Interviewing.....Part One

What's the funniest thing that has ever happened to you in an interview? If I have space, I may use it in Part Two of Interviewing.

Interviewing for a job can be very intimidating today.  Employers are being inundated with applicants as unemployment and under-employment are at record highs.  Not long ago, a friend told me he would place a help wanted ad in the local newspaper and receive maybe 25 applicants for an open position.  Today, for the same position, he receives over 600 applications. 

If you think about it, interviewing is like a reality game show.  The first thing you must do is to get recognized in a crowd of thousands.  So how is this done?  First, the basics… prior to actually getting an interview, you must create a document: a CV, a résumé, or a history of your triumphs that will represent you when you aren’t there, outlining the great person that will be joining their team.  A good attention-getting resume sometimes will work to get you to the next plateau.

Now that you have organized your background in a way that will represent you (when really you are just another candidate), it’s time to start looking for opportunities (or reality shows) in which you would like to participate.

The easiest method is to ask friends and family, former work associates, and neighbors if they know of any openings.  Here in the South, we call it “The Good Ole’ Boy Network,” as positions many times are not published, because they either want someone they already know or they don’t want headhunters hounding them (or to pay their fee). 

Let’s assume you get a lead for an opportunity (or show), and now it’s time to show what you really are all about.  So you send in your resume, and luckily you are chosen to continue to the interviewing process.  If you have been convincing, in a subtle professional manner, and if you are chosen you move on two Round Two, the phone interview. 

The phone interview is a game in which you can be called at anytime, usually while in the checkout line at Costco, or at the beach, or on a golf course, so it is difficult to speak openly, but you need to speak with them when you “get the call.”  How creative you are on this call with the Human Resources Department will determine if you make it to Round Three (or if you are “going to Hollywood!” 

During this phone call is when you try to convince the HR interviewer that you are worth the investment, during a conversation with a complete stranger that knows everything about you, and that you know virtually nothing about them.  If you are successful, it will lead to a “face to face” interview with the person that will (hopefully) ultimately become your immediate boss.

Or as known on other reality shows, “You’re going to Vegas, baby!” There you will be up against a select few peers that are as hungry and determined to get the job as you are.  As your competition says or does something that makes the judges disqualify them, the finalists are dwindled down for the “Live Show” where you have the face to face interview with your potential new boss.

There is a line in the movie “Pretty Woman” when Julia Roberts is on Rodeo Drive buying clothes with Richard Gere’s character’s response when asked “how things were going,” by the sales person, Richard Gere replied, “I think we need some major sucking-up.” As, “The Live Show” is where the applicant agrees with most everything the interviewer says, always being very positive along the way.  Never, of course, describing what a terrible boss you previously had, or how the company was poorly managed. 

Sometimes you will need to take an aptitude test to see if you have the same mindset as successful employees currently in the position for which you are applying.  It’s nothing you can study for, but if you know what they are looking for, you can answer it accordingly.  While this is somewhat scientific, nothing will insure success, but it will give them an indication of your potential success performing in this position.

If you have been convincing enough, you will make it to the “Finals” to interview with your boss’s boss.  Now they can see if you can handle the pressure and if you are the type of individual that the previous “Judges” said you were.  Now it’s your audience that will decide if you are the one for their company.

There are outside influences that you have no control over, no matter how perfect you are for the position.  It may depend on how much time the boss has for your interview and what challenges or problems they may be dealing with just prior to the time of your meeting.  Did they just have a disagreement with their spouse or child at the time? Did they just lose or win their largest customer?   Even though it has nothing to do with who you are, it can still affect the interview and you will never know at the time.

If you have the good fortune to win and you are still interested in their company and compensation, you now have a new career.  Should you come in second or third, you are still  out looking again for the next opportunity.  Unfortunately, only one person wins the job.

Be sure to check back Friday, for part Two of Interviewing.  What's the funniest thing that has ever happened to you in an interview? If I have space, I may use it in Part Two of Interviewing.

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