I got ANOTHER interview! This time it's with a local college (the one I graduated from!) as an educator in the health and wellness program. I'm really excited about it! I'm not going to post my outfit because it was really uncomfortable and boring and you don't want to see that mickey mouse!
I wanted to post some interview tips that I've picked up over my years of interviewing for jobs. Interviewing sucks, for real. I usually get nervous at least 24 hours prior to the interview and what helps me the most is feeling prepared. Andy said he's never seen anyone prepare as much as me for a job interview, but if you've ever been at an interview and went completely blank, you'll understand why I feel the need to over-prepare! Here's what I do:
First, I look over the organization's website thoroughly. I look at every page, I print pages out, I look at staff bios if available (this will help when you're meeting people with remembering names!), organization history, mission statement, financial reports, etc! This will help me craft questions for the staff during my interview.
Secondly, I write down all of the (applicable) jobs I have had over the past several years and list out all of the duties and experiences I had at each job - particularly the duties that would be useful for the job I'm interviewing. This will help with those "tell me about a time..." or "tell me the experience you have doing..." questions. All of those anecdotal stories are fresh in my mind!
Thirdly, I think about generic questions that they might ask and prepare for them, especially questions that are kind of tricky (ex. tell me about a time you were wrong, or tell me what your weaknesses are?) Here are some sample questions I think about:
1. Tell me about yourself (the standard opening question): what employers are looking for here is information about your professional self. Don't say "well I like long walks on the beach" or "I'm highly unorganized so I'm always rushing everywhere and usually exhausted"! Tell a story of your professional life: I am from here, I graduated high school or college here, I knew I wanted to work in ABC field (related to the job for which you're interviewing - not some completely irrelevant job) and I began working at XYZ company where I learned how to 123 and that brings me here.
2. Why do you want to work here? Think about this before hand! This will give you an opportunity also to highlight that you've looked @ their website, done your homework, know about their company through other contacts. "Well I am really excited about such and such program you all are working on" or "I have been following your work since yada yada" or "I would be honored to work with such an innovative organization like yours who is known in the community for blah blah blah".
3. Tell me about your weaknesses: This question sucks. No way around it. Think about it before hand, because a LOT of people ask this question. I try to think of something that can be turned around to a positive. A lot of people answer this by saying they are no good at organization, and so they overcompensate by working hard to be highly organized, such as creating file folders and lists. I often say that I am an introvert, so I can be quiet but I work on approaching new people often and practice my extrovert skills whenever I have a chance. I like this answer because there is nothing I can do about being an introvert, so it's not necessarily a weakness!
4. Why should we hire you? I loathe this question. One time I actually said "because you think I'm a good fit" (and I actually got that job! Holler!). This is your last hoorah - your last chance to really list your strengths and skills. Talk about how your experience really lends itself to the position.
There are lots of great lists online to help prepare you for questions as well, so often I will just google search for some sample questions and think about them.
After I am mentally prepared for an interview, I work on my outfit. If it is a professional-type job, I almost always wear black pants and a blazer. I highly recommend closed-toe shoes as well. I try to wear something colorful under my blazer to show a hint of my personality, but it is never a low-cut shirt. I would rather be too dressed up, than too casual for an interview. Try your best to be comfortable in your clothing, this is really important. If you're not comfortable in your outfit, you won't be comfortable at the interview.
A day before the interview I try to map out the route to the office, especially if I've never been there before. I plan to be at least 20 minutes early to the site and will spend about 15 minutes in my car looking over my materials. And breathing. I get SO nervous before interviews it helps me a lot to take long, slow breaths to calm down. I will try to exercise before an interview if I have time, but breathing has helped the most.
Bring: extra copies of your resume, paper, a few writing utensils, a copy of your references, and water! If you're all nervous and dry-mouthed it doesn't sound very confident :) But don't drink too much water before, you don't want to have to interrupt the interview to use the restroom.
Finally, I always prepare questions for the organization that I truly want to know. Some examples: How does your org support it's staff; how does your org promote healthy boundaries/work environment; what is the best thing about working here; what are you the most proud of for this org; what kind of management style do you use; tell me about the ideal candidate for this position; what is the most frustrating aspect of working here, and so on. Think about experiences you've had at a job that you wish you would have known before you took the job.
Remember - they are interviewing you, but you're also interviewing them! Just because you got an interview doesn't mean you would HAVE to take the job!
I highly recommend not asking questions about salary in the interview. This is my personal preference, some people think differently. It's entirely up to you, but I think it is in poor taste.
Celebrate when you're finished!! We never do as badly as we think we did, so recognize where you shined and be proud of yourself for surviving!
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