Job interview tips

Iron Warrior

Iron Warrior

Registered User
Hello fellow AM junkies :) I am having my first job interview since I was 18. I was surprised with a sudden interview on January 29.

This will be a panel interview and I am pretty clueless on how to nail an interview. I would appreciate all the help I can get since I really want this job. My biggest questionmarks are rate of speech, body language, and eye contact. What are the do's and don'ts in those areas ? Once again, thanks for your input.
 
Make eye contact, strong handshake, don't fidget, don't be afraid to say "I don't know" and show confidence. Explain in detail but don't ramble. Emphasize reliability....

Thats what I look for in someone that I hire.
 
Kramer said:
Make eye contact, strong handshake, don't fidget, don't be afraid to say "I don't know" and show confidence. Explain in detail but don't ramble. Emphasize reliability....

Thats what I look for in someone that I hire.
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I'll have to work on my rate of speech. I've been told that I tend to talk a little too fast in general and this might tune people off from what I'm saying at times.

I have a very good idea about what to say but I just have to work on making it sound good and selling myself. I'll also have to work on distributing the eye contact since it'll be a panel interview of 3 people.

My biggest questionmark is in regards to how I should close the interview. What would make a great statement ? I'm thinking about saying something that sounds confident, something like "It's been a pleasure and I'll be ready when you call me" All of your input is appreciated :)
 
whoa, i wouldn't say "i'll be ready when you call." you wanna show persistentcy and ambition. ask for a contact phone # or email to inquire about their selection/if they made a delection. maybe ask, "would it be ok if i call in a couple days to check the status of this position?" you definately wanna show intense passion and interest for the job.

other than that, be prepared. employers tend to ask similar questions despite the industry/position. list your strength and weaknesses is quite popular. say only 1 weakness, but turn it around to make it sound positive. for example, i'll usually answer with, "i am hesitant to ask for help because i enjoy finding solutions myself" or "i am extremely detail-oriented and this may not be the most desireable characteristics when dealing with time constraints."

as i'm sure you already know, research the heck out of the company. i've been asked for CEO names, corporate headquarter locations, history, etc. if they stump you here, it will look really bad, so i always play it safe. also, come with questions that apply to the job/company. questions i always ask include: "what are your thoughts on continuing education? "how does one advance within the company?" how will i be trained?" "will i be working individually or in a team-environment?"

i always write a thank-you letter or email (depending on the culture of the company) the same day to thank the employer for their time and express additional interest. there are good examples on the internet if you search for them.

best of luck! let us know how it goes.
 
Well, I'm applying for Juvenile Hall as a corrections officer. I'll check up on the history, mission statement, and other important information I can gather. I'll also take a tour this Saturday to show that I'm trying to know more about the place.

Thanks for your opinion on my closing statement. I guess that sounds a little too cocky, you could just have saved me from myself :D

My weakness: "Sometimes I won't ask for help because I expect to be able to do the job by myself" How does that sound ? I have been knocked for hardly ever asking other people for their input and/or help. I won't say that I don't ask for the input of others because that might come off as too stubborn or me thinking I know it all.
 
All of the above is very good stuff. I'd like to add that when they ask you what you'd do in a certain situation telling what you've done in the past is much better than just saying would you would do. This is, of course, if you've actually done whatever they've asked about in the past, but you know what I mean.

Tell them that hiring you would feeling better than if they were fvcking their girl. :lol:
 
Tighe said:
All of the above is very good stuff. I'd like to add that when they ask you what you'd do in a certain situation telling what you've done in the past is much better than just saying would you would do. This is, of course, if you've actually done whatever they've asked about in the past, but you know what I mean.

Tell them that hiring you would feeling better than if they were fvcking their girl. :lol:
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Point taken, I'll tell them about the sex part after they hire me and I clear my probationary period LOL.

I just thought of this. What type of key words would they be asking when they are subtly asking me to sell myself to them ? I want to know when it would be appropriate to amp up the volume so to speak :)
 
After the interview, as you both stand up, and the guy goes to shake your hand, push your way into him and give him a hug.

Please refer to attached example.

