Whenever I’m asked to answer that question from a Hiring Manager’s perspective, I always give a qualified, two-part answer. Natural Hair Colors This first part is that natural hair colors are never a problem in an interview as far as I’m concerned. Blonde, brunette, black, natural red, it simply doesn’t matter so long as that …
As a Hiring Manager, I have sort of a love/hate relationship with recruiters, otherwise known as headhunters. On the one hand, they can be a source of applicants for positions with hard to find skills and experience. Many information technology and high level executive positions fit into this category. On the other hand, they can …
You’ve prepared, you’ve arrived, and now you walked into the interview and it’s showtime! The purpose of this post is not to advise you on how to answer questions, but rather to give you some general information about interview etiquette and how to conduct yourself before, during, and after you’ve answered all the questions. These …
The pandemic has greatly accelerated what was already a growing trend with job interviews: the video interview. This brings with it several pros and cons. On the plus side, you don’t have to worry about making a trial run to the interview location. Even more, you don’t have the hassles of travel if the interview …
While this is a job interview advice website, you have to first get the interview before you can apply the advice, right? And what is the biggest factor in determining if you get an interview? Simple – your resume. Sure, networking and knowing insiders can also get you interviews, but the majority of interviews are …
In a previous post, I reviewed the two most important overall approaches to include in your resume to increase your odds of getting an interview. I’d now like to review what I consider to be the nine worst resume mistakes. These are things that if they exist in your resume, will pretty much kill your …
When you’ve been a Hiring Manager as long as I have, you develop a long list of the most common interview questions to ask. Many of them are my personal favorites and I ask them of almost everyone I interview. Others, while common, are not ones I typically use but rather are ones I’ve seen …
In our current pandemic world, in-person interviews have been largely replaced by telephone and video interviews, at least until the final interview. This means there is a high likelihood that the initial screening interviews will be by phone and sometimes even the second or final interview, although those are now more commonly done with video …
If you’ve read many of my other posts, you know that the point I stress the most is for you to always present your skills, experience, and accomplishments in a way that directly relates to each job for which you interview. This applies to your specific and unique characteristics. Beyond these, there are also more …
My immediate response to this question is no. You should not worry about being overdressed for an interview. That said, let’s temper that just a bit. When you go overboard on dressing for a job interview, for example wearing a suit to an interview for a construction job, you may raise a few eyebrows. However, …
My single biggest hot button as a Hiring Manager is when candidates are late for their interview. Come on, folks, there’s no excuse for being late to something as important as a job interview. Just so you know, the only valid excuse in my opinion is a major unexpected event. And then, you better have …
One of the other Hiring Managers at my company recently asked me to be on the interview panel for one of his open positions. Specifically, for a Senior Project Manager. The screening process was done and five candidates were selected for the interview. This was a high-level professional position with a starting annual salary of …
Much interview advice is about how to answer questions you may be asked and that is certainly a critical component of the interview process. But it’s not the only important aspect of your interview. Almost every time, you will be asked at the end if you have any questions and it’s important to prepare for …
This is a short and easy post to read. I wanted to give you the six steps you should take for every interview you have. Each step has a link to the detailed instructions about how to perform that step. Here they are: Thoroughly research the company Prepare your 30-60 second marketing message, tailored to …
How you dress for your interview is one of those things that may not help you much but can hurt you a lot. A question I frequently as asked is “Can I wear jeans to a job interview”. I’m going to answer that question below. But first, let’s talk about the ticklish topic of how …