If you were able set up an initial meeting at one of these companies, your resume and cover letter obviously picked someone's interest. Now you have to traverse the last minefield the job interview itself. It's time to make all that preparation, pay off.
This article will attempt to put the interview process in perspective, giving you the "inside story" on what to expect and how to handle the questions and circumstances that arise during the course of a normal interview and even many of those that surface in the bizarre interview situations we have all sometimes experienced.
Why Interviews Shouldn't Scare You
Interviews shouldn't scare you. The concept of two (or more) persons meeting to determine if they are right for each other is a relatively logical idea. As important as research, resumes, letters, and phone calls are, they are inherently impersonal. The interview is your chance to really see and feel the company firsthand "up close and personal," as Howard Cosell used to crow-so think of it as a positive opportunity, your chance to succeed.
That said, many of you will still be put off by the inherently inquisitive nature of the process. Though many questions will be asked, interviews are essentially experiments in chemistry. Are you right for the company? Is the company right for you? Not just on paper, in the flesh.
If you decide the company is right for you, your purpose is simple and clear-cut to convince the interviewer that you are the right person for the job, that you will fit in, and that you will be an asset to the company now and in the future. The interviewer's purpose is equally simple to decide whether he or she should buy what you're selling.
This article will focus on the kinds of questions you are likely to be asked, how to answer them and the questions you should be ready to ask of the interviewer. By removing the workings of the interview process from the "unknown" category, you will reduce the fear it engenders.
But all the preparation in the world won't completely eliminate your sweaty palms, unless you can convince yourself that the interview is an important, positive life experience from which you will benefit even if you don't get the job. Approach it with enthusiasm, calm yourself, and let your personality do the rest. You will undoubtedly spend an interesting hour, one that will teach you more about yourself. It's just another step in the learning process you've undertaken.
What to Do First
Start by setting up a calendar on which you can enter and track all your scheduled appointments. When you schedule an interview with a company, ask them how much time you should allow for the appointment. Some require all new applicants to fill out numerous forms and/or complete a battery of intelligence or psychological tests all before the first interview. If you've only allowed an hour for the interview and scheduled another at a nearby firm ten minutes later-the first time you confront a three-hour test series will effectively destroy any schedule.
Some companies, especially if the first interview is very positive, like to keep applicants around to talk to other executives. This process may be planned or, in a lot of cases, a spontaneous decision by an interviewer who likes you and wants you to meet some other key decision makers. Other companies will tend to schedule such a series of second interviews on a separate day. Find out, if you can, how the company you're planning to visit generally operates. Otherwise, especially if you've traveled to another city to interview with a number of firms in a short period of time, a schedule that's too tight will fall apart in no time at all.
If you need to travel out-of-state to interview with a company, be sure to ask if they will be paying some or all of your travel expenses. (It's generally expected that you'll be paying your own way to firms within your home state.) If they don't offer and you don't ask presume you're paying the freight.
Even if the company agrees to reimburse you, make sure you have enough money to pay all the expenses yourself. While some may reimburse you immediately, the majority of firms may take from a week to a month to forward you an expense check.
Research, Research, and Mere Research
The research you did to find these companies is nothing compared to the research you need to do now that you're beginning to narrow your search. If you followed our detailed suggestions when you started targeting these firms in the first place, you've already amassed a great deal of information about them. If you didn't do the research then, you sure better decide to do it now. Study each company as if you were going to be tested on your detailed knowledge of their organization and operations. Here's a complete checklist of the facts you should try to know about each company you plan to visit for a job interview:
The Basics
- The address of (and directions to) the office you're visiting
- Headquarters location (if different)
- Some idea of domestic and international branches
- Relative size (compared to other similar companies)
- Annual billings, sales and/or income past two years)
- Subsidiary companies; specialized divisions
- Departments (overall structure)
- Major accounts, products, or services
- History of the firm (specialties, honors, awards, famous names)
- Names, titles and backgrounds of top management
- Existence (and type) of training program
- Relocation policy
- Relative salaries (compared to other companies in field or by size)
- Recent developments concerning the company and its products or services (from your trade magazine and newspaper reading)
- Everything you can learn about the career, likes, and dislikes of the person (s) interviewing you
Is it really so important to do all this? Well, somebody out there is going to. And if you happen to be interviewing for the same job as that other, well-prepared, knowledgeable candidate, who do you think will impress the interviewer more?
As we've already discussed, if you give yourself enough time, most of this information is surprisingly easy to obtain. A firm's annual report which all publicly owned companies must publish yearly for their stockholders is a virtual treasure trove of information. Write each company and request copies of their last two annual reports. A comparison of sales, income and other data over this period may enable you to discover some interesting things about their overall financial health and growth potential. Many libraries also have collections of annual reports from major corporations.
Attempting to learn about your interviewer is hard work, the importance of which is underestimated by most applicants (who then, of course, don't bother to do it). Being one of the exceptions may get you a job. Use the biographical references covered previously. If he or she is listed in any of these sources, you'll be able to learn an awful lot about his or her background. In addition, find out if he or she has written any articles that have appeared in the trade press or, even better, books on his or her area(s) of expertise. You might also check to see if any of your networking contacts worked with him or her at his current (or a previous) company and can help.
