Before the interview

ASSISTANCE SERVICES:

• Look for help and guidance in those Interview Workshops.
• Ask about types of interviews.
• Practice job interviews with either counsellors in employments or friends.

PERSONALITY:

• Analyze your own interest, personal experiences, strengths, academic experiences related with the job position.
• Look for tools currently used to match and to get the job.

SUCCESSES:

• Prove you are the one for the job position by cataloguing your successes.
• Remember all those times when you have performed in previous roles or situations.
• Talk briefly about those relevant experiences when you positively used your skills and character.
• Make a list of all those positive things you have previously done in other jobs to solve an important problem.
• Consider your entire life positive performances, it means, include volunteer experiences, extracurricular activities, schools projects; and even some really important personal experiences.
• Include detailed activities in which you have gotten positive results through difficult circumstances.
• Reflect in the previous points, your skills, qualities and personal characteristics needed for the new job positions.
• Use names, quantities, dates, measures, and other details in order to prove the interviewer your actions.
• Review each written line and use only five or six greatest strengths

JOB RESEARCH:

• Look for sufficient information about the career field and the company.
• Demonstrate your enthusiasm by knowing what the organization is looking for.
• Frame your valuable strengths (skills, aptitudes, knowledge, etc.) with the organizations requirements.
• Determine if this is the kind of organization you have been looking for.
• Impress your interviewer conducting intelligently your research asking proper questions.
• Ask for detailed description that you might find calling Human Resources office of the organization.

POTENTIAL:

• List the ideal skills and personal characteristics required for the job position.
• Choose demonstrative examples of your successes catalogue that match with the previous list you have done.
• Write in paper possible responses for potential questions in order to focus on concrete answers. Practice these answers saying them loud.
• Write out your responses to the most likely questions. This will help you to focus on creating concise answers.
• Practice answering questions loud in order to listen to yourself, to improve your answers, and to rehearse; but do not memorize them.

INTEREST:

• Make a list of possible questions you will ask to the employer.
• Get valuable information by asking intelligent questions.
• Use questions that demonstrate your interest in the job.
• Ask more detailed and probing questions.
• Gather both job’s and employer’s information in order to evaluate if they match with your career goals and needs.

REFERENCES:

• Start obtaining references, at least one month in advance.
• Print only the most important and related references (2 - 5) in a single page.
• Stay in touch with those people who gave you references.
• Have the list at hand if the employer requests it.

TIME & PLACE:

• Agree with the employer for an interview.
• Ensure you have the correct time and place for the interview.
• Ask for the interviewer's name and title.

PRESENTATION:

• Use a portfolio of good quality.
• Hold copies of each paper you deliver, pens, etc.
• Dress properly according to your intended field and showing neatness and professionalism.

SKILLS:

• Able to do the job at hand?
• Become a productive employer?
• Save reasonable amount of time to the company?
• Can do the job elsewhere?
• Successful in previous jobs?
• Resolve previous job problems and develop solutions for them?

MOTIVATIONS:

• Interested in this type of work?
• Be self-confident to do the job?
• Have evidence to prove energy and exciting for the job?
• Be conscious and hard worker to realize the job?
• Have time enough to make a contribution?

ENVIROMENT:

• Able to fit in different cultural environments?
• Agree with values, attitudes and personal style of this workplace?
• Be a team player and prove it?
• Be a positive influence on the co-workers?
• Take extra tasks when needed with none complain?

MANAGEMENT:

• Take directions easily?
• Be easy, open and tactfully communicative?
• Feel comfortable to be managed?
• Accommodate with the existing management style?
• Accept the policies and procedures of the organization?

INVESTMENT:

• Agree with the salary?
• Range the new salary with older salary history?
• Have benefits such us insurance, dental costs, etc.?
• Satisfy needs and expectations?

ANXIETY:

• Handle your interview as it would be final exam, forcing you to be prepared.
• Look for some interview strategies, understand them and put them in practice.
• Keep practicing until you feel comfortable and become polished enough.
• Remember you are also evaluating the job; the interviewer is not the only jury.

