Bring Work Samples/Portfolio

        It can often be very effective in an interview to show work samples. These could include spreadsheets you’ve developed, reports created by using databases or spreadsheets, a computer program or newsletter you developed, a drawing or advertisement you created, an engineering design you produced using a CAD program, a research paper you wrote, or a mechanical part you machined. There are literally hundreds of things that job seekers have appropriately taken to interviews.

        Artists, photographers, and designers have long been putting portfolios together. In school they are often taught how to create a portfolio, but rarely taught how to present it. The principle with work samples is, if you think that under some circumstance you would want to show your work, bring it with you.

        Begin by considering all of the things you’ve worked on that you’re proud of. What visual item could you use to enhance a story or demonstrate a skill? Determine if there are items that you could give to the interviewer. Giving something for the person to keep can be powerful. Mark, an architect who wanted to concentrate on architectural renderings, spent hours and a couple hundred dollars developing a brochure with great drawings of five unique Pacific Northwest homes. That brochure left a lasting impression. Leaving something with the interviewer causes the person to think about you each time the item is looked at.

        Once you’ve selected your items, practice using them. If the person will be flipping pages in your portfolio while you speak, practice talking while you’re looking at it upside down. Know what points you want to make about each page or item. Explain what problem you were working on or what problems were solved. An artist or photographer might mention what techniques were used to create an interesting effect. An engineer or product designer might bring the actual product produced or, more likely, would bring drawings and photographs. Be selective. In any given interview you might just show a few items. Keep it interesting. Watch the interviewer’s face and body language to determine how interested he or she is in your material.

        Know what’s in your portfolio and where it is. Nothing is more frustrating for an interviewer than to watch a candidate flip page after page and then looking elsewhere in their briefcase saying, “I know it’s here somewhere, I saw it just yesterday.” Don’t overwhelm an interviewer with all of your material.

Do Something Unique Or Different

        Throughout your job search, keep asking yourself if you can do something unique, something creative, or something unexpected that will make you stand out. Consider what happened to Jason when he used such a strategy. A major software company was interviewing three candidates for a purchasing manager position. Jason’s last interview was held on Thursday, and he was told he would be given the decision by Monday. Thursday night after his interview, he wrote a plan for purchasing that would help handle the firm’s rapid growth. On Friday morning he had a messenger deliver the proposal. On Monday he was notified he had the job because “We knew you wanted it.” Clearly, the extra effort and creativity Jason applied in this circumstance gave him the outcome he was hoping for.

Send A Thank-you Note

        Sending a thank-you note, even one as short as three sentences, can be one of the most important things you do. When employers receive thank-you notes, they immediately remember you. Sending a note also makes you stand out positively because so few people send them. Most of all, you should send a thank-you note because it is the courteous thing to do. Thank-you notes can be handwritten or typed. Handwritten is more personal, but typed is more professional. Station­ery that is monarch-sized (7" x 10"), or the standard 8½" x 11", are generally preferred to sending a card, especially one that says “thank you” on it.

        Let the interviewer sense your enthusiasm for the job. Even specify those parts of the job which you are looking forward to or which would make excellent use of your skills. Do not hesitate to mention that you see the job as a challenge that you are more than ready to take on. Tell the interviewer that you want the job. Sell your confidence.

        If you did not handle an objection well, the thank-you note provides a wonderful opportunity to cover it in a positive way. Some­times, however, it is better to let those missed opportunities alone and stick to more positive points. Bring up the objection only if you think that without covering it in your thank-you note you have virtually no chance of being invited back for another interview.

A typical thank-you note might read like this:

Thank you for the opportunity to meet you on Thursday. The position sounds quite interesting and challenging. I believe I can make a significant contribution. If you would like any additional information, please contact me at (207) 454-6952.

I would welcome the opportunity to work for (name of company).

Sincerely,

Sandra Pendergast

A somewhat expanded thank-you note might read:

I really appreciated the opportunity to meet with you today. The position sounds very challenging and I am convinced it would make excellent use of my talents and experience. I know that I can make a significant contribution.

I am especially interested in the project management aspect of the position. For the past three years project management has been a major function of my job. Because of my ability to get tough projects completed on schedule, I’ve developed a reputation as the person to give the really difficult projects to. The system conversion project and the office renovation projects that I mentioned in our interview are just two of the many projects that I’m proud of.

I would very much like the _____________ position and I am especially looking forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Roger Hinen

It’s hard to go wrong with any note as long as you say thanks.

