/her what the top three priorities will be for the person hired.

Next, don’t make the interviewer guess that you can fill the role he/she needs filled – come right out and tell them!  You can do this if asked the question “why should I hire you” or as a summary at the end of the interview.  Go back to the top three goals and objectives of the position and clearly state how your background makes you the right person for this position.

One final way you can tell the hiring manager what’s in it for them is in your thank you letter.  This is a great opportunity to emphasize your strengths and how they can work for the benefit of the company in general and the hiring manager specifically.

If you’ve done any reading at all about the interview process – either online or in a book – you’ll always see the suggestion to send a thank you note the the people that interviewed you.  This article is no different.  No matter what the position, always be sure to send a thank you note to the interviewer.

Some sources will tell you to send a handwritten thank you note, or at the very least to send it via snail mail.  I’d say that an email note is sufficient, because it serves the purpose.  As someone who has interviewed many people in my career you would be surprised how few actually send out the thank you note.  When you take the extra few minutes to send a thank you note you are going to stand out from the other people who have interviewed for that position.

Why is it important to send a thank you note?

• It keeps your name in front of the hiring manager.
• It shows your interest in the job.
• It gives you the opportunity to emphasize you have the necessary skills to do the job.

A thank you note can be as brief or as detailed as you want to make it.  Here is a basic framework that you can use to build your own post interview thank you note.

I enjoyed meeting with you Thursday and learning more about the position and your company.  I believe my skills and experience would be a nice fit for your organization.  I look forward to taking the next step in your hiring process.  If you would like to discuss my qualifications or have any additional questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

This is a basic outline – you can add any information you think could be helpful.  For example, if the position is for a computer programmer you might state something like “my experience in unit testing would be a nice addition to your team”.  Or if the manager is looking for experience with a certain software program you could emphasize this as well. 

You can make the note as detailed or as brief as you like – just be sure to send one.

If you need to see more examples of follow up thank you letters, go to your favorite search engine and type in “interview thank you letters”.  You’ll find many samples to use.

The salary a person makes is important.  It’s how you pay your bills and support your family.  When looking into a new employment opportunity the salary offered is going to play a role in your decision to accept or reject an offer.  However, your first interview with a company is not the time to ask about salary.

You’ll probably find many web sites and experts who will disagree with me and tell you that it’s fine to talk salary during an interview.  Of course it’s your decision to make.  I’d just like to present a few reasons why you might not want to bring up salary during an interview.

• You will seem to be motivated by money only.  The hiring manager is trying to sell you on an opportunity.  He/she might think the only reason you’d take a job is because it paid more than your previous position.
• You might price yourself out of the position.  Many companies have strict salary ranges for positions.  No matter what, they can’t go over the top figure in the range for any candidate.  You might exclude yourself from a position based on a few dollars.
• You might “lowball” yourself.  What I mean is this – the hiring manager might be planning to pay you more than the salary you stated in the interview.  You could deprive yourself from money in your pocket.
• You don’t know how much it costs to work for the new company.  Hiring managers don’t usually bring up specific information on the cost of benefits until the offer stage.  The cost of benefits for the new company might be higher or lower than the cost at your current company (maybe their health insurance is a lot more expensive than what you pay now).  A lateral salary move would actually end up costing you money out of pocket.

Given this, what do you say in an interview when someone asks “what do you want to make”?  I would suggest you say something along these lines:

I currently make $47,500 a year.  I would want to look at the entire package before making a decision.

If pressed you can mention that you’d like to compare the cost of benefits and that the opportunity is what is most important, not salary.

Of course it’s up to you whether or not you bring up salary in an interview.  I merely wanted to present a few arguments why you might not want to do this.

In my previous life in staffing I would see individuals apply for positions they are no way qualified for.  Often you would get a note on the cover letter saying “please consider me for any open positions” but when you have 100 or 200 resumes to look through you aren’t going to take the time (at that point) to contact this individual.  And people get busy, so that resume might be put over to the side and never contacted because of that.

