The Interview - Part 1

Yeah! You got your interview. You've used your charm, charisma, and confidence to get that first meeting. I've often thought about a job interview like a blind date. The similarities are alarming. You've never met the person you're going to see, you're going to dress up, you're going to be on your best behavior so that person gets a fantastic first impression, and you're going to go home hoping for a second date. Not a perfect comparison, but for my purposes, it works nicely.

I'm going to break the interview down into several sections. The first part that I want to address briefly is wardrobe. We're all grown ups here so I'm not going to sweat the details, but here are the big points:

1. Dress to impress (cliche I know, but it's true.) For men, it's a suit, for women...well...it's still a suit.
2. Keep jewelry to a minimum, no nail polish, hair back, and try to hide the tattoos.
3. Polished shoes, women: make sure the heels aren't too high. Stilettos are probably not the look you're going for.
4. Use your best judgement and my general rule of thumb is that if I have a question about it; it's probably not appropriate.

Now you're dressed, you have at least three printed copies of your resume in a portfolio with a note pad, a couple of pens, and you're ready to roll. Plan to arrive about 10 minutes early. As I said earlier, we're all big kids so I'm not going to dwell on the minutia, but if there is anything you want more detail about, just e-mail me at thelaura@joblish.com. When you meet your 'date,' make eye contact, smile (but not too much because that can be creepy,) use a firm handshake, and be confident. When you reach your destination office or conference room, be seated and get ready for the the questions.

I've spoken to some recruiters and been to my share of job interviews and the consensus is that interviewers LOVE the following opener: "Tell me about yourself." That's not a question! How are you supposed to answer that?! My unfiltered, inner monologue wants to say that I'm an Aquarius, I like long walks on the beach, I'm getting married in October, and I'm dying to find out how "Lost" is going to end. Shockingly, that's not what they're looking for. You do, however, want to tell them some key information that will pique their interest. But how do you do that in a succinct and effective way that will begin the interview smoothly and transition into the next set of questions? Think about it and I will tell you what has worked for me in my next post.