Interview Checklists That Get You Hired

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2 Interview Checklists That Get You Hired 2012 by John Leggatt and Jitka Vesela Published by John Leggatt and Jitka Vesela at Smashwords Careers Upstairs 1400 W. Washington St., Suite 104 Sequim, WA Comments? Please us at Smashwords Edition, License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors. Cover design by Jitka Vesela. ISBN

3 Chapter Topics Chapter 1: Read Me First Chapter 2: Your Portfolio Chapter 3: Business Cards Chapter 4: Researching the Company Chapter 5: Your Branded Sound Bite Chapter 6: Making Eye Contact

4 Chapter 7: Knowing Your Body Language Chapter 8: Telephone Strategies Chapter 9: Dressing for Success Chapter 10: Traveling to Your Interview Chapter 11: Identifying Types of Interviews Chapter 12: Testing for the Right Candidate Chapter 13: Brand vs. Fit

5 Chapter 14: "Tell me about yourself" Chapter 15: Strategic Responses to Employer's Questions Chapter 16: Illegal Questions Chapter 17: Questions You Might Ask Chapter 18: Analyzing Your Interview Chapter 19: Post-Interview Action Chapter 20: Negotiating Your Salary

6 Chapter 21: You're Hired Now What? Appendices References

7 Chapter 1: Read Me First Benefit of pre-planning: Controlling your message Be consistent Your interview process begins long before you sit across the desk from the employer. It begins the moment you submit your resume or job application! The moment you submit your resume, you are committed to living up to the ideal created by your resume. Employers will scrutinize your resume and online presence for inconsistencies in your image, so you must protect and promote this image with everything you say and do. Your Internet presence The number of employers using online sources to look into the background of job candidates grows daily. Companies like Social Intelligence offer social media screening and investigative services that include employment background checks and corporate due diligence. Be proactive when defining your online identity. Before publishing your resume:! Clean up your digital dirt: check for inappropriate images, comments, associations, etc.! Update your LinkedIn profile: ensure the information on LinkedIn matches your resume.! Create your online portfolio: use a personal website or a blog to support your resume.! Check your settings: create a branded signature. You never know who s calling From the moment you publish your resume, your next incoming phone call could be from an employer. The telephone number on your resume (and other methods of contact) should connect to your private phone (i.e., cell phone or home phone), where you have sole access to incoming calls. Your job search is a business activity. Thus, please consider making adjustments to your telephone practice. Job-search telephone practice:! Record a new voic use your 15-second sound bite.! Set up Call Waiting: callers would rather wait on hold than have to call you back.! Be prepared to answer calls 24/7.

8 Chapter 9: Dressing for Success Benefit of wearing the right outfit: Creating your best first impression Elements of making a best first impression You have less than three minutes to make your best first impression. In that time, the interviewer will observe your:! Attire: Are you dressed appropriately?! Behavior: Are you calm and composed?! Handshake: Do you shake hands firmly and with good eye contact?! Neatness: Are you prepared for the occasion?! Posture: Are you confident? Do you display a high energy level? Guidelines to modest, simple, and clean attire: To avoid over-dressing or under-dressing, observe the attire of employees at the target company in advance of your interview, then dress one level of formality higher than that. See suggested attire and fashion mistakes for women and men on the following pages. Not too formal nor informal A general guideline to dressing appropriately for a job interview is to observe the attire of the target company s employees, then dress one level of formality higher than employees at the level of the position you seek. General guidelines for companies:! Formal or conservative corporate culture: Two-piece business suit.! Somewhat-formal corporate culture: Suit; or conservative jacket or blazer, and pants.! Casual corporate culture: Semi-dress shoes, subdued sport shirts, dresses, blouses, and pants. You may wish to consider asking for a second opinion from a trusted advisor who is knowledgeable about what is appropriate business attire.

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10 Chapter 11: Identifying Types of Interviews Benefit of knowing what s going on: Choosing the right strategy Behavior-based interview Situational interview Stress interview Outside-the-box interview Panel interview Group interview Hands-on interview All-day interview Video-conference interview Behavior-based interview Behavioral-based interview questions are common to most interviews. The purpose of behavior-based interview:! To identify patterns of your accomplishments to establish future projections: Is there a reasonable chance that s/he will perform as well again in the future?! To determine whether your accomplishments relate to the position for which you are applying: Do we need this type of performance in our company? Sample lead-ins to behavioral questions: Give me an example of what you did Tell me about a time when you How did you decide which task to do first? (asked as a follow-up question) What could you have done differently? (asked as a follow-up question) Your strategy: Challenge-Action-Results (CAR) technique: This powerful strategy (also known as Opportunity-Action-Results (OAR)) is particularly effective if your CAR story aligns with the kind of challenges you expect to deal with in your future position. How to develop your CAR story: 1. Identify one key story for each position. Focus only on strong, clearly defined results. 2. Describe a particular situation or problem (your Challenge) that you needed to resolve. Give details to add credibility to your statement. 3. Concisely describe what you did (your Action) to solve the problem. Be ruthless in eliminating activities and accomplishments that do not fit with the CAR strategy. 4. Describe how your organization benefited by your actions (your Results). Provide numbers to quantify the results and explain how your action affected the organization s bottom line.

11 Group interview You and all other candidates will be together during a preliminary interview. As a group you may be asked to answer the same question, to discuss the same topic, or to participate in a team task. A private, short interview with a decision-maker follows this group session, usually the same day. The purpose of group interview:! Compare candidates performance.! Observe leadership capabilities.! Test required skills. Indicators: Usually the person who makes the appointment for your interview would know that you were going to have a group interview. (See Chapter 8: Telephone Strategies.) Your strategy:! Master your attitude: Preserve your positive nature and composure, and reveal it in any hands-on group tasks. Teamwork requires self-control, because manifestations of emotions are contagious.! Sell yourself: State your value to the company in every answer. Practice your performance, i.e., your sound bite and answers to common interview questions.! Be active: Lead, participate, offer help, give and receive suggestions, listen, and talk. Sample dialogue: Interviewer: Mrs. Jones, why do you want to be a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines? Mrs. Jones: My reputation shows that for over seven years I have given clients more than they expect. My supervisors have complimented me on my leadership capabilities during inflight emergencies, and my colleagues respect me for resolving difficult social situations. I would like to contribute my outstanding front-line service to Alaska Airlines. Interviewer: Mr. Smith, why do you want to be a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines? Mr. Smith:... Interviewer:...

12 References Chapter 1: Read Me First DeCarlo, L. (2009). How to beat pre-interview stress: 7 Techniques. Retrieved from Davich, V. N. (1998). The best guide to meditation. Milwaukee, WI: Renaissance Books. Goleman, D. (2006). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. New York, NY: Bantam Books. LinkedIn Corporation. (n.d.). LinkedIn.com. Retrieved from Schiraldi, G. R. (2001). The self-esteem workbook. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications. Smith, M., and Segal, R. (2012, April). How to reduce, prevent, and cope with stress. Retrieved from Riv Data Corp. (n.d.). Social intelligence. Retrieved from Sullivan, R. (2011, September 30). When it comes to online reputation, 'life's not fair, and companies aren't either. Retrieved from Swallow, E. (2011, October 23). How recruiters use social networks to screen candidates. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from Chapter 2: Your Portfolio d Amico, J. (2012, July 1). Executive summary. Retrieved from Chapter 4: Researching the Company Aviation Publishing Group. (n.d.). AVweb.com. Retrieved from AviTrader Publications Corp. (n.d.). AviTrader. Retrieved from Business.com Media, Inc. (n.d.). Business.com. Retrieved from