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 …
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 …
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 …
Know Yourself You would be surprised by how many applicants I’ve interviewed who didn’t seem to remember what was on their resume. I’m guessing this was because they didn’t bother to re-read and memorize it before their interview. By memorize, I mean committing your resume, and I mean your entire resume, to memory. Particular emphasis …
When candidates first walk into the room for their interview, one of the first things I look for is the items they bring with them. By items, I’m not talking about things such as purses or wallets. What I want to see are the business-related items they bring with them. I know it sounds odd, …
My job as a hiring manager would be much easier if I could simply ask each candidate at the start of the interview one question: “Are you a jerk?” And get an honest answer! This would have saved me a lot of grief over the years because in the couple of thousand interviews I’ve conducted, …
First impressions are certainly important in your job interview, but many candidates make no effort to end an interview in a way that will be remembered. They will simply say thank you, shake hands and leave. Many times this is because ending an interview, or any conversation for that matter, can be awkward for all …
Here it is – the big day! The day of your actual interview. This is a nerve-wracking day for most people, but it won’t be for you. Yes, you’re a little apprehensive, that’s natural. For this post, I’m assuming you’ve done proper research and practice in your advance preparation. This time I’m going to review …
You’ve had your interview and you feel it went very well. But it’s been over a week and you haven’t heard a thing. Is that bad news? Good news? No news? You’re tired of looking every 30 minutes at your email inbox and phone messages and wondering what to do now. Should you just keep …
A while back I went through several weeks when I was asked to be on several interview panels in a row. After interviewing so many candidates, I began to find myself paying just as much attention to the applicant’s non-verbal mannerisms as I was to their answers. The reason for this was that some of …
I had an applicant once that used a very interesting technique in her interview. It worked so well that I wanted to pass her approach on to you. If you’ve read my site, you know that I strongly recommend that you create several relevant questions that you can ask during your interview. This particular candidate …
I often get asked by friends who are job searching (they know I’m a Hiring Manager) why they aren’t having any luck with getting interviews. They’re sending out lots of resumes for lots of positions but keep striking out. There can be many reasons for this and without knowing details it’s difficult to give them …