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make sure you wear a suit...

and i cannot stress researching the company / job. i hate interviewing people who have no idea what the company is or does. its a waste of my time to tell you what is publicly available
 
Don't think about particular things to say, it only messes you up, and you come accreoss "rehearsed", and inpersonal.

I'm currently in the interviewing process, (I've only done 2 since Jan though, but I've been through just as many as most people here my age I suppose)

I have to say, the biggest thing I have learned is to approach a job JUST like you approach a woman.
Slow your roll, talk a little slower, shows your comfortable, just converse a little, not about the job before hand. Lean back when your listening a little , and when your speaking. Lean in when your making big points, ooze confidence, personality, and be outgoing. All these things I could list, but in the context of the interview, its too much to remember, and you come off nervous.

If the job were a woman,.. one you wanted to get to know first before you dated, You start with outgoing, personable, find something they say that genually interestes you, your not nervouse becasue your not picking her up yet, your just talkingseeing if there's something there that interests you... When something interests you, you know your going for it (maybe its something they say or something that you like about the job). Your not needy, but you know you can do the job, and now you have a reason to want to consider working for them.
Remember, they NEED someone like you, more then oyu need someone like them - is the mentality you have to beleive.
There are a hundred companies out hiring,.. there's only ONE of you. If they had someone who could do the job, they'd have hired someone by now :P
 
Palo Alto Labs said:
make sure you wear a suit...

and i cannot stress researching the company / job. i hate interviewing people who have no idea what the company is or does. its a waste of my time to tell you what is publicly available
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I got that taken care of, freaking cost me $600 with shoes and tailoring so I have to get the gig now :D
 
xtraflossy said:
Don't think about particular things to say, it only messes you up, and you come accreoss "rehearsed", and inpersonal.

I'm currently in the interviewing process, (I've only done 2 since Jan though, but I've been through just as many as most people here my age I suppose)

I have to say, the biggest thing I have learned is to approach a job JUST like you approach a woman.
Slow your roll, talk a little slower, shows your comfortable, just converse a little, not about the job before hand. Lean back when your listening a little , and when your speaking. Lean in when your making big points, ooze confidence, personality, and be outgoing. All these things I could list, but in the context of the interview, its too much to remember, and you come off nervous.

If the job were a woman,.. one you wanted to get to know first before you dated, You start with outgoing, personable, find something they say that genually interestes you, your not nervouse becasue your not picking her up yet, your just talkingseeing if there's something there that interests you... When something interests you, you know your going for it (maybe its something they say or something that you like about the job). Your not needy, but you know you can do the job, and now you have a reason to want to consider working for them.
Remember, they NEED someone like you, more then oyu need someone like them - is the mentality you have to beleive.
There are a hundred companies out hiring,.. there's only ONE of you. If they had someone who could do the job, they'd have hired someone by now :P
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Good points. I usually lean back a little when talking to people because I personally hate having people lean in on me so I never lean in. I'll practice that in my mock interviews :)

The way I look at it is they're interested in me or else they wouldn't be interviewing me to begin with. I know what to say and I have a good feeling but I always strive for perfection so I want them to have no doubts that I'm their man after I'm done with the interview :)
 
try to sit up straight or leaned towards them, leaning backwards looks bad, sorta like you're not interested....keep good eye contact and turn off the cellphones :)
 
Palo Alto Labs said:
ouch!!! macys had a sale in september.. i got a $600 suit for $250
+ shoes and tailoring.. around $350 for everything
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I know bro, all I was thinking was "damn, that's a lot of chicken I can buy with $600". I'll make sure I get the most use out of this sucker, there better be some wedding invitiations for me so I can feel like I got a deal out of LOL.
 
You really need to remember that you are interviewing them just as much as they are interviewing you. Why should you work for them? Say you were offered another position, what's stopping you from taking it.............

and don't drop your guts during the interview...........
 
Australian made said:
You really need to remember that you are interviewing them just as much as they are interviewing you. Why should you work for them? Say you were offered another position, what's stopping you from taking it.............

and don't drop your guts during the interview...........
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I got something for them. I have these questions to ask them

1) What type of training is provided ?

2) What are the key's to success in this career ?

3) How might this occupation evolve 5-10 years from now ?

