Interview Tips

How to Dress

How you dress for an interview can have a huge impact on the success of your interview.  This is your one chance to make that first impression (in person).  So don’t blow it by not being dressed properly.  Regardless of what you have heard, everyone makes an assumption about you the first time they see you – and a lot of it depends on what you’re wearing.  Avoid being overlooked because you didn’t come to the interview looking good.

Looking good does not necessarily mean looking trendy.  Trendy is great when your doing anything but interviewing.  Conservative attire during an interview is still the way to go.  Although many companies have relaxed their dress code to a more “business casual” environment, you should still go in a suit (both men and women) – unless specifically told not to by your recruiting manager or from the interviewer directly.
Here are a few tips for dressing professionally for your interview:

For Men –

• Wear a suit (solid color – navy or dark grey)
• Long sleeve shirt (white or coordinated with the suit)
• Tie (silk and conservative – no outrageous patterns)
• Leather belt that matches your shoes
• Dark socks (no white socks)
• Conservative dark leather shoes
• Very little (or no) jewelry
• Hair should be cut neatly, and well groomed
• Neatly trimmed nails
• As little after-shave or cologne as possible
• Some type of portfolio or briefcase (with pen and paper for taking notes)
• No earrings or visible body piercings

For Women –

• Suit (navy, black or dark grey)
• Long sleeve shirt/blouse (white is best)
• Shoes with conservative heels
• Hosiery (skin color or close)
• No purses – bring a briefcase instead
• Nail polish should be clear or conservative in color
• Not too much makeup – be presentable, but not overbearing
• Limit earrings to one set (even if you have multiple piercings)
• Keep jewelry to a minimum

If you are applying for a job where you know for sure the company’s dress code is significantly less than “business attire”, it is not inappropriate to call ahead of your interview and ask what you should wear.  NOTE – do not call the hiring manager directly, it is best to contact someone in the HR department and let them know that you have an interview scheduled with “_________________” and you would like to know the appropriate dress for interviews with their company.

Questions to ask

When sitting at an interview table the person giving the interview should not be the only one asking questions.  The interviewee (person being interviewed) should also have a list of questions ready to ask in case certain information is not covered.

Successful candidates often treat an interview as a business meeting with a potential client.  The interviewee is not only trying to sell themselves on their ability to perform the job, but also trying to find out if the company they are interviewing with is a good fit for them.  If you don’t ask the right questions it is possible that you won’t discover important information about the company.  This can be quite true when interviewing for a temp-to-hire position where the candidate could potentially become an employee of the company.

Questions regarding roles and responsibility, expectations, workloads, turnover rates, management philosophies, recent layoffs, etc. are all very valid and can play an important part in determining whether you feel like you would enjoy working for a company.

Examples:

• What type of candidate are you seeking?
• What type of person recently hired has been successful at this position?
• What would a typical workday be like in this position?
• Has your company had any recent layoffs?
• (If so) What determined who was laid off – tenure, performance, or something else?
• Why is this position open?
• Is this a replacement or growth position?
• Typically, if you like the work done by temporary (or contract) personnel, do you offer full time positions at the end of the assignment?
• What are the benefits associated with this position and are they standard in comparison to the rest of the employees?
• What is the typical career path for this position?
• What is the retention rate within your organization?  Within this department?
• How long has the manager of this department been with the company?
• In number of employees, how much has the company grown within the last few years?
• What is the next step in the process?
• When will you be making a hiring decision for this position?

How to answer Questions

If you think about your objective during the interview, then how you answer each question presented to you during an interview should follow suite.  In a nutshell, you’re trying to persuade the interviewer into thinking that you are the very best candidate for the job.  This means that you will need to clearly and concisely give them a depiction of who you are, what skill sets you will bring with you, and how you can help their organization.  In order to accomplish this, you must follow a few simple rules.
In order to convey who you are and what you’re about, you must remain focused during the interview.  Don’t allow your answers to wander off on tangents that are completely irrelevant to the questions being asked.  Again, short, well crafted answers can go along way.  Be direct and to the point while including specific examples of how, when, or why you’ve been able to show off the characteristics they may be looking for.  When done with your answer, you may want to seek approval of your response by asking a question similar to “Is that the type of information you were looking for?” or “Did my response address your concern?” 
One word answers – Yes or No – are not the best way to make a good impression, nor are they going to sell you or your expertise to the prospective employer.  Most interviewers will not ask closed ended questions (there are a few exceptions to this for very specific jobs).  Rather, they want you to speak about yourself and how your previous experiences and work history will help their company if you were to be employed there.  Don’t drag the answers out too long either.  Be as short and concise as possible while showing the interviewer how your experiences can relate to the position for which you are applying.