A better way to approach this situation might be this:  If you see a position online that you don’t qualify for (maybe because of years of experience) but sounds interesting, call the contact person listed on that posting.  Tell him/her that you saw this position online but you don’t think your skills are an exact match BUT you do have these skills and would like to be considered for a position with their company.  Ask for a direct email address and/or direct fax number to get your resume over to this person for consideration for other jobs.  You’ll show some initiative by calling the person, and that person will be happy you aren’t another unqualified candidate blasting their resume to every open position on the job boards.

A few weeks ago I was watching a story on “Good Morning America” about Congressional Interns and the way they dress.  I guess some interns are going for the very flashy, casual look that is in contrast with the very conservative image you usually see portrayed by Congress.  It made me start to think about the way the everyday person dresses for an interview.  Let’s face it, most people don’t interview all that often so you might forget some of the do’s and don’ts of interviewing.  One major important thing to consider is to make sure you dress to impress.  I’m not telling you to go out and buy a new suit or dress for the interview (especially if you are tight on money).  What I am advocating is that you dress in a clean, conservative way that exudes professionalism.  For a man that might mean pressed clean Dockers pants, a white shirt and a nice tie; for a woman perhaps a nice skirt and top or a nice pair of dress pants with a blouse.  Unless you are going for a position in an accounting or law firm (for example) and then you would want to dress even more conservatively.

People often get annoyed at the idea of having to dress nicely for work.  There’s an attitude that many have that goes something like this:  it doesn’t matter how I look as long as I do my job well.  That’s partially true, I’ll concede.  But often the way you dress can change your attitude.  If you’re in your old jeans and sweat shirt you’re going to have a more casual attitude than if you’re wearing a shirt and tie.  And don’t forget the fact that customers expect employees to be dressed a certain way.  You wouldn’t go into The Gap and expect to see someone in a three piece suit – you want to see the sales associate dressed in stylish fashions from that store.  On the other hand when you go into a bank you don’t want to see someone in a pair of jeans and a cut off shirt. 

There’s a certain image that needs to be portrayed by the employees of a business.  The owners/managers of the business want to portray that image to their customers and clients.  If you want to work for that company you’re going to need to buy into the fact that how you dress matters.  Make your best impression in the interview.  You don’t want to be turned down for a job because of your clothes.  If you look professional then your appearance won’t even be an issue.  The manager will be too busy talking about your skills and background to worry about the way you’ll dress when you come to work.

I was reading an article on a recruiting web site about where to go to source candidates.  And I started thinking to myself that if a recruiter goes somewhere to source candidates then that might be a good place for a candidate to go and look to meet contacts.  This article made one suggestion of where you can go to find candidates – a bar.

Now before you think this is crazy listen to the thinking behind it.  The thinking behind this theory is that every company has an unofficial company bar – the local watering hole where employees go for happy hour on Friday or the day before a holiday.  The thinking is that a recruiter can become a regular in the company bar of the targeted company and befriend employees who might be unhappy and looking for a better opportunity.

So if this theory can work for a recruiter looking for candidates, why can’t it work for the candidate looking for a new opportunity? 

You might ask “how do you find out what bar is the company bar”?  There are a few ways.  First, find out the geographic location of the company or companies where you would like to work.   When you find out where the building is located you can search the area for local bars.  Make friends with the bartenders and they can tell you if employees frequent there.  Some companies require the employees wear ID badges.  Many people don’t take them off right away after work. (I know my husband has walked around for hours after work still wearing his ID badge.)  Become a regular in this establishment and you might start to befriend employees.  You can take the pulse of the company by networking with them, and see if there are any openings.

This technique is not for the shy or faint of heart.  I know that personally I would not be able to do this.  But if you have some confidence and courage this could be a fun way to network with others in your industry and perhaps find your next job.

It could be argued that human beings are self-serving by nature.  I don’t mean this as a criticism of the human race, merely as a strategy to employ when creating a cover letter to be used in your job search.  Instead of asking the question “what’s in it for me” ask the question “what’s in it for you” with the you being your potential new employer.

