When I was in Oregon, it took me a few tries, but I figured out a way to explain to people quickly who I was, and what I was doing there. I then memorized the key points, and was able to sum up me in 30 seconds or less. Why is this important? For one, it gives a good first impression --you come across as intelligent, easy to understand, and well-prepared. The conversation is also more likely to go where you want it to if you can steer it in that direction immediately. And finally, you want to make sure that you have sold your good qualities from the beginning, whether that be education, experience, or motivation.
Your Past
This is where you give your background, and also sell your abilities. What experiences have lead you to the point where you think you could get hired in this company or field? Do you have applicable education? Have you worked in the field? If not, do you have education or work experience that could transfer? Who are you, professionally, that this person could help you find a job? This will help the person tailor their answers to your specific situation.
Your Purpose
What are your ultimate goals? What are you trying to accomplish? Are you looking for a job in this specific company, or just this specific field? Are you looking for a job immediately, or are you just considering a move sometime in the future (say, after you finish your degree)?
Your Expectations
Why are you here in this specific office, talking to this specific person? What are you expecting this person to do for you? Are you looking for names of higher-ups in the company? Are you trying to learn more general information about the company? Or are you learning how to be competitive in the field? Each one of these will steer the conversation in different directions; you need to know which way you want it to go, or you may end up wasting this opportunity.
No matter what your purpose or expectation is for the interview, you've made a new contact. If you've made a good impression through your introduction and the remainder of the interview, they will remember you. When it comes time to hire, or if they hear of an opening, you will be in an ideal place to take advantage of the situation.
Looking at it from the other angle, as the person already in the field, what you recommend seems very helpful. We trained someone in our business the other day and it was very helpful to know of his background and what he was interested in and a lot of the things you mention in this post.
ReplyDeletePast, purpose and expectation are straight forward concepts for staying on track during an interview. While going through expectations do you think if a person was to have a notebook with questions to interview the interviewer with, would that be appropriate?
ReplyDeleteI know typically while job hunting the term "marketing yourself" is emphasized a lot in this economic times. On the flip side is it taboo to "job shop" and ask the employer what perks they can offer?
It seems so one sided now with the employers having the upper hand with the abundance of applicants. I don't know if questioning as employee would I enjoy working for them if I was hired would seem too over confident? Further more, I would love to ask if I could have references of present employees to see if they are satisfied being there?
Devine,
ReplyDeleteI think that asking questions is very important! For the first part, bringing a notebook with your list of questions is fine, in my opinion. Just as in informational interviewing, having prepared questions shows that you've really thought about and prepared for the interview. A couple of warnings -- make sure that your questions are not readily available on the company's website. If you ask, "so, like, what is it you guys do here?" you may come across as someone who can't do basic research. Also, I would recommend against asking about the perks until they have offered you the job. You don't want to look like you're only in it for the money. And besides, you can always decline an offer if you don't like the money or the benefits.
On the other hand, asking about office culture, finding out what kinds of clients they serve, things like this, demonstrate your interest in understanding exactly what the company is like. They would rather hire someone who is prepared for the job than someone who might walk back out again two weeks later because they didn't know what they were getting into.
As for present employees, I would recommend networking before the job interview. The more you can learn from a current employee, the better prepared you will be for your interview, as well as helping you know if the current employees are satisfied.