Advice For the Job Seeker

Job Interview Follow-Up Do’s and Don’ts

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
Source: http://www.quintcareers.com/interview_follow-up-dos-donts.html

Job-seekers must remember that your work is not done once you finish the job interview. If you want the job, you can’t just sit back and wait for the job offer, so consider these key rules, guidelines, and strategies for following-up your job interviews.

• Do ask at the end of the interview when the employer expects to make the hiring decision.
• Do be proactive and consider follow-up a strategic part of your job search process. Follow-up can give you just the edge you need to get the job offer over others who interviewed for the position.
• Do use these follow-up techniques to continue to show your enthusiasm and desire for the position, but don’t make it seem as though you are desperate.
• Do obtain the correct titles and names of all the people who interviewed you. (Ideally, do get each person’s business card.)
• Do write individual thank you notes or letters to each person who interviewed you — within two business days. Each letter can be essentially the same, but try to vary each a bit in case recipients compare notes. Don’t ever fail to send a thank you — even if you are sure the job is not for you. And do write thank you notes after every interview.
• Don’t worry so much about hand-written versus typed thank you letters, but don’t make a mistake by sending it through the wrong medium; make sure you know the best method of reaching the employer, whether by postal mail, email, or fax.
• In your thank you letter, do show appreciation for the employer’s interest in you and do remind the employer about why you are the perfect person for the position. See some sample interview thank you letters.
• Don’t ever have any errors (misspellings or typos) in your thank you letters.
• Do alert your references — if you have not done so already — that they may be getting a phone call from the employer.
• Don’t stop job-hunting, even if you feel confident that you will get a job offer. Do continue to interview and attempt to find other opportunities.
• Do follow-up with a telephone call to the employer within a week to ten days (or sooner, if the employer had a shorter timetable) to ask about the position. And do continue to build rapport and sell your strengths during the phone call.
• Do be patient. The hiring process often takes longer than the employer expects.
• Do continue following-up, especially if the employer asks you to. Remember the adage about the squeaky wheel getting the oil. Just don’t go overboard and annoy or bother the employer.
• Don’t place too much importance on one job or one interview; there will be other opportunities for you.
• Do use other job offers as leverage in your follow-up — to get the offer you really want.
• Don’t burn any bridges if you do not get a job offer. And do try and turn the situation into a positive by bringing the interviewer(s) into your network, possibly even asking them for referrals to other contacts. Read more about the art of networking.

Dr. Randall S. Hansen is founder of Quintessential Careers, one of the oldest and most comprehensive career development sites on the Web, as well CEO of EmpoweringSites.com. He is also founder of MyCollegeSuccessStory.com and EnhanceMyVocabulary.com. He is publisher of Quintessential Careers Press, including the Quintessential Careers electronic newsletter, QuintZine. Dr. Hansen is also a published author, with several books, chapters in books, and hundreds of articles. He’s often quoted in the media and conducts empowering workshops around the country. Finally, Dr. Hansen is also an educator, having taught at the college level for more than 15 years. Visit his personal Website or reach him by email at randall(at)quintcareers.com.

5 Underrated Tips to Acing a Job Interview

The big day is finally here. You have obviously done your part to sell the recruiter/Hiring Manager on why you should be given the opportunity to come in and make your case for why you should move on in the interview process, and potentially be there next new hire.  Pump your breaks for just a moment sparky.  The interview is as much about selling your soft skills and how you fit in as it is about selling them on how your experience can meet their needs.

Here are 5 underrated and underutilized tips to help you to perform your best in your next interview.

Look the Part.  Forget everything else you’ve heard or read.  You are judged from the minute you walk in the door and before you open your mouth.  If you want to be taken seriously as a candidate for the position, invest in a nice suit.  This doesn’t mean spending a ton of money for it.  There are some retailers that sell really nice off the rack suits at affordable prices.  Keep accessories, cologne and other fragrances to a minimum.

