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The Job Interview: What You'll Be Facing

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You've found out about a job at Fancy Footwork, the number three shoelace manufacturer in the country. Your contact at Ace Shoelace tipped you off when he got a call from a friend who works at F.F., as the firm's insiders refer to it. Your name has been mentioned to the right person, you made the call, and now you have an interview. Here's a real job opportunity at last.

In many ways a Job Interview is easier than an Information Only Interview: the focus is much clearer. There's a job description to look at, a number of requirements the position will entail, and a nice, solid yes or no answer waiting for you at the end. This kind of interview is much more predictable than the Information Only variety, because you know what the interviewer is thinking: Should I hire this person? And you already know the answer to that question!

There are a number of sub groups within the broad category of the Job Interview. You should be prepared for: a preliminary once over; an in depth interview which may be conducted by more than one person, but which will usually require that you meet with one interviewer at a time; a stressful "down to the wire" session which may entail your confronting some intentionally difficult or even embarrassing questions; and a panel interview with more than one person interviewing you at a time.



The Once Over Interview

The initial, or "screening", interview is typically conducted by an employee who is not in a position to decide whether or not to hire you. The whole point of this interview is to save the important people (i.e., the ones who eventually will make the decisions) the time it would take together a pool of talented candidates. So what's your interviewer's goal? Simple. To determine whether or not you're a "live one."

This is the point at which you must make your clearest, most straightforward presentation. The interviewer is looking for someone who fits the job description exactly. If, for some reason, you don't (and hardly anyone does), you'll have to make a strong enough impression to register with your interviewer as someone with valuable skills that compensate for some deviation from the "ideal".

It's especially important that you organize your own data before you enter this interview. Put more simply, you must know what you intend to say.

This may seem difficult if you've never interviewed at this level before, with this company before, or in this industry before. But the point is, broadly speaking, you can anticipate the types of questions you'll have to answer - no matter where you're interviewing or how many times you've looked for a job before.

At this stage, you are going to be fielding questions that are open ended and broad in nature. For example, many interviewers will ask you why you are interested in the position you've specified. Others will begin with a general question about your background. Still others could begin by inquiring about your current situation and why you are seeking a change (or, if you're a recent graduate, whether your skills are directly applicable to the position you're after).

Whatever the questions, you already know two things about them right off the bat. They are very likely questions that are to be directed not only at you, but at a number of other applicants at the same stage; and they will almost certainly be of such a general nature that you will have no difficulty preparing responses that stresses your strengths within the context of the question.

Suppose the position at Fancy Footwork you're after is one which requires two years of experience in a management level position and you, Abigail Hunter, don't have it. Your strong sales background should help your chances, but the fact remains that you have your work cut out for you: show enthusiasm about the company, shine the spotlight on what relevant experience you do have, and convince the interviewer that you are worth, at the very least, another look, even though you don't meet the job description to the letter.

How do you do it? It's not really that difficult. Because, you show up fifteen minutes early, you have some time to take a look around the place. You notice that things seem a little disorganized, and that everyone looks a bit overworked. Your research on the company shows that Fancy Footwork is doing very well in some areas they have lots of orders. But they still need improvement in others: they're behind in shipping by two months and are constantly out of stock. You had a feeling that this company might need some management help; now you know they do.

You arrive at the door to Ms. Anna Shoestring's office she's the personnel administrator. You're asked to have a seat. While waiting, you notice some posters on the wall. The slogan: "We don't like any loose ends." It strikes you that it's an odd sentiment in such an (apparently) constant state of chaos!

Finally, fifteen minutes late, Ms. Shoestring comes out of her office to greet you. After shaking hands and exchanging hellos, you both walk into her office and take your respective places on either side of her desk. Though you know you've sent her a copy of your resume, she's misplaced it. You offer her a duplicate you happen to have brought along for just such an eventuality.

"Ms. Hunter," she says, "you've probably noticed we're pretty busy around here. Let's get down to business. What interests you about our sales manager position?"

At this point most prospective employees would pause, gulp, and try to come up with something that doesn't sound like a stammering dodge of an answer, but, alas, is one nevertheless. It all seems so abrupt! She didn't even ask about that high school debating trophy!

However, you are ready! You know what's really going on. The interviewer is, in essence, actually asking you something like this: "Can you please save me some time, show some initiative, and show me that you're fantastic?" Sure you can when you think about it, there's really an unlimited number of ways for you to do exactly what your interviewer wants!
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