BTW, if you think these are horrible questions please let me know, if there are better ones please let me know as well :)
 
Let 'em know that theres a whole website of roid ragers that have your back, and if you don't get the job, we'll be coming for blood!! :saw:
 
The "Do you practice promotion from within?" is always a fan favorite. They like it and it lets you know what your options will be if you're hired. That is unless it mentions what they do on their website.
 
Go in knowingly that they are trying to squeeze some info about your personal life.
At times, they would be more than likely to out bs you to create rapport.
Try to get them to remember you in some way, make them like you, so they can remember you.
Don't get too nervous, if you do, do not show it. Try pressing your toe/s into your soles to hide it when you sit behind the desk.
 
Iron Warrior said:
I got something for them. I have these questions to ask them

1) What type of training is provided ?

2) What are the key's to success in this career ?

3) How might this occupation evolve 5-10 years from now ?

BTW, if you think these are horrible questions please let me know, if there are better ones please let me know as well :)
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There good questions. They're going to ask you ridiculous BS questions so you might as well try and stump them as well.

I thought you were a high school teacher/footy coach? Career change??
 
Australian made said:
There good questions. They're going to ask you ridiculous BS questions so you might as well try and stump them as well.

I thought you were a high school teacher/footy coach? Career change??
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Yes, I am pretty fed up with the public school system. I will continue to coach but if I don't have enough time to be the head coach then I'll demote myself to offensive coordinator and QB coach.

Education is just standards based which means they're just worried about kids doing the bare minimum. This is horrible because kids who are very smart are being held back by the not so smart kids due to some archaic legislation called No Child Left Behind.

All kids do is prepare for tests all year long in California. They never develop critical thinking skills. I really loved it but last year and this year have been way too long for me.

Administrators give us so much BS for useless things but they haven't taught in 20+ years in most cases. They think I should be able to handle a class of 50 kids. About a third of them don't speak English and my admininistrators make a hissy fit because they're struggling in my class and because I don't incorporate sporting activities from other countries ? There's a bunch of stupid leftists feeding BS to these kids and I can't stomach it anymore. Rant over :)

Another cool thing is I'll be making much more $$$ when I get that gig and I'll be doing something I like.
 
UPDATE: I had the interview and I feel real good about it. All I did for 7 days was practice with my brother and my lady. I took a tour of the place before the interview and that was extremely helpful. I have a friend who works there and he helped me ton, I was not caught off guard by any question.

The only thing that threw me off was that they had me sit on the far end so I couldn't make as much eye contact with the panelist on the other end of the table. They said they would notify me in 2 weeks if I got the job. It takes 3-4 months for them to do the background investigation but I haven't killed anyone so I'm not worried about that. The manager told me that about 1/3 of the candidates don't actually pass the background check.

They questioned me on making a career move eventhough I have a MS in Kinesiology and have 1 year to go on my administrator credentials but I pretty much summed it up with what I said in the post before this one. I said my talents would be better utilized in juvenile hall because I have what it takes to help them uphold their mission statement and then I paraphrased the mission statement back to them, I feel good about this one considering I hadn't interviewed in about 9 years :)
 
Be sure to follow-up. That shows jobs that you're very interested in the position and that you had confidence during your interview. Try calling 2 days after your interview, then wait a couple of more days and call again. Stop in or leave voicemails if you have to.

I actually have a job interview tomorrow morning, but I'm not too worried. I've gone through several of them. I've either been shutdown because of my tattoos and/or piercings, or because of my recent charge of Criminal Contempt 2nd. But I've noticed that most jobs are becoming much more accepting of tattoos and piercings in society, and probably about 8 out of 10 times will an employer actually do a full background check, or question your criminal background. If you have anything hard going on in your life, such as having a newborn baby, needing to pay rent, needing health insurance, etc., then that will give the employer a little bit of some incentive. Most employers are sympathetic, compassionate, and generous. They like helping others out.
 
MuscleGuyinNY said:
Be sure to follow-up. That shows jobs that you're very interested in the position and that you had confidence during your interview. Try calling 2 days after your interview, then wait a couple of more days and call again. Stop in or leave voicemails if you have to.
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I don't know if this is a good idea for this case because the manager told me during my tour that all candidates will receive notification in 2 weeks. He also mentioned that before the interview began since it's protocol. I just don't want to harrass the boss before I get to work for him :)

My friend went through the same process and explicitly told me not to contact them. The only thing that sucks is the background process, which takes 3-4 months. I have nothing to hide so I'll just have to be patient and play the waiting game, hopefully I can stay out of trouble during this time LOL.

