Interview Tips | Professional Resume Service Advice
Types of Interviews:
After submitting your resume to a potential employer, your goal during a telephone interview is to avoid being eliminated and move on to the face-to-face interview. You may have several in-person interviews but treat each one as if it were the first.
A popular style of interviewing is competency-based, in which interviewers are looking for evidence of your core competencies and necessary qualifications for the position. Competencies are abilities, key skills, and talents that make the behavior easy or enjoyable to perform. Recruiters are looking for behaviors that are equal to success. Behavioral interviewing is good for a structured, logical conversational style. These questions often begin with tell me, describe, give me an example, how have you, when have you, how did you. You will be asked what you would do in certain circumstances during a situational interview. You may be asked to describe how you would handle certain situations relevant to the position that you are applying for.
While in a stress-test interview, an interviewing may test your coping skills with the assumption that you will react in a similar many on the job, in which case you must remain calm. In a committee meeting interview, you will be questioned by two or more individuals at the same time. Make sure you prepare ahead of time and glance at your notes and take notes so that it seems like you are in a business meeting as well. A new style of interviewing is videoconferencing , in which they are looking for an employee who is equally comfortable with it.
Main skills recruiters want to see: (1)Analytical
(2)Communication (written, oral, interpersonal)
(3)Flexibility / Adaptability
(4)Initiative / Drive / Energy
(5)Leadership
(6)Planning
(7)Problem-Solving
(8)Teamwork
(9)Technical / Technology
(10)Time Management
Organizing & Planning:
It is very helpful to know enough about the organization interviewing you so that you can comfortably discuss the matters at hand with a background knowledge. You will also feel more confident and able to ask more relevant questions. This will make you appear more intelligent and motivated.
Before you get started make sure to keep a written and/or computerized record listing:
- Date resume was sent
- Name of company
- Name of person you sent it to
- Address
- Phone
- Date and time of interview
- Results of interview
- Second interview
- When you sent a thank you letter or note, research the company thoroughly. This is essential but it is often neglected. Try to find out the following information:
- Products or services
- Company history
- Number of employees
- Business methods
- Distribution methods
- Organizational structure
- Kinds of clients or customers
- Locations
- Reputation
- Philosophy
- Industry standing/Sales or activity volume
- Prospects for company growth
Preparing for the Interview:
First relax, take a deep breath, and think about all of your skills, accomplishments, and abilities. Are you talented, outgoing, intelligent, able to work well with others, handle instructions well, and do you have an effective resume to present? Do you enjoy people or prefer to work alone? How do you handle criticism? Are you good at evaluating the work of others? Do you prefer to supervise or to be supervised? What did you enjoy the most about your last position? What would you change about it? What has been your major contribution to your last job? What are your long and short-term goals? What would you like to be doing in five years? How would you like to improve? What are you looking for in your next job? It may help to find a professional resume service that specializes in writing resumes for your particular industry.
Keep in mind that employers are interested in what you can contribute to the company by:
1. Making Money
2. Saving Money
3. Saving Time
