Interview Questions

Preparing for an Interview

Far too many people focus only on the first step of job searching: getting an interview. Too many people fail to prepare adequately for the interview itself. Make sure to look up the latest news about the company and their products, and try to find out who is going to interview you. Know what is going on in the industry you are interviewing in and what the competition is doing. In real estate it’s location, location, location. In interviewing it’s Preparation, Preparation, Preparation. If you are looking for an engineering, professional or management position, be prepared to go to the white board to describe in detail what you have done in the past.

Be Interested and Pay Attention

Be proactive. Ask some questions without completely dominating the conversation. A potential job candidate who simply reacts to questions will not be very impressive at all. But be aware that every question you ask, and answer, will either contribute to or detract from the feeling your interviewers will be left with and will affect your hiring potential. Since you have hopefully studied the company, its products or services, the industry, and their competition, you should ask part way into the interview to see the products or the appropriate part of the company where the products are produced if possible. In an engineering company, that would be the manufacturing floor or development area. It can also be beneficial to meet the people you would potentially be working with to take an interest in them and ask them appropriate questions about the products and company.

Add Numbers to Your Accomplishments

Employers and Recruiters look for people with measurable accomplishments. So make sure your resume includes the numbers. Be prepared to explain or defend your accomplishments at the interview, possibly at the white board. For example: Supervised over 20 sales managers and 200 sales associates, Reduced payroll expenditures by 10%, Increased sales 36% over last year and 15% over budget, Increased manufacturing productivity by 20% over two years, etc. These numbers give a potential employer a framework of reference on what you can do for them if you’re hired.

Closing an Interview

What's the last thing that needs to happen in an interview? Close the sale! Ask the interviewer what the next step is? Look for buying or hiring words or phrases from the interviewer, like: want to get you in to meet so and so, or when could you be available and even do you have any pre-paid vacations coming up that we need to know about. These types of phrases are buying and hiring phrases. Look for them and you will know how you did in the interview.

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