Check With Your References Before Using Them

        Make sure your references are truly willing to speak on your behalf. When asking for their help, give them an out by saying, “If you’re really busy, I’ll understand.” If they don’t want to be references, don’t use them; they won’t do a good job for you. If you’ve had a major interview, call them and let them know to expect a call. Give them the background of the job and tell them why you’d be effective in the position.

Know How To Deal With Probing Questions

        Whenever an interviewer feels obligated to ask probing questions, it is bound to hurt you. The key to handling probing questions is to eliminate the necessity of being asked such questions. Probes occur because the interviewer is not satisfied with the information obtained. The interviewer may follow up with another question simply because the initial answer was incomplete, or because the interviewer believes you may be withholding something. Your challenge is to provide enough information to satisfy the interviewer, but not so much information that it hurts you. Probing questions might arise around such issues as your weaknesses, why you were terminated, or why you’ve had four jobs in the last five years. Clearly, you can’t score points with questions like these, so the tendency is to provide an extremely brief answer. If interviewers suspect you’re avoiding something, however, they often go for the jugular. An interviewer could ask three or four additional probing questions and use up 10–15 precious minutes doing it.

        Several approaches can help you preempt probing questions:

        1) Know in advance what questions could potentially hurt you. If you were recently fired, you know what the difficult question will be. When you’ve decided which questions might hurt you, practice your responses.

        2) Avoid sounding anxious or defensive in your answers.

        3) Provide enough, but not too much information. Interviewees lean toward one of two extremes. Some are too brief in their responses and appear evasive. Others provide long-winded explanations in an attempt to cover every possible detail. Such long responses usually just provide more material for probing questions.

Effectively Answering Technical Questions

        All interviews include questions that assess how closely your knowledge and experience match the job requirements. Your responsibility is to predict what the technical questions will be and then prepare for them. Technical questions are those questions that clarify whether you have the specialized knowledge and experience needed to fulfill specific job responsibilities. You may be asked how much experience you have with spreadsheets, developing marketing plans for software companies, or designing heart monitoring equipment. The list of technical skills is endless, but for your specific field you should be able predict what the technical questions will be.

        If you interview with several people at an organization, one of them will often be the most knowledgeable technically. That person will ask you the toughest technical questions.         You can rarely fool the technical person, so don’t even try. Microsoft is famous for using at least one highly technical person to really test you. If you say you are a power user of Excel, the Microsoft Excel specialist might ask you how you would go about creating a macro that would automate a particular function. If you claim expertise in the C++ programming language, you will be asked to go to a white board and solve a problem. You won’t leave until the specialist has thoroughly assessed your knowledge level.

        You’ll want to claim as much expertise in your resume as possible without overstating it. Understating can result in no interview, but you will be unceremoniously dumped out of the interview process if you overstate it. Try to accurately project your real knowledge and experience level.

        To predict technical questions, you need to know as much about the job as possible. Do everything you can to get a thorough job description. Ask questions of the recruiter or HR person before the interview. While the information may not always be available, no one can fault you for trying to obtain it. You can even be so bold as to ask the HR person or even the hiring manager, “What technical skills and experience are most important in this position?” Even if you don’t get all the information you’d like, you’ll be way ahead of your competitors, who will rarely ask for such information.

        Many interviewees do not bother to evaluate their technical skills (also called work content skills). They say to themselves, “There’s no way to prepare for it—I’ve either done it or I haven’t, and I either know it or I don’t.” While there is a certain logic in this thinking, it is really just an excuse to be lazy. Remember the balance scale concept covered on page 2? The balance scale reminds us that the person who gets the job is the one who has the most weight on his or her side of the scale at the end of the interviewing process. It means that you must get as much weight added on your side of the scale with each question, because it is the combined weight of all questions, not just one or two, that makes the difference.

        If you prefer to think in terms of points scored, the goal is to score as many points as possible on each question. If you’re asked what experience you have in planning for trade shows and you’ve never even attended a trade show, let alone coordinated one, you’re in danger of getting no points on that question. If caught unprepared, you should quickly recall things you’ve done that are similar (see page 14) and try to get a few points.

        If you knew that one of the duties of the position is to plan and coordinate three trade shows annually, you would first read up on trade shows, and, if time permitted, talk to people who coordinate trade shows. You would try to learn the jargon so you could appropriately use all the right terms. Just for speaking the language, you’ll get some points. You would also describe the things that need to be done and demonstrate that you are more than capable of handling each task.

        Having predicted that you’ll be asked about trade show experience, you’ll work hard to recall one or more experiences that are related or similar to trade shows. If you’ve attended trade shows but never coordinated one, you would point out that you know what goes on at trade shows and that you observed some of the planning or setting up at trade shows. If you worked closely with the person who coordinated trade shows for your company, you would describe what you learned from that person.