My friend did tell me that a lot of the applicants don't have the nice and shiny education and experience background as me. Most of the applicants are recent college grads looking for a job but they lack experience and most didn't get a heads up on the interview questions like me.

Good luck with your interview, I was lucky enough to be interviewed by two 49ers fans and a Steelers fan so we talked a little bit about football before hand. I was pretty conscious since the moment I entered the building and had a nice conversation with the receptionist. She has a pretty face, too bad she's overweight and in her late 30's because she had a personality that I loved :(
 
Iron Warrior said:
I don't know if this is a good idea for this case because the manager told me during my tour that all candidates will receive notification in 2 weeks. He also mentioned that before the interview began since it's protocol. I just don't want to harrass the boss before I get to work for him :)

My friend went through the same process and explicitly told me not to contact them. The only thing that sucks is the background process, which takes 3-4 months. I have nothing to hide so I'll just have to be patient and play the waiting game, hopefully I can stay out of trouble during this time LOL.
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They're not gonna refuse to hire you, just because you called to follow-up. Most jobs don't expect many, if any, people to call and follow-up with them. They respect it if you do. It just shows that you're confident and ambitious, and very interested in the position you applied for. I wouldn't worry about following up. It usually helps. The worst that could happen would be, the secretary, or manager, telling you that it's not necessary for you to call every few days and that they'll contact you, whether you're hired or not.
 
hey iron warrior....I wish I had some time earlier to read this...I just did a similair thing..changed and got a new job NON TEACHING!!!!!!!!!!! I love kids but with my new career avenue, it made sense to get into the hospital....I unlike you had to make a royal pain in the a** out of myself.....I swear enrolling in the army is easier....

But in the end I start tomorrow, end the teaching job tomorrow and onward we go..:)

Wish you the best of luck:)

TC
 
toughchick401 said:
hey iron warrior....I wish I had some time earlier to read this...I just did a similair thing..changed and got a new job NON TEACHING!!!!!!!!!!! I love kids but with my new career avenue, it made sense to get into the hospital....I unlike you had to make a royal pain in the a** out of myself.....I swear enrolling in the army is easier....

But in the end I start tomorrow, end the teaching job tomorrow and onward we go..:)

Wish you the best of luck:)

TC
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Hopefully making an a$$ out of yourself was worth it :D Nice to hear the good news on your end as well ! Enrolling in the army would be easier ? Wow, sounds like you have a lot of teaching stories as well LOL.

I feel sorry for the teachers who are trying to make a big difference but have to work with their hands tied or deal with incompetent administrators who will crucify you just to make a few unreasonable parents happy.

The gut wrenching part will be if I decided to step down as a coach. I've enjoyed this job and it's the ultimate challenge but also the most rewarding experience of my life. There's no greater feeling in the world for me then getting that gatorade bath after a huge win.
 
Iron Warrior said:
Hopefully making an a$$ out of yourself was worth it :D Nice to hear the good news on your end as well ! Enrolling in the army would be easier ? Wow, sounds like you have a lot of teaching stories as well LOL.

I feel sorry for the teachers who are trying to make a big difference but have to work with their hands tied or deal with incompetent administrators who will crucify you just to make a few unreasonable parents happy.

The gut wrenching part will be if I decided to step down as a coach. I've enjoyed this job and it's the ultimate challenge but also the most rewarding experience of my life. There's no greater feeling in the world for me then getting that gatorade bath after a huge win.
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Hey,

Well yesterday was my last day...OMG!!!! gut wretching..little 3 yr olds....saying..."bye, we love you"....UGGHH!!!!! I thought my heart would break, but I had to focus and remember its for the best, its my time.......Dosent mean one day I wont teach agian, my love of kids is what drives me.....Kind of like your gatorade bath after a huge win, mine is a little one looking into my eyes and smiling, and giving the best hug...............NOthing, compares.....

Wishing you luck, :)

TC
 
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