Stand Your Ground.  Hiring managers may try to bully you because they know you’re nervous.  They may even ask you questions to deliberately throw you off to see how you respond and if you can think on your feet.  Stay calm, slow everything down and think about what your responses are going to be.  One of the best pieces of advice that I received when I was doing interviews for the news was to speak in sound bites.

Make it All About Them.  To an extent, this interview really isn’t about you.  It’s about how you can help them.  Don’t waste their time by telling your life story.  Your mission is to prove and show them why you’re the person for the job and how you can help them solve whatever problem they are facing.

Be Yourself.  While it’s important to put your best foot forward, it is equally important to be true to who you are. If you try to be what you think the employer wants you to be, you’ll both be disappointed.

Send Follow Up/Thank You Letters. Following up after an interview is how you set yourself apart from your competition.  You would be amazed at how many people fail  to do this simple, yet vital step in the employment process.  Send an email and a hard copy note to everyone that you came in contact with thanking them for the opportunity and asking about what your next steps are.

5 Questions You Should be Asking Your Interviewer

By Maro Onokpise

The part of the interview that could determine whether or not you’re going to move on in the process or not is when the interviewer asks you if you have any questions.  I’ve been hearing from a lot of hiring managers and recruiters that they are amazed at the amount of people that don’t have any questions.

This is the opportune time to make one final impression on a potential employer. Unfortunately, a lot of job seekers aren’t taking advantage of the last 5-10 minutes of the interview to stand out.  The key to a great interview isn’t always about how well you answered questions, a lot also has to do with the questions you ask.

I have to draw a distinction between asking relevant questions and asking questions just for the sake of asking them.  You may not get the opportunity to ask as many questions as you would like, so it’s a great idea to have some questions prepared that you can refer to once that time comes.  To get clarity around the role that you’re interviewing for, and to give you the best chance at success, you’ll want to get answers to the following questions:

Why is the role open?

Is this a newly created role or has someone left or been promoted.  It’s always interesting to hear why a role has become available.  If it’s due to someone moving up within the company, that’s a great sign of what could be for you.  If the previous employee left the company all together, you probably should find out why so you have a better idea as to what you’re getting yourself into

What challenges does the interviewer see in the role?

It’s a good idea to get the interviewer to talk about the challenges versus the problems with a position.  It shows that you are looking at things with a positive lens.  Some challenges may be structural, while others may have to do with a gap in abilities and the responsibilities of the position.  Either way, it’s best to find out which if you plan on succeeding.

What are the firms expectations

If these haven’t been covered during the course of your interview, ask this question directly.  In addition to the long term success of the role, you want to find out what the firm plans on doing to stay ahead of the competition.  I’ve worked at places where we relied on our name alone and stood by while our biggest competitors innovated and ultimately took market share.

Be careful how you pose this question.  The interviewer may not know the answer, and you don’t want to scare them off.  Use this opportunity to see how the company defines success and what success in this role means to them.

What are the priorities?

You need to have a firm understanding of what your priorities are.  If anything major is going to go wrong, it’ll probably go wrong within the first 90 days on the job.  Get an idea as to what their onboarding process is and if you will have to travel for any initial training.

Are you the right person for the job

If you feel that that the interview is going really well, this the question that you want the answer to!  Don’t ask this question too directly.  If you ask too directly, you could get a vague answer.  You need to express your interest and enthusiasm about the opportunity and ask if there are any reasons that would prevent them from moving forward with you.  Hopefully there aren’t any, but if there are any reservations, you want the opportunity to show the interviewer that you are more than capable of doing the job.

Source: http://jobtrakr.com/2012/01/25/5-questions-you-should-be-asking-your-interviewer/

Interview Tips – “What Salary Range are you Seeking?”

We’ve all been there.  You’re in a job interview and the dreaded salary question comes up.  “What salary range are you seeking?”   What do you answer? Do you aim high so you don’t get underpaid or aim low to try to get the job? What is the expected salary range anyway? Click the link below to see the video with some answers to these tough questions!

http://youtu.be/E7JBQFhgd2Q