INTERVIEW TIPS AND TECHNIQUES THAT COULD LAND YOU THE JOB ! There are thousands upon thousands of articles, books, magazines and web pages devoted to interviewing preparation. You may be the perfect candidate for a job but without knowing some of these tips and techniques, you may find yourself in 2nd place. Eighteen years of experience has gone into JobFinders' job interview tips and strategies guide. While there may be other approaches to interviewing these will help you in preparing for your next interview. Call JobFinders at 573-446-4250 or send e-mail to JobFinders@JobFindersUSA.com. THE SCREENING INTERVIEW The screening interviewer is generally a human resources specialist who is trained to obtain specific information from you. With this information the interviewer will judge whether you meet the profile the firm has outlined of the ideal candidate for the position. Generally, the screening interviewer writes a report for the "Decision Maker" following the interview. The report is used to direct the "Decision-Maker" during his interview with you. Knowing the screening interviewer is only collecting facts about you, make sure your replies are direct and to the point. Furthermore, if you are unsure about the question asked, restate it and ask if you understand it correctly. This too will show the interviewer that you are a good listener. Remember to think before speaking, answer questions positively and avoid negative responses or responses which reveal unrelated personal information. THE DECISION INTERVIEW Your "boss to be" is usually the person conducting the decision interview. This is good news and bad news. The good news is that you may have more experience in the process and can control the interview. The bad news though may outweigh the good - the interviewer may not know what questions he may or may not ask, or what is inappropriate or discriminatory to discuss during an interview and/or on the job. The decision-maker generally is not meaning to be discriminatory or inappropriate. His/her goal is to discover: Do you have the skills and abilities to do the job? What motivates you to get the job done? How can you help resolve the company's problems? Will he/she and other staff be comfortable with your work style? How do you fit into the culture, its philosophy and mission of the business? The decision-makers' job is to make hire that is a good match for his department/company. He is seeking more information than just facts. If the interviewer steps on or over the fine line of discrimination or inappropriateness you must make a quick decision. You may answer the question, ask for a clarification of the question, then chose to answer or not, or advise the interviewer that he/she has asked a discriminatory/inappropriate question. In doing the later, it is good for the interviewee to change the subject quickly or ask a question about a related subject. If discriminatory questions are repeatedly asked and you are genuinely insulted you may wish to end the interview. Be firm and direct that you are ending the interview, then get up and leave! The decision-maker interview may be your last interview; it is time to sell yourself. To be successful, you must be able to build rapport with the "boss" while relating positively why he/she should hire you for the vacancy. Furthermore, you must quickly be able to deduce what the boss needs done and what problems need to be resolved. This then pushes you to assess your accomplishments and illustrate that you are the person to meet his needs. Remember that this interview is also the time the company will sell itself to you. Be prepared to ask questions later. PREPARE YOURSELF - KNOW THE ANSWERS TO TOUGH QUESTIONS AND WHY YOU ARE BEING ASKED Often an interview will seem quite unstructured and informal, yet there are interviewers who are quite direct in their style, asking probing and difficult questions. It is to your advantage to be prepared for such questions and to practice what you want the potential employer to know about you and your abilities. You will never be able to anticipate every question or know why you're being asked a particular question, but if you are prepared and have practiced answering challenging questions, you will be ready for anything that comes along. IT'S YOUR TURN TO ASK QUESTIONS You may have read everything there is to read on interviewing but do you know what to ask an interviewer? During an interview you need to be learn how the company's philosophy meshes with yours, what their long range goals are, why they are hiring for this position, what the direct supervisor is like to work with, etc. Until you get an offer or decide you are not interested in pursuing the employment process further, your questions and comments should be limited to the company and the job. DO NOT DEPEND on generic questions that everyone asks - show the interviewer you have researched the company by making pertinent comments. For more questions order: It's my Turn to ask Questions! Questions you need answered before accepting a job offer. Call JobFinders at 573-446-4250 or send e-mail to JobFinders@JobFindersUSA.com.