Interviewing

Finally, all the work you’ve done creating a great resume, networking and searching has paid off. You’ve gotten responses and have an interview lined up. Unless you’ve done a lot of job searching, this is usually the point where your palms start to get sweaty. Interviewing can be stressful – after all, your future may depend on how well you do at this all-important step. What’s the most important thing to remember when it comes to interviewing? Be prepared! Smart job searchers do their homework well before they ever show up for the interview.

You can go to any career section in a bookstore or any job search website and find plenty of information about interviewing techniques. Some of it is merely common sense – dress appropriately (this doesn’t mean jeans and a t-shirt!), arrive a few minutes early, look the interviewer in the eye when you speak, and so on. All of these items are important, but it’s the advance preparation that can really make a difference.

Before you walk through that door, spend time researching the company and the position you are interviewing for. It will impress the interviewer with your interest and motivation, and it can be an educational experience for you. Not only will it help you to better understand the information the interviewer will provide and respond appropriately to their questions, it will also enable you to ask intelligent questions about the company and allow you to emphasize those skills and talents that are best-suited to the position.^xvi

So, what sort of things should you look for in your research? Just for starters, think about the following list.

• What does a (fill in job title here) do?
  
  
• What are the responsibilities for this position?
  
  
• What sort of educational background do I need?
  
  
• What skill sets are required?
  
  
• What is the reasonable salary range?
  
  
• What does XYZ Company do? What is their primary business function?
  
  
• What markets do they serve? Who are their customers?
  
  
• How long have they been in business? What is their corporate history?
  
  
• How many locations do they have and how many employees work there?
  
  
• Who are XYZ Company’s competitors?
  
  
• Has XYZ Company been in the news recently?
  
  
• What is their corporate culture? Can you find their mission statement?
  
  
• What financial information is available?^xvii

You can probably think of some other things too. Does this sound like a lot? Maybe, but when the interviewer asks you, "What is it about XYZ Company that interests you?" you’ll be prepared with all the right answers and it will be obvious that you’ve done your homework.

How do you find all this information? Well, the obvious answer is the Internet, but your local library’s resource section, local newspapers, regional and national business publications, and the phone book are all good options too. Has the company sent you any advance literature or do you know where to find it? This may sound obvious, but make sure you read anything the company sends cover to cover. There may be a test! Don’t forget to check with your networking contacts (remember them?). They may work at the company, know someone who does, or know the company by reputation. If you’re lucky, your contacts can provide you with some valuable insider information about the true nature of the company. They may even be able to give you a referral.

One of the best places to start your research is by investigating the company’s website. Explore as much of the site as possible. Drill down into some of the pages that most people don’t bother with; you may be surprised by the interesting things you’ll learn. But don’t stop there. Start up your favorite search engine and put the company’s name in to see what other sites may be related to the company. While you’re at it, locate other companies that work in the same industry and view some of their sites. This is a great way to find out about competitors, products, industry issues and trends, etc.

Jobcircle.com recommends checking into a company’s financial information. This can provide you with a good indicator of the direction the company is headed in. Since publicly traded companies are required to report certain types of financial information, it should be relatively easy to locate. Check the stock market and financial journals and websites for specifics. Privately held companies may be a bit trickier, but there’s usually still information to be found if you look hard enough.^xviii

Now that you’re a veritable font of knowledge, you should be a bit calmer about your interview. Take some time to review the information and make some notes about the things you’d like to know more about. This will come in handy later. Oh, there’s one more thing you should do before the interview – practice! Find your trusty advisor and do some role-playing. It’s one more way to help you find and eliminate any snags before you do the real thing.

Here are few basics to remember about the interview:

• Dress appropriately – When in doubt, it’s better to be overdressed than too casual.
  
  
• Arrive a few minutes early – Plan ahead, you never know when you’ll hit an unexpected traffic jam or get lost.
  
  
• Bring extra resumes – Don’t assume the person (or persons) you’ll be meeting with already has a copy.
  
  
• Depending on the position, bring along examples of your work – Visual proof of the work you’ve done elsewhere helps to back up the assertions you make during the interview.
  ^xix
  
• Politeness counts – Be courteous to everyone from the receptionist, to the janitor, to the employee in the hall, to the CEO. Their opinions count too.
  
  
• Don’t interrupt, slouch or lie – Do I sound like your mother? Well, she was giving you excellent interviewing advice!