CAREER FIELD:

• Information about the type of work.
• Actions and tasks the organization realizes.
• If the organization is non-profit, government agency, etc.
• The kind of people they offer the services.
• Important skills and qualities to be successful into the industry.
• Reading trade journals and websites.

ORGANIZATION:

• State and structure.
• Products and/or services offered.
• Lately taken directions in the past years, and expectations for the future.
• Organization values; including efficiency, social comfort, professional development, innovation, public service, etc.
• Roles and distribution according to the division.
• Place within the industry, in comparison with other companies.
• Quality and reputation.
• Market niche.
• Work and culture environment.
• Financial and health factors.
• Expansion planning.
• Specific areas and career fields.
• Recent information.

TRADITIONAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:

• Background. Interests. Reasons to work for the company.  Qualifications.
• Demonstration to be successful in...
• Reasons to get an interview with the organization.
• Availability to be relocated.
• Scholar period: Records. Majors. Favourite courses. Extra-curricular activities and interests. School experiences. Graduation plans.
• Satisfactions and experiences learnt during job experiences.
• Leadership roles and activities held.
• Strengths and weaknesses.
• Activities during spare time.
• Reasons to be hired.
• Field philosophy. Field experiences.
• References. Supervisor’s description.
• Future plans in 5 – 10 years. Desire future positions.
• Academic achievements.
• Current job: Activities. Roles.
• Best achievements satisfactions.
• Contribution to the organization

BEHAVIOURAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:

• Not considering obvious solutions to problems.
• Adapting hard situations.
• Working under pressure.
• Writing well received reports.
• Leading projects effectively.
• Tolerating opinions different from yours.
• Being obliged to make a dislike decision.
• Creating solutions to problems.
• Deciding under limited facts.
• Prioritizing complicated projects.
• Getting stuck in a project for details.
• Preventing potential problems developing genuine solutions.
• Managing complicated situations with co-workers.
• Influencing workmates to do things on your way.
• Dealing with irritated customers.
• Getting over harder obstacles.
• Not completing some task on time.
• Out looking too low or too high.
• Refusing some other good job.
• Getting fired or hired the wrong person.
• Frustrating your behaviour.
• Making bad decisions.
• Pushing a project influenced by your political hard apprehension.
• Losing or wining important contracts.
• Getting fired a friend.

WHAT TO ASK:

• Time, process and measurement of your evaluation performance.
• Rotational and lateral movements and training programs politics.
• Field position development and new enters.
• Description of one typical day of work.
• Challenges, responsibilities and priorities during the job.
• Some best results examples in this position.
• Promotion policies.
• Future changes and/or plan into the organization.
• Differences with some other similar organizations.
• Organization’s strengths and challenges.
• Organization’s management style and personality description.
• Differences between managers and supervisors.
• New workers expectations within first months, one year, and five years.
• Work environment description.
• Future organization’s achievements.
• Biggest currently problem into the organization.
• Organization’s advices and tips for you when there are problems.
• Previous worker in the offered job position.
• Information about this job position.
• Supervisors and co-workers information.
• Performance review periods.
• Good and bad things to know

WHAT NOT TO ASK:

• Company actions.
• Psychiatric benefits.
• Interviewer’s personal information.
• Guarantee the job position.
• Undesired activities.
• Advantages for working into the organization.
• Unpunctual situations.
• Zodiac signs, ethnic group, religion, and similar.
• Free parking.
• Longest absenteeism record time.
• MBA reimbursements.
• Retirement plan

DRESSING LEVELS:

• Dress one or two levels higher than the desired job.
• Show respect if you cannot get to dress in that way.
• Demonstrate be careful about this job dressing by levels.

CAUTION:

• Remember the way of dressing is not the whole.
• Do not take yourself out of contention with your presentation
• Stay into the conservative side dressing to gain more chances.
• Do not expose tattoos in lower back or other parts of your body.

JUDGMENT:

• Use a suit only if it is necessary, it is not a must.
• Wear black slacks and a sweater, instead of a suit.
• Know about the organization politics to wear the right dress.
• Inform yourself about the dress code.
• Use your judgment to use a tie.

BE YOURSELF:

• Do not change your way of dressing once you got the job.
• Be yourself not trying to be someone you are not.