DistinctDirections.Com - Interview tips

Interviewing Tips

Receiving a call cold.

How many times have you answered the phone and agreed to a conversation that perhaps you were not prepared for?

As a candidate you must remember that as interested as you may be in a position, the person on the other side of the line is equally as interested hiring someone for the position.

In order to maintain some control in the interviewing process, it is completely reasonable to request a formal time for the meeting - be it face-to-face or on the phone. The other party will respect you and should be open to coordinating a mutually acceptable time to meet or speak. The timing should fall into the next 24-hour period in order to avoid having the employer lose interest or filling the position. You may only want to forward the call by 15 minutes, but in doing so, you have maintained control of this step.

Body Language

Recruiters are evaluating your answers as much by what you say as how you say it.
Always face the person interviewing, it is both a sign of respect and an indication of level of interest.
When answering tough or sensitive questions, maintain your cadence and volume level. Any deviation from what has been established as your norm (shifting in your seat, looking down or away from your interviewer, speaking quietly) will set off alarms in an experienced interviewer's mind and invite much greater scrutiny.

Focused resume

Know what it is that you want to do and be sure that your resume address that issue. Provide substance that will demonstrate your proficiency in your chosen area of recruitment.
Be Sure that you are familiar with all specifics on your resume. No one ever sold "about" $1,000,000. They sold $1,050,000 and it breaks down to 50% licence, 20% Hardware and 30% services.

Answer the Question

Have you ever witnessed a conversation where the person answering a question totally missed the question?
Recruiters are very experienced at listening to the answers to questions. As a candidate, it is imperative that you first understand the question being poised and then answer it accurately with the appropriate amount of detail.
First, if there is any ambiguity in subject of the question, paraphrase the question in your own words and get the interviewer to agree to your version of the question.
Second, answer the question in two parts, the first being a direct answer to the question - Yes or No. Then elaborate on your answer in as much detail and necessary to convince the interviewer of your profiencey in the topic of conversation

Time is precious

Never assume how much time has been allocated for a meeting.
At the outset of the meeting, confirm the time frame allotted for the meeting and the interviewer's agenda.
Manage your time with an eye to completing the meeting in the allotted time frame. You want to be sure that you have closure and cover off the next steps.

"Close" The Conversation

At the end of the conversation, before you leave the meeting/call, be sure to ask for the position. Express interest in the role and let the interviewer know it.
If you are unsure of your personal interest in the position, close like you really want it. It is a lot easier to decline a position after it has been offered then to change your mind to wanting the position after you have declined it in the interview before it was offered.
Objections - Ask the interviewer if he/she has any issues or objections that may have come about as a result of the conversation. Let the interviewer finish his observations before you speak to any points that may have been mentioned. Then address each point, adding information that may have been left out during the initial conversation. Then close again.

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