Going to a Job Interview?
Did you lose your job? Were you anticipating doing so? Are you just looking for a better opportunity? I don’t think it will surprise anyone to know that in 2009 I had more people I know looking for a job than ever before. The list got so long that I had to write it down just to keep track of people I knew looking for work.
In preparing a project for a client, I realize in my interactions that some of the preparing that needs to be done by an interviewee is missed. Specifically, they are only thinking about how they get the company to want them before the interview. They put no thought into how they are going to use the interview to decide if they want the job. This takes preparation.
Consider this standard work for preparing. Before your interview, write down your incoming impressions of the job opportunity itself, the company, and the hiring manager or team that you’ll work with. Then write down what you’d like to learn more about in these categories. Following the interview, go back to your list and capture your new impressions of the job, the company, and the team or manager.
Standard work for anything should be flexible but helpful. Doing this simple task will not only help you present yourself and your thought process more productively, but will help you prepare to use the interview to gather needed insight for the all important task: the decision.
What standard work have you developed to help you with the job search, interview, or decision process?
Jamie,
As part of my interview prep, I research the company via the web. I look at their website to get an idea of the values the company claims then I search for them on Google and Twitter. After researching the company, I research the interviewer(s) on LinkedIn and Google. If I have connections that work there or know the interviewer, I ask them about the culture and/or the interviewer.
Jamie,
As part of my interview prep, I research the company via the web. I look at their website to get an idea of the values the company claims then I search for them on Google and Twitter. After researching the company, I research the interviewer(s) on LinkedIn and Google. If I have connections that work there or know the interviewer, I ask them about the culture and/or the interviewer.
Jamie,
As part of my interview prep, I research the company via the web. I look at their website to get an idea of the values the company claims then I search for them on Google and Twitter. After researching the company, I research the interviewer(s) on LinkedIn and Google. If I have connections that work there or know the interviewer, I ask them about the culture and/or the interviewer.
Jamie,
I found The Job Hunter’s Survival Guide by Richard Bolles to be very helpful. In it he notes that the most successful method of finding a job is to “Do homework on yourself, taking inventory in detail of all you have to offer and what you are looking for.” Vision, he says, is everything. Sound familiar? Interestingly, he says the least effective method is the one most job hunters use – mailing out resumes on employer websites, on job boards, or by snail mail!
Jamie,
I found The Job Hunter’s Survival Guide by Richard Bolles to be very helpful. In it he notes that the most successful method of finding a job is to “Do homework on yourself, taking inventory in detail of all you have to offer and what you are looking for.” Vision, he says, is everything. Sound familiar? Interestingly, he says the least effective method is the one most job hunters use – mailing out resumes on employer websites, on job boards, or by snail mail!
Jamie,
I found The Job Hunter’s Survival Guide by Richard Bolles to be very helpful. In it he notes that the most successful method of finding a job is to “Do homework on yourself, taking inventory in detail of all you have to offer and what you are looking for.” Vision, he says, is everything. Sound familiar? Interestingly, he says the least effective method is the one most job hunters use – mailing out resumes on employer websites, on job boards, or by snail mail!
Thanks for the SOP, I have a phone interview at 1:30. I will put it into action and try it out!
Thanks for the SOP, I have a phone interview at 1:30. I will put it into action and try it out!
Thanks for the SOP, I have a phone interview at 1:30. I will put it into action and try it out!
I do some of the same things that Shawne mentions. I also ask questions during the interview to try and determine what they know about lean, are they dedicated to implementing lean or just want kaizen event facilitators, and what my role would be in implementing lean in the company. I wanted to find a place where they were serious about lean so even on those frustrating days I knew I had the support of the organization……and not just for a short while until the new fad.
I do some of the same things that Shawne mentions. I also ask questions during the interview to try and determine what they know about lean, are they dedicated to implementing lean or just want kaizen event facilitators, and what my role would be in implementing lean in the company. I wanted to find a place where they were serious about lean so even on those frustrating days I knew I had the support of the organization……and not just for a short while until the new fad.
I do some of the same things that Shawne mentions. I also ask questions during the interview to try and determine what they know about lean, are they dedicated to implementing lean or just want kaizen event facilitators, and what my role would be in implementing lean in the company. I wanted to find a place where they were serious about lean so even on those frustrating days I knew I had the support of the organization……and not just for a short while until the new fad.