She found the following the other day: http://howimetyouremployer.blogspot.com/2013/03/20-ways-to-impress-your-interviewer.html
She was FAR from impressed by it. She has never been in a hiring position, but, she is familiar with the corporate world and office politics. There are some things that we question with this article (click to see a bigger picture). We wonder, as a matter of fact, if this is a joke.
1. Agreed.
2. We will mention, if it is a group assessment interview, is it really worth it? We understand companies trying to get the right people, but, really, this is just trying to get people in their doors. An interview with a big corporate business downtown is soul crushing enough, do you really want the added psychological insight that they already do not view your individuality at this point, BEFORE you are part of their team? They want to pitch to everybody and their uncle their company; do they REALLY think you qualify? Why can't they just do a one-on-one interview with you? Will they compensate you for the drive or other expenses to get there? Of course not.
3. Agreed.
4. Agreed...though, you will be ignored by everybody in the office or work environment...and the Interviewer will be late. We agree with observing the environment, though. This has turned us off to many a job position. The cold, sterile environment giving way to the attitudes of the people there, all knowing they are not appreciated and replaceable is a good thing to encounter when you have your first contact with the company.
5. We find this is only true in the very corporate world in larger cities and suburbs. We have found some people to dress less than business casual (not slobby, though) for some jobs. This surprised us because we have ALWAYS been told dress business professional. Always. WE DO NOT ADVOCATE DRESSING LESS THAN CONSERVATIVE, though we do question this.
6. Eh. Alright.
7. ...Creepy...
8. "Do not fidget," is good advice; all the rest afterwards, we are not sure you should strictly adhere to that.
9. Specific answers are good. We have read recently, regarding both resumes and interviews, to provide ways which you helped a company grow or solved problems...all very well & good if you are management or a CEO, but, if you are Human Resources of Customer Support, you probably do not have anything like that to provide. You may have just came in to work, doing your job, day after day, adhering to policy, not making waves, not having the opportunity to do anything daring, because that was not your job. You may have never problem solved because it was not your position to problem solve, you followed policy and the regulations your company had. And you did. VERY well, as a matter of fact.
10. Ehhhhh....we've heard of taking notes AFTER the interview, once you get back to your vehicle. We are not sure of taking notes DURING the interview, we really do not know how this would come across to the person who can determine your next job. It comes across as arrogant to us. If you did your research on the company (see 1 & 12), unless the interview is an hour or longer, we do not see the need to take notes DURING the interview.
11. If one is needing a better job, does one have the ability (time or money) to obtain a nice pen. If my friend is 20 minutes away, does it really do either of us any good to meet up, even half way, just to borrow said pen? What do they mean, "nice," anyway? We have found that the plastic packs of 20 pens typically write better and longer than the fancier ones.
We find this one almost as stupid as something read years ago along the lines of, 'If you arrive too early for an interview, drive around for a little bit, check out the area, buy some coffee.' Like a friend of our secretary pointed out: Yes, drive around and waste gas and spend money you don't have on coffee.' (We assume the person does not have a job. They may be interviewing to try to get a different or better job.)
12. We have heard this elsewhere.
13. We advocating reviewing it.
14. We have heard this elsewhere. We have implemented it. We do not remember it getting us a job, though.
15. Please note the, "u," in, "coloured," (also see 5). We do not know about the plastic folders advice. Clearly, this advice seems to be for seasoned professionals since we have always been told, unless we have been a big wig with a company for a while, stick to only a one page resume.
17. We have heard this as well. We have asked questions of various interviewers. Our experience has been, though two or three were answered, they were a little rushed and answered in a way they wanted to get us out the door.
19. This seems like good advice.
20. Theoretical statement.
16. & 18. These are included together because they are those with which we most disagree. These come across as a combination of arrogant and creepy. If you do not get the job, wouldn't you be wondering if it was because of speaking like this? This is the type of talk that would set off bells and whistles; as far as hiring goes, we would not hire this person -- (s)he sounds like trouble already, not a team player. This person seems like (s)he would be a cancer to the company and try to cause trouble if (s)he was ever let go.
Our secretary asked a friend what the friend thought about the link. Friend's reply:
--Grin at the interviewer while looking them in the eyes without blinking and then ask him the questions he ahould [sic] ask you. Write down his answers with an expensive fountain pen which just sprayed ink all over you since it is borrowed and you did not know it would attack you. He will remember at that point that you asked before the interview if there would be any witnesses.
Our secretary's reply back:
--And also, act and speak like you already have the job! As a matter of fact, come in the next business day and star working. Give him the signed papers he needs to make this legit.
There is so much advice out there, not all of it good, not all of it works for all people -- it's kind of like a diet.
Read various articles. See what they say, see if they directly contradict each other.
We have found that what helps get a job most -- knowing somebody on the inside.
~Cheers!
No comments:
Post a Comment