Ideally, your interview should have a lot of give and take. The interviewer has information they want to provide to you and has questions they want to ask. You should listen carefully, answer questions thoughtfully and honestly and ask your own questions. A good interview should never be one-sided. If you’ve done nothing but listen, the interviewer will know nothing about you. If you feel as if you’ve done all the talking, the interviewer may now know more than he or she ever wanted to know about you! If you’ve had a successful interview, you should walk away feeling like you’ve had an interesting and informative conversation with someone.

What is the interviewer looking for? Generally, they want a candidate who will match the culture of the organization and the position. This should be just as important for you. There’s nothing worse than taking on a new job and finding that you and the company just aren’t a good "fit." Here is a list of qualities or characteristics that an interviewer may be hoping to find:

• Flexibility – How well do you handle stress? With IT projects and priorities changing so frequently, flexibility is important.
  
  
• Persistence – Can you stick with a project and bring it to a successful resolution?
  
  
• Adaptability – How versatile are you? Are you open to new challenges or are you more comfortable in a routine setting?
  
  
• Focus – Goes along with persistence, but also has to do with your abilities during the interview. Answer questions thoroughly, but try not to ramble. If you talk so long that you’ve lost the point of your story, I can guarantee you lost the interviewer ten minutes earlier!
  
  
• Multi-faceted – In this day and age, you need to be able to operate on a number of different levels. Just because you’re looking for an IT position, it doesn’t mean you have to talk "techie" all the time. Make sure you can communicate intelligibly with others who are not in your field. Additionally, you should be able to understand business issues outside of the IT Department.^xx

In addition to possessing some or all of the above qualities, a good candidate should be able to talk knowledgably about their technical skills and discuss their career goals and objectives. Whenever possible, give examples from your past experience that demonstrate that you have successfully developed the skills or characteristics that will be beneficial to this employer. It’s also important to demonstrate that you have good communication and interpersonal skills. One way you can do this is by asking good questions throughout the interview.

What constitutes a good question? First of all, it should be a legitimate and sincere question. There’s nothing wrong with asking the interviewer to clarify or discuss in more detail an aspect of the job if you need the information, but don’t ask just for the sake of asking. Try to ask about different areas and don’t focus on just one topic. Questions about the job, the company and the industry are all good. Generally, you shouldn’t ask questions about salary and benefits until an offer has been made.^xxi If you’ve done your research, you probably already have some questions. It’s okay to write them down and bring them to the interview to make sure you get the information you need. Following is a list of potential questions to consider.^{xxii, xxiii, xxiv}

• What is the organization’s mission statement? What are its goals?
  
  
• Who are the company’s customers?
  
  
• What is your employee turnover rate?
  
  
• Ask the interviewer about their career path. Why did they join the company? Where did they start out? Are there similar advancement opportunities available now within the company?
  
  
• What is a typical work day/week like?
  
  
• What does it take to be successful with XYZ Company?
  
  
• How is the company organized? What sort of leadership does it have?

Hopefully, at this point you’ve had a successful dialog with the interviewer. Before you leave be sure to express your thanks. Also, don’t leave until you are clear about what will happen next. If the interviewer doesn’t volunteer this information, ask! Something as simple as, "I appreciate your time today and am excited about this opportunity. Can you please tell me what the next step in the process will be or when I can expect to hear from you again?" is an excellent way to wind up the interview.

Here’s a very important etiquette tip for after the interview – Send a thank you note! Ideally, this should be sent the same day as the interview to everyone you interviewed with. Make sure you don’t miss anyone, or misspell their names, by asking for their business cards when you meet them. Your thank you note can be either handwritten or emailed. If a company seems to be conservative or formal, a written note might be best. Still, most interviewers appreciate the promptness of email. Keep your note short, but formal. Basically, it should be a recap of your closing statements during the interview. Thank them for their time, express your interest, give an example of how you feel you could benefit the company or why you would be the best candidate and indicate your availability for further discussions.

After all this, there’s one last thing you need to do. Based upon the timeline the interviewer gave you at the close of your meeting, follow up to obtain feedback and check on the status of their decision. Many organizations view this sort of assertiveness as a positive quality.^xxv It indicates that you have initiative and drive and are sincerely interested in the position – not a bad message to convey! Then, sit back and wait for the offer!.