Category: Interviewing

Interviewing tips, tricks and techniques.

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Don’t leave me hanging…..aw crap, ya left me hanging! Why didn’t they get back to me?

I’ll set the stage because this sort of scenario is endemic in our times. The dreaded over-promise followed by the under-delivery. You have completed what in your mind was a very positive and confidence boosting interview. You feel like you have it in the bag and it is Friday afternoon. The Hiring Manager (HM) has told you they will get back to you on Monday.

You spend the weekend very upbeat, maybe celebrate with friends. You got this!

Then sure enough Monday passes and you wake up invigorated and anxiously make sure your phone is charged at 100% all day just in case it doesn’t decide to magically drain itself and die when the call comes. Your job is calling, you know it!
Continue reading “Don’t leave me hanging…..aw crap, ya left me hanging! Why didn’t they get back to me?”

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The interview just finished. So now what?

You just finished sitting down face to face with one or perhaps several managers and personnel at your prospective employer’s office (or via zoom due to COVID-19). So now that the interview is done, you decide to put it in God’s hands and move on to the next adventure. I will argue that you are making a big mistake. This is an opportunity to set yourself up for the next interview or prep for accepting a job offer. In any case, for several reasons which I will outline, you should consider doing the following things after an interview:
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Working with Recruiters – The Good, The Bad and The Shady

My son is a senior in High School. Every day the mailbox is full of postcards, brochures and promotions from colleges from all around the country. Some of these colleges I have never even heard of and others I only know from watching College Football or Basketball. He has his choice down to about 4 schools that we are going to visit later next month.
Continue reading “Working with Recruiters – The Good, The Bad and The Shady”

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Answering the Strengths and Weaknesses Question – You Know You’ll Be Asked This!

Almost every interview starts off with the same questions:

“Did you find the office okay?”
“Would you like some coffee / water?”
“Did you just fart?”

Let’s move a little farther into the future. The room has been cleared or maybe an ambulance has been called, but in any case now it’s time to answer some real questions.
Continue reading “Answering the Strengths and Weaknesses Question – You Know You’ll Be Asked This!”

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How to tell when an offer is coming…You must be a carpenter, because you nailed it!

The interview is over. You dazzled them, maybe they sang your praises in the interview, you sang Sweet Caroline in 3 part harmony together and swapped recipes. Your soon to be new BFF’s are going to be calling you with a job offer…maybe. Oh no, it’s 2 hours later. Now it’s the middle of the night and your inner self-hatred monkey is on your shoulder screaming all of the mistakes you made into your head and the reasons why you won’t get the job and you don’t deserve it. Emotion takes over, you don’t sleep, you work yourself into an anxiety and pour yourself a drink as you sit in the kitchen at 4:30 in the morning brooding over this pending offer and if it will come.

Continue reading “How to tell when an offer is coming…You must be a carpenter, because you nailed it!”

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Tell me about yourself…So, you better know thyself!!!

Every first interview, every first date, every first friendship, or every first meeting with your drug dealer is going to start the same way. You are going to be asked the dreaded question that everyone knows is coming, no one prepares for and even fewer people know how to correctly answer. Yes, you are going to be asked “tell me about yourself.”

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7 important rules for listing references. Are your ears burning yet?

I had a friend of a friend who had a crush on this one girl in Jr. High School.  We will call him Jerry.  Jerry was very shy and not the type to actively pursue girls, but he started crushing seriously hard on Jenny.  Now Jenny did not know Jerry too well, but lo and behold word got back to Jenny that Jerry had a thang for Jenny.  So, Jenny, not in the same social circles as Jerry wanted to find out what kind of dude Jerry was. Continue reading “7 important rules for listing references. Are your ears burning yet?”

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Call me maybe…The Telephone Interview

When I was a wee tot, I used to get a phone call with Santa Claus, usually in early December. I never knew when he would call, but I had to be ready if I was going to get him my list of Christmas presents that I desired early. I had to be ready, for the call could come at any time. Usually, my mom would tell me to pick up the phone and Santa would be on the other line. I tell this story to remember the first time I felt true anxiety. Usually I would have this list ready to go, but nearly every time my mind would go blank.

Was it the stress of the situation? Was it being put on the spot? Was it trying to figure out why Santa sounded so much like my grandfather on the phone? Continue reading “Call me maybe…The Telephone Interview”

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Where have you been all my life? Discussing your job history.

Now it is time to account for all of your misdeeds. You have provided a resume, filled out an application and have told the Hiring Manager about yourself. Inevitably, you are going to be asked this question early in the interview, and you are going to be asked it by every single person in the organization who talks to you in their interview process.

Continue reading “Where have you been all my life? Discussing your job history.”