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Topic: Job Interview - Help!
| Author | Message |
| someone | Posted – 6/27/2007 2:36:26 PM | show profile So, I have a job interview at a newspaper coming up, and I'm nervous. Please help calm my fears and offer up some good interview advice. |
| WordyBird | Posted – 6/27/2007 3:47:17 PM | show profile Research the company. Buy a notebook and write down four or five questions you have for the interviewer, with lots of space in between for you to jot notes during the interview. Remember it's as much about you liking them as it is about them liking you. Put together your clips and samples if you haven't already. Then practice smiling and offering your hand in the mirror. Oh, and breathe. |
| candylilacs | Posted – 6/27/2007 9:41:43 PM | show profile Maintain eye contact about 75 percent of the time (my difficult one!) and have a couple "anecdotes" that describe your great and wonderful dedication, perseverance, talent, creativity and drive (if you can tie them into your clips, go for it.) Don't worry if you repeat the stories to five people, just make sure they're about a 1-2 minutes long have a point and hopefully entertaining. Good luck! |
| candylilacs | Posted – 6/27/2007 9:43:56 PM | show profile Oh, I forgot...DO NOT RAMBLE. Sometimes interviewers just stare at you and hope you will crack and reveal some awful secret about yourself. As I said, don't talk more than a couple minutes at a time. Then smile when finished. Good luck! ------ http://www.mswritesguide.blogspot.com |
| GA>ME | Posted – 6/28/2007 12:47:39 AM | show profile they are looking for someone who will fit into their team, so match their general attitudes and personalities. and always be nice to the receptionist. |
| foodlit | Posted – 6/28/2007 11:21:43 AM | show profile | email poster Shoot me an email and I'll send you my handout on interviewing. I'm a headhunter, and have coached/prepped tons of people on how to interview and present yourself well. This handout is from presentations I give to local schools and groups and is all the notes I've gathered over the years on what really works. Below is a link to my linkedin profile if you want to know more about my hr background. (cut and paste into your browser). http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=1032646 :) Pam |
| Homer | Posted – 6/28/2007 2:48:21 PM | show profile You know what I've always wondered about these tips for prepping for an interview? Yes, they're all good (and common sense), but what if a person studies all the advice, pulls it off with flying colors during the interview, the company falls in love with him, hires him, then discovers that act he put on to match the company culture was just that, an act? He's really a bozo, a boor, an insufferable jerk, but now the company's stuck with him because, well, he can do the job but he's just horrible to work with. This happened to me once, not this extreme, but the candidate blew me away in the interview, then when I hired her she turned out to be most of the above. I guess my point is, are you putting on a face that's not your own to get a job, and is it fair to the employer in the end? If you have to be told to research the company, make eye contact, have a firm handshake, ask questions, and all those other obvious things, what were you really like before this became news to you? And will you bring these newfound social skills to the job, or will you lapse back into someone to whom this was eye-opening advice once on the job? |
| mae | Posted – 6/28/2007 3:25:10 PM | show profile Great point! I have hired someone who was extremely impressive during an interview, but terrible at her job. That's the reason one should always remain professional, even when you didn't get the job, because the person they hire don't always work out. |
| foodlit | Posted – 6/28/2007 5:08:23 PM | show profile Homer, Preparing for an interview doesn't mean putting on an 'act'. It means preparing. Most people just aren't familiar with typical interview questions, and why not consider how best to present your information so that you are able to put your best foot forward? If someone presents themselves falsely, that's a completely different story. But, you prepare for a test don't you? If you were to go on a sales call, you'd prepare ahead of time for how to present your product, right? Well this is no different. An interview is a sales call, and the product, is YOU. :) Pam |
| cali1296 | Posted – 6/28/2007 5:23:55 PM | show profile Make sure to go through the paper and familiarize yourself with it. In the past newspaper editors asked me my opinion of their papers and what I thought could be changed to improve it. Like others have mentioned, it's always a good idea to familiarize yourself with common interview questions and get an idea as to how you'd answer. I've found monster.com helpful for that. Finally, make a long list of questions to ask. You're a reporter, and reporters ask questions! Good luck! |
| fiddlestix | Posted – 6/29/2007 3:36:01 AM | show profile | email poster don't put on an act A prospective employer may seem to represent an ideal job situation, but if you have to fake it to get the job, you'll be stuck faking it for the duration. Also, what some previous posters have mentioned about "perfect" candidates turning out to be bozos/boors/insufferable etc. applies 1000x more to the employer. If you have even the smallest doubt, book and do NOT look back. Employers are much more likely to be psychotic than any given applicant, just because they can. There's always another sucker willing to take the mistreatment they dole out. |
