What is an Interview?

I had the great pleasure yesterday of speaking at the Morristown Women In Business networking meeting. It was only my second meeting with the energetic, professional group. With a broad spectrum of experiences and goals among the attendees, I wasn't quite sure how to focus the twenty minute talk entitled Building Your Team. I'm a talker!  I decided to narrow the content to a) the Interview Process and b) networking.

What is an Interview? It is a business discussion. 

Interviews typically run 20 - 45 minutes. After that short amount of time, both parties have a big decision to make, so efficiency in acquiring the information needed is critical. A few tips to make each interview a success: 

• Know information publicly available on the employer 
• read website and press releases
• Prepare a few questions 
• see below
• Brag! 
• This is the time to talk about your accomplishments
• Be honest / open about your skills and expectations
• The goal isn't to get the job - it's to get the right job
• Share information relevant to the position
• It's easy to get sidetracked. 

I suggest preparing a few questions and answers before an interview. Even if you don't pick the ones that get asked, it will put you in the right frame of mind.

What decision do you need to make after the interview/discussion?

Prepare 3 questions to ask

1)___________________________________________________

2)___________________________________________________

3)___________________________________________________

Examples might be "what are the career prospects of someone taking this position?" "what training is available for this position?" or "what is the time commitment needed for someone to succeed in this role?"

What decision does the person you are meeting need to make?

Prepare 3 answers to potential questions

1)___________________________________________________

2)___________________________________________________

3)___________________________________________________

Be prepared to answer questions about your best and worst experiences, how you work with a team and what management style brings out the best in you. 

There's a great recap of my talk to the MWIB group on MorristownGreen.com for more information. Thanks, Kendra! 

Welcome to the Job Search Party!

Coaching candidates is my favorite part of the recruiting experience.  I have recruited for a number of companies and firms in quite a variety of fields hiring well-educated professionals for 20 years. It has been interesting to see what parts of a job search / hiring process are universal. Having been on both sides of countless interviews in good, bad and boom markets, I think I get it – and I’d like to share.

To give you and idea of the topics ahead, I'll share the working titles of the book I keep meaning to write. I think they're telling:

•  It’s Not Personal, But It Sure Is Human 
• How To Survive and Complete a Corporate Job Search
• Recruiter’s Rant
• What I’d Love To Tell You - But Can’t

It started as a rant, includes lots of what I’d love to tell you . . . (i.e. Chapter 9 is titled – “Shut Up” :D) but really it is aimed at guiding people thru this business process and keeping your spirits up by letting you know over and over again - a "no" is not personal, it's business.

Job Search Party - Sometimes it’s about staying positive, sometimes it’s about not going it alone and sometimes it’s about needing a search party to find the next step in our work journeys.