Avoid speaking in generalities.  If asked a question such as “Are you a goal oriented person?”, don’t respond by simply saying “Yes, I am very goal oriented”.  This is a very acceptable response, but only if followed up with an example of how you have historically set goals for yourself and have been able to attain those goals.  If you don’t have a follow up with specifics ready in your back pocket, you can bet the next question from the interviewer will be “Can you give me an example of when you’ve had goals in your previous work experience and what the outcome was?”.

Be truthful about your capabilities.  Lying in an interview will always come back to bite you eventually.  Tell your story based on facts and results.  Keep the response focused on how your abilities, skill sets, and experiences can help their company and provide examples of how this has helped you in the past.
Be prepared for standard questions that can ruin your potential employment.  These are questions that many interviewers will ask to see how you respond.  Please see the essential interview questions  section for a list of these with guidelines on how you should respond.
At the end of the interview, if you have determined that the job and the company are a good fit for you personally, you should always let the potential employer know that you are very interested in the position and ask what the next step is for consideration.  Thank them for their time and ask them if there is anything else they need from you in order to move to the next step. 

Essential Interview Questions:

It’s almost a guarantee that every interview will have a set of standard (or canned) questions.  If you are prepared to answer these questions appropriately, then your chances of being hired are significantly increased.  Below are some examples of questions that may be asked with a few helpful hints on how to address each.

“Tell me about yourself” –
Although this isn’t technically a question, this is one of the most common phrases you will hear during an interview.  You should have your own personal “elevator speech” prepared to answer this – making sure you relate it to the job for which you are interviewing.  There is no right or wrong answer here, but what you say and how you say it will let the interviewer know what your priorities are, what is important to you, and how well you will fit into the role.  Be sure to include your qualifications as they relate to the specific job duties for which you are applying.  Your response should consist of an example or two of how your skills will carry over to the new position.  Don’t ramble on for five minutes – keep it as short as possible.  Remember, the interviewer doesn’t want to hear your life story – he or she is trying to find out how you will help their organization if you were to be employed there.

“What is your biggest weakness?” –
You must be prepared for this question as it will inevitably be asked!  Do not respond by saying, “I don’t have any weaknesses.”  Although no one likes to admit they have weaknesses, everyone does to some extent.  Pick out something you feel you can improve upon – but be sure it does not directly relate to the duties of the job you are applying for.  If you’re applying for a data entry position, you probably wouldn’t choose your inability to type as your biggest weakness!  Always stress that you know this has been a weakness, but that you are taking steps to become more proficient in this area and give an example of what steps you have taken.  Be confident in your strengths and show how a strength in another area has helped you overcome this shortcoming.

“How well do you handle criticism?” –
Although this question may not come up as often as the first two, it is important to answer this question appropriately.  Hiring managers will want to know how you respond to negative feedback related to your job performance.  The proper way to respond to this is to acknowledge that criticism is a crucial part of the learning process and vital to your professional growth.  Criticism is not looked at as negative, but rather an opportunity to improve upon your skill sets.  Remember that employers (specifically managers) provide negative feedback to assist in your overall growth.  If you don’t know what you do wrong, then you can’t work at getting better in that area.

“What do/did you enjoy most about your current/previous job?” –
This is your opportunity to tie your current/previous position in with the new job.  Be sure to include items such as: setting goals and determining plans to reach those goals, developing departmental objectives or guidelines (shows teamwork capabilities), having certain responsibilities that allowed you to display your talent and be recognized for your performance.  These are responses that let the interviewer know you enjoy working hard toward achieving company objectives. 
Stay away from answers such as: “I like the people I work with.”  “The commute was only 5 minutes from my house.”  “They had a great break room.”

“Describe a difficult situation you have had with an employer?” –
Your answer to this question should only describe a situation where you had an issue where the outcome was successful.   When providing your example you need to be sure to spin the negative into a positive.  Always avoid speaking negatively about former co-workers – this will only send up the proverbial red flag.
These are only five common questions that you may face during an interview.  Keep in mind that each employer will have their own set of standard questions.  The key to answering them is to be honest, concise, and keep your responses relevant to the responsibilities of the job.  Don’t ramble.  It’s okay to take a few seconds to gather your thoughts before answering so that you can answer it clearly and to the point.  (Perfectly acceptable to ask “Can I take a minute to think about that?”)  The more you practice answering these types of questions the better you will perform during the interview.  Understand you own skill sets, personality, ideal work environment, strengths, weaknesses, abilities, knowledge, goals/aspirations, and expectations so that you will be able to confidently answer the tough questions during an interview.