        Here’s the problem when you haven’t done a particular thing that is called for in a job description: managers tend to forget that there was a time when they also had not done that thing. They also tend to forget that someone gave them the opportunity to learn it on the job. Often they learned it very quickly. You can do the same if given a chance. Don’t forget to sell the fact that you learn new things quickly. You could even say something like:

While I haven’t specifically coordinated trade shows, I certainly have all of the skills needed to do it. I have a good understanding of what needs to be done. I’m very good at coordinating events, which I’ve done on several occasions. I view a trade show as an event that has some unique features to it. I also plan well and I have an extensive history of completing major projects on schedule and at high quality. I’m sure in your career you’ve been assigned tasks that you had never done before, but with a little assistance from others and some experience, you became quite adept at. I’ve also been given new tasks and I always rise to the challenge. I would really enjoy coordinating your trade shows.

 

        It is nearly impossible to have all the knowledge and experience an employer might like. Despite having some shortages, you may in fact be the virtually perfect candidate. The employer will see that if you 1) effectively describe your relevant experience and knowledge, 2) sell all the benefits you bring, 3) vividly describe appropriate past successes, 4) convince the person that you have related experience in areas where you’re weak, and 5) prove that you learn new tasks quickly. In addition you must show that you are a flexible, easy-to-work-with person who will fit right in with the other staff. To get the offer you must make all of these things happen. That’s why effective interviewing requires lots of preparation.

Getting Feedback From An Employer

        Usually the interviewer’s facial expression will indicate whether a point you just made has been thoroughly understood, but not always. If you’ve just described something technical, and you’re not sure the interviewer understood, get feedback. It can be as simple as looking directly at the person and tactfully asking, “Was that clear?” If you are not sure you truly answered what the interviewer was asking you could ask, “Is that what you were looking for?” or “Am I giving you the information you need?”

        Sometimes during an interview you can’t tell if the interviewer is truly interested or just polite. If you would like to say more about an experience or topic, but you’ve already spoken for over a minute and you’re not sure the person wants to hear more, simply ask, “Would you like to hear more about my experience with . . . ?” That enables the interviewer to respond, “That’s probably sufficient,” or, “Sure, it sounds like that was an important experience.”

Disagree Tactfully

        Generally you should resist the temptation to overtly disagree with the interviewer. The interviewer may say something negative about a politician you admire or about a social policy you support. The interviewer may disparage a management concept that you believe strongly in. With few exceptions there is simply no need to inform the interviewer that you disagree. It just doesn’t matter. Any two people are bound to disagree on some issues, yet they are capable of working well together. Most disagreements are simply unimportant to your goal—getting the job offer. So, bite your tongue if you must, but stick to things that will help you score points. Disagreeing will rarely do that.

        There are times when you must disagree. When you must, do it tactfully. The time to tactfully disagree comes when the interviewer makes a statement about you which you know is either untrue or is not as serious as the interviewer seems to think. The statements might include, It seems that you:

           • are a little too sensitive

           • don’t like to deal with details

           • have trouble getting along with people

           • tend to rule with an iron fist

           • find it difficult to stay with one company for long

        One way to deal with the situation is to show some amount of agreement, but then state where you don’t agree. “I would agree that I ___________, but I wouldn’t say that I’m ___________.” In response to “It doesn’t seem that you like to work with details,” it might work out this way: “I would agree that a detail orientation is not my greatest strength. I really am more of an ideas and big -picture person. But when I’m overseeing a project I keep very close track of the details while keeping my eyes on our goals. When I can, I’ll delegate some of the details to others but I make sure those things are getting accomplished. I hold my people accountable.”

        To make this work, anticipate criticisms or objections that might arise and determine how you would deal with them. See chapter three for more on objections.

Create Positive First Impressions

        Interviewers tend to arrive at quick conclusions about interviewees and are heavily influenced by negative impressions. A study published by the Canadian Journal of Psychology indicated that 85% of interviewers’ decisions were based on information obtained in the first four minutes of the interview. Just one unfavorable rating on one aspect led to a reject decision 90% of the time. This research merely confirms what we’ve known all along—first impressions are important. Make sure yours are positive.

            Many first impressions occur within a minute and are primarily nonverbal. A warm smile as you greet your interviewer gets things off to a good start. Firm handshakes create positive impressions while limp or bone-crushing handshakes get the interview started in a downward trend. From the beginning demonstrate your enthusiasm and energy. Be friendly and open. When you arrive for the interview take a quick visit to the bathroom to check yourself out in a mirror. Check your hair, blouse, or tie to make sure everything is looking right. Make sure that buttons are buttoned and zippers are zipped.