Finally! What you've eagerly anticipated, the interview for the job of your dreams! But you want to make a good first impression right? Here's how...
1. Call ahead to the company that's interviewing you, and let them know who you are and what's going on. After introducing yourself, kindly and politely ask what is the preferred dress code at their place of business.Be one notch more formal than what they describe for the preferred dress code. Remember, you want to stand out, not blend in!
2. When you arrive 15 minutes early (hint), greet everyone, and remain professional at all times, (Yes, that includes the janitor). Most employers tend to ask about your interactions and behavior from their employees.
3. When meeting the employer for the first time, the rules are: A firm handshake, which consists of 2 pumps and release. Eye contact, but no staring. Sit up straight. It shows your confident and have a positive attitude.
4.Be prepared not only to be asked questions, but to have the interviewer answer some of yours! But do your research.
5. Only explain or discuss work related information. That goes for the interviewer too! Watch your language and never be too casual. Some Interviewers will try to be casual on purpose to test your professional integrity. Don't fall for it! Always, always keep your professional game face on!
I work with a gentleman who is looking for work; we’ll call him “Terry”. He has over 14 years of experience in IT, he is certified, the technical skills section on his resume reads like a dictionary of what-to-know, and he’s professional and charming on the phone, but he just blew an interview because of one thing: he told a story about an experience with a previous employer that made him sound “negative” to the hiring manager. When we discussed the story, he was very receptive to feedback and suggestions for improvement, which makes him an even better candidate, even though it was too late for that job.
Losing a job can be one of the most traumatic experiences for a person even when the separation is amicable. When it is not, the experience can color our perception of everything that happens afterward. At Chicago TechWorks, we often work with job seekers who have been laid off. I hear from job seekers about their past experiences of not been treated respectfully by their former employers. While talking about past trauma can be helpful, talking about it with recruiters and interviewers is particularly destructive. It can affect your job search more than you might think, and you might not even realize that you’re rehashing a traumatic experience and appearing negative like Terry.
Trauma is defined as any situation that leaves you feeling overwhelmed, even if it doesn’t involve physical harm. Trauma can be a one-time event, such as a horrible accident or it can stem from ongoing, relentless stress, like long term unemployment. Here’s more information about trauma.
I personally don’t believe that Terry is harboring a negative attitude because of past trauma, at least not in a way that makes him a poor choice to hire, but employers don’t know that. When you tell a story about how you got laid off, or someone treated you poorly and it wasn’t fair, what a recruiter or employer hears is, “I’m a negative person, I’m a victim, I don’t know how to handle disappointment professionally, and I will be difficult to manage”. And because employers can be pickier than they have been in the last decade, they will see any weakness as a reason to exclude you from being hired. Accepting this reality, fair or not, is the first step in helping yourself stay positive.
The second step is taking control and making sure past experiences don’t come back to haunt you in an interview. When people are actually over an incident, they tend not to rehash it. If you must talk about it, state what happened in the shortest clearest way possible, then move on to how you handled the situation professionally and confidently and end on a positive outcome. For example: “I worked as a Systems Analyst for Mibatsu for four years, and then the company decided to outsource my department, which eliminated position. I realized that I had an opportunity to gain some training and earn a certification I hadn’t previously had, and now I’m working on contract jobs to strengthen the depth of my experience.” Then stop talking. Anything about what they did, what they said, how unfair it was, how they discriminated against you; any narrative which gets you trapped in telling a long story which doesn’t highlight the professional way you handled it and came out on top is going to make you look like you are complaining and aren’t over it. That hurts you. Even if you really aren’t over it and you do feel confused, guilty, angry or worthless, there are ways to manage these feelings and get back to the positive you. But until you do, fake it.
Actually staying positive is the third step. When you are hurt, feeling helpless, confused, or your self esteem is suffering from unemployment or from any traumatic event, others can see it. If you think you are hiding it, ask a close friend or loved one to be honest and tell you what they see. Often we would like to think that we are putting up a good front and coping but you can only really do that well for a few hours (like in an interview), for prolonged periods, it is very difficult to monitor yourself so well that no negativity seeps out. Fake-it-until-you-make-it is a temporary fix. That is why in order to help yourself in your job search the most; you actually need to become less negative. Real acceptance of your situation and allowing yourself to embrace the positive aspects of it, like having the opportunity to learn new skills or explore a new career, is one way to move forward. Here are some more ways to move beyond the shame and stress of unemployment. Actually feeling more in control, self confident and optimistic is what will really make a big impact on your job search. This takes time and sometimes professional help.
We all hope that an employer will somehow see our skills and abilities and choose us based on that merit. However, that is not how it works. Employers use lots of methods to weed people out, such as applicant tracking systems, asking about unemployment status and salary history, and of course interviewing. We all know that interviewing isn’t just about reviewing what’s already on your resume, it is about assessing whether you are a good fit for the organization, whether you have the professionalism they are looking for, whether you are dependable, loyal, manageable and not a pain in the you-know-what to work with. Going through the traumatic experience of becoming unemployed can put you at a disadvantage in this arena in addition to the simple fact that you aren’t working (or aren’t working in your chosen field or full time). Employers want to hire people who are not only competent and experienced, but who make a positive contribution to their company culture. So whatever you need to do to stay positive is critical to your job search. Don’t let resentment and stress keep you from getting the job you want.