To start the New Year we will be posting our frequently asked for series on interviewing. It will be broken down over the next six postings. The breakdown will be:
1- Preparing yourself for the interview
2- Doing practice interviews
3- The most often asked questions at an interview
4- What you should bring up at an interview
5- The dynamics of a job interview
6- Understanding the stresses facing the interviewer
PREPARING YOURSELF FOR THE INTERVIEW
RESEARCH: Learn as much as you possibly can about the company you are about to visit. Go to the library and see if they have any information on the company. Check any trade publications (e.g., Supermarket News, Restaurant News, Food Engineering, Institutional Distributors, etc.) for articles or other information on the company. If it is a publicly owned corporation, contact a stockbroker and request any information he might have on the company, including annual reports and 10 K’s. If at all possible, get out to one or more of the company’s units or sample their products and see what the company is all about. Even if you are interviewing for a support position (e.g., Warehouse Manager or Controller), it is important to be familiar with the operations in the field. NOTE: You are making this visit in order to be conversant about the company, NOT to evaluate or pick apart the operation, which could be disastrous. Talk with the employees to learn about what they do, what their concerns are, and how they like working for the company. Be sneaky, and UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES let any of the employees know why you are there. Find out as much as you can about the person you will be interviewing with and their responsibilities. Research – do your homework – What projects are currently in progress? What challenges are facing the company? What is anticipated for the near future? How do you get answers through such questions? By talking and researching and listening.
After you organize all of this information, give yourself time to reflect upon it. You want to convince the hiring authority that it is in their best interest to hire you. Analyze your own work experience in light of all you have learned about the company and the position to determine the most effective ways you could be an asset to the company. Be prepared to show both through your written presentation and your interview the specific ways in which your skills and experience match the qualifications needed for the position.
Remember that the manager’s primary interests are not your needs (what you want from the company or the position). Their primary objective is to satisfy the needs of their corporation. Thus, you want to prove just how you can help them achieve that objective.
There are five different types of interviews that you might be exposed to in any combination. They are:
Screen In/Screen Out Interview – Most of the time conducted by a member of the personnel department of a company or an agency that is representing them in order to ensure that the candidates passed on to the true decision makers are fully qualified as to the job’s specifications.
In-depth/Pattern Interview – Sometimes administered by the personnel department, but most frequently by the person to whom you will be reporting. It is more technically oriented; focused on personal chemistry, philosophies and specific job responsibilities.
“Horse Show” Interview – Usually a series of interviews – many lasting only fifteen minutes or so to give you a chance to meet a lot of people within the company – other department heads, your potential boss’s boss; people who would be your subordinates. These usually take place when you are getting close to a job offer and are very important. Do not take them for granted – it is very easy to trip up and do or say something that might cost you the job.
Psychological/Honesty Interview – Conducted by the personnel department, an in-house or retained psychologist or a polygraph or voice stress technician. Honesty interviews are becoming science. The psychological tests are best dealt with in a relaxed, forthright and honest manner.
Final Interview – Done normally by the person to whom you would be reporting and includes an opportunity for each to ask any last-minute questions and then negotiate a salary package.
You may be asked to participate in any number or combination of these types of interviews. Each one is very important; you do not have the job until you have that offer and acceptance in your pocket and you start to work on that first day.
PREPARING YOURSELF FOR THE INTERVIEW
RESEARCH: Learn as much as you possibly can about the company you are about to visit. Go to the library and see if they have any information on the company. Check any trade publications (e.g., Supermarket News, Restaurant News, Food Engineering, Institutional Distributors, etc.) for articles or other information on the company. If it is a publicly owned corporation, contact a stockbroker and request any information he might have on the company, including annual reports and 10 K’s. If at all possible, get out to one or more of the company’s units or sample their products and see what the company is all about. Even if you are interviewing for a support position (e.g., Warehouse Manager or Controller), it is important to be familiar with the operations in the field. NOTE: You are making this visit in order to be conversant about the company, NOT to evaluate or pick apart the operation, which could be disastrous. Talk with the employees to learn about what they do, what their concerns are, and how they like working for the company. Be sneaky, and UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES let any of the employees know why you are there. Find out as much as you can about the person you will be interviewing with and their responsibilities. Research – do your homework – What projects are currently in progress? What challenges are facing the company? What is anticipated for the near future? How do you get answers through such questions? By talking and researching and listening.
After you organize all of this information, give yourself time to reflect upon it. You want to convince the hiring authority that it is in their best interest to hire you. Analyze your own work experience in light of all you have learned about the company and the position to determine the most effective ways you could be an asset to the company. Be prepared to show both through your written presentation and your interview the specific ways in which your skills and experience match the qualifications needed for the position.
Remember that the manager’s primary interests are not your needs (what you want from the company or the position). Their primary objective is to satisfy the needs of their corporation. Thus, you want to prove just how you can help them achieve that objective.
There are five different types of interviews that you might be exposed to in any combination. They are:
Screen In/Screen Out Interview – Most of the time conducted by a member of the personnel department of a company or an agency that is representing them in order to ensure that the candidates passed on to the true decision makers are fully qualified as to the job’s specifications.
In-depth/Pattern Interview – Sometimes administered by the personnel department, but most frequently by the person to whom you will be reporting. It is more technically oriented; focused on personal chemistry, philosophies and specific job responsibilities.
“Horse Show” Interview – Usually a series of interviews – many lasting only fifteen minutes or so to give you a chance to meet a lot of people within the company – other department heads, your potential boss’s boss; people who would be your subordinates. These usually take place when you are getting close to a job offer and are very important. Do not take them for granted – it is very easy to trip up and do or say something that might cost you the job.
Psychological/Honesty Interview – Conducted by the personnel department, an in-house or retained psychologist or a polygraph or voice stress technician. Honesty interviews are becoming science. The psychological tests are best dealt with in a relaxed, forthright and honest manner.
Final Interview – Done normally by the person to whom you would be reporting and includes an opportunity for each to ask any last-minute questions and then negotiate a salary package.
You may be asked to participate in any number or combination of these types of interviews. Each one is very important; you do not have the job until you have that offer and acceptance in your pocket and you start to work on that first day.
