Tips About Interviewing for a Job

When looking for a job, there are many different things that employers are looking for.  Every company or organization is different, however there seems to be some common things that hiring managers look for when interviewing someone.  Richard Boles mentions sixteen tips about interviewing for a job in What Color Is Your Parachute 2016, but I am only going to touch on a few of them in this blog post.

Be Prepared!

When you are able to land an interview with a possible future employer, it is very important to be prepared.  When you go into an interview the employer obviously wants to know about you, but they are also most likely going to want to know what you know about them.  Do some research about the company and find out as much as you can about it.  Ask people you know if they know anything about the company, and go on their website and read what it says in their "About Us".  Employers will be impressed if you know a lot about their company, so take the time to do the research.  It could make the difference between being hired or not.

Questions to expect, then questions you can ask

There are many questions that an interviewer is going to ask you in an interview but there are five basic questions that Boles says you need to pay attention to.  The five basic questions are:

• "Why are you here?"-which means why are you interviewing at this company instead of somewhere else?
• "What can you do for us?"-what skills do you have and how can you use them to help the company?
• "What kind of person are you?"-what type of personality do you have and will you be able to work well with others?
• "What exactly distinguishes you from nineteen or nine hundred other people who are applying from this job?"-what are your best skills or characteristics that make you stand out compared to others?
• "Can I afford you?"-what is the salary you are looking for?

In addition to being asked questions, the interviewer is going to expect you to ask questions also.  Asking questions shows that you are interested in the job.  These questions should be similar to what they are asking only in a different form.  The first two questions should be asked out loud where as the last three should be observed quietly.  As for question four and five, you should be prepared to ask them only when the appropriate time arrives.

• "What does this job involve?"-what is it exactly that you would be doing if you landed this job, would you really like doing it, and can you do it?
• "What are the skills a top employee in this job would have to have?"-this question allows you to see if your top skills match what it takes to work at this company.
• Are these kinds of people I would like to work with or, not?"-you have to think for yourself on this one, are these people the people you would want to be around every day?
• "If we like each other, and we both want to work together, can I persuade them there is something unique about me, that makes me different from nineteen or nine hundred other people who are applying for this job?"-this is a more complicated question that you should think about ahead of time.  Do your best to try to think of a skill or two that makes you stand out most from anyone else.
• "Can I persuade them to hire me at the salary I need or want?"-this requires some research to see what kind of salary that a job like this would offer.

Again, these are only a few tips to help you when going on a job interview.  For the rest of the 16 tips, refer to What Color Is Your Parachute 2016, by Richard Boles.