When you look at a job posting you’ll see what a company is looking for – skills they want the candidate to bring to the company so they can help the company become more successful.  In other words, what can you do for the company.  When you write your cover letter take this approach.  Utilize the keywords, skills and background described in the advertisement to “sell” yourself to the hiring manager.  Build upon your background as described in your resume and tweak it in the cover letter to better match what the company is looking for in a candidate.  Never lie or fabricate skills to better fit the requirements of a position, and don’t take verbiage from your resume and paste it in the cover letter.    Give some concrete reasons why your skill set would be worth considering based on what you can do for the company.

It’s very frustrating when you have been on an interview and think you’ve aced it to find out you didn’t get the job.  You had great conversations with the people you interviewed with, you like the company and you thought you did really well.  You might just have had the skills and background that would be a match for the company but there wasn’t any chemistry.  Everyone has the same chemistry on paper.  Once the hiring manager has determined that your background is the type of background they want to see, many times the reason someone doesn’t get a job is because there was no chemistry between the interviewer and the interviewee.

However, there are other reasons why you might not have gotten the job.  These include:

• Making a poor personal appearance.  While you might not think it is important, many companies and hiring managers place a lot of emphasis on a professional appearance. 
• Having a bad attitude.  Arrogance or cockiness towards the interviewer can be a real turn off.
• Not being prepared for the interview.  A lack of research on the company or a lack of questions regarding the position and the company fall under this category and can be a reason for rejection by a hiring manager.
• Not having the skills listed on your resume.  Don’t exaggerate your skill level on a resume – it can usually be verified during an interview.

Preparation for an interview is key to help you get the position.  Pay attention to these areas where a job can be lost during a face to face meeting.  Being prepared isn’t a guarantee that you will get the job but it will certainly give you a leg up on your competion.

Think back to the last time you were looking for a new job and had to update your resume.  You might have had some difficulty in remembering everything you did in a previous job, and everything you’ve done in your current position.  My suggestion is this – always have a current updated resume on file.  If you complete a major project or get a promotion, add it to your resume right away.  If your duties and responsibilities change make sure to adjust your resume to reflect your new skill set.  Did you take a course that is relevant to your career, or become certified in something related to your job?  Add it to the education or certification sections of your resume.  When the time comes for you to search for a new job you won’t have to struggle to remember everything you’ve done over the past few years to add to your resume.  And here’s something else to think about.  You never know when a headhunter might call you up with the opportunity of a lifetime.  Do you want it to pass you by because you had to spend days updating your resume?  What if you run into an old acquaintance from college that tells you his/her company wants to hire someone with your exact skill set?  Do you want to miss out because you don’t have an updated resume to email to your acquaintance the next day?

Having an updated resume does not mean you’re actively on the job market, or that you are dissatisfied with your current job.  It’s just a smart move on your part to be ready to act when that opportunity you can’t pass up comes your way.

More and more companies are requiring their candidates for employment go through a pre-employment background check.  Many times the company will wait until you have completed a first interview before beginning the process.  Background checks can range from basic to very complex and complete, depending upon the position.

Just what is included in a background check?  Any or all of the following can be included
when performing a pre-employment background check or screen:

• Verification of previous employment
• Reference interviews
• Education verification
• Verification of professional licenses and certifications
• Motor vehicle report (driving record)
• Social Security number trace
• Military service verification
• Drug/alcohol testing
• Credit history check
• Criminal history check (local, state, national and federal)
• Civil history check
• Child abuse clearances
• Sex offender registry search
• Workers’ compensation history

These are just a few examples of the types of screens that can be performed in a pre-employment background check.  Depending on the nature of the position there might be even more screens that you will have to undergo before receiving an offer of employment.

Consent is needed for pre-employment background screens so your potential new employer will have you sign a form giving your consent.  Read the form very carefully to see what tests you have consented to undergo.

There are some things you can do prior to undergoing a pre-employment background screen.  You can request your own credit reports from the major credit reporting agencies to see if there is any derogatory information listed.  Only use personal and professional references you know will report positive information about you and your abilities.  Don’t lie on any application forms or on your resume. 

Pre-employment background screens or checks are becoming more common in this post 9/11 world.  Don’t be surprised if the next time you apply for a job you are told you will need to undergo a background screening process prior to being hired.