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Are you ready? Have you prepared your resume, networked for
information, identified potential jobs and obtained one or more interviews? Is
it time to prepare for your interview with our telephone coaching?
Getting Started
We can step you through the following steps, help you recover
your inspiration and dissolve old beliefs and habits that may get in your way.
Some basic tips:
- Develop a network and contacts
- Read some books about interviews
- Talk to employees of the organizations that interest
you
Become aware of how you can
get interview offers. Preparing for job interviews requires that you prepare
yourself mentally and emotionally. Your mental preparation concerns your
knowledge. Your emotional preparation concerns your attitude. We
can coach your attitude.
Research
Study the organizations of your choice. Assess their corporate cultures.
Talk to employees. Get their opinions on what the companies really want from employees and how
their management really works. Also ask
people in the local community what they know about the company. (Ddon't believe
everything you hear.)
Decide which companies you fit best. (Even if you decide you do not
want the job, an interview can be good practice). Talk to your network
contacts and read articles about the organization in journals, newspapers
and on the web. As a minimum, you can know:
- What are the company’s revenues?
- What is the management structure?
- Who are the company’s top officers?
- Who are the suppliers and customers?
- What is the company ownership history?
- Where would your job fit into the organization?
- How financially sound and profitable is the company ?
- What are the company's best accomplishments? Its worst
failures?
- What is its reputation with customers, suppliers and ex-employees?
If you can assess the value level of the organization,
you will have a formidable wealth of information about its culture, management
rules and predictable challenges. See
Clare Graves & Values Levels
Application, Resume & Cover Letter
- Be honest, candid and careful in the application.
Emphasize your strengths. Find ways to resolve your weaknesses.
- Your resume is a summary - let it show how you may
be a suitable employee. Interviewers will ask you about your resume.
Ensure that you can discuss any point fully and confidently.
- There are no perfect cover letters. Read a book or two about
cover letters that work and make your letter applicable for the organization
that you wish to work for.
Preparing for an Interview
You need appropriate knowledge and appropriate attitude.
Finding knowledge is often easier than developing an appropriate attitude. Are
you likely to be nervous? Do you sometimes sabotage yourself? Do you habitually
put yourself down? Systemic coaching can help
you develop your attitude.
We can help you practice responding to both fair and
unfair interview questions, such as:
- Can you tell me about yourself?
- What is your ideal job and why?
- How do you spend your summers?
- What are your salary expectations?
- What are your strengths? Weaknesses?
- What courses did you most like and why?
- What non-work activities are you involved in?
- Where do you want to be in five years? In ten years?
- What are your specialties and why did you choose them?
- Tell me about a time you succeeded brilliantly /
failed miserably at work
Prepare a short list of questions that you want to ask the employer.
Ask some questions based on your research and concerns - even if you think
you know the answers already. For example:
- Can you please describe a typical day on the job?
- What must people do to be promoted in this company?
- Where do you see your company / department in five years?
- Can you possibly describe an ideal candidate for this
position?
- Can you tell me about the team leaders and people I would
work with?
Interview Day
Shower etc. Go light on perfumes. Reflect the corporate
culture with your clothes. If in doubt, dress conservatively. This may mean a
suit, tie, white or pastel shirt, leather shoes and dark socks for men; and
knee-length skirt and jacket with a white or pastel blouse, panty hose and low
heels for women.
Plan your trip so you arrive at the interview a few
minutes early. Be careful about smoking or coffee before an interview.
Avoid smelling of tobacco or being on a caffeine "buzz". First impressions are important. Check yourself in a mirror.
A little nervousness is probably OK, while intense nervousness
might lose you the job. (I know its not fair.) We can help you
change limiting beliefs and any fear of authorities or interviews.
During the Interview
Let the interviewer set the tone and the pace.
Perhaps keep the conversation moving - gently. Make interviewing you
interesting (but not too interesting). Avoid acting like a clown or (worse) like a victim.
Enquire about the next step. When will a decision be made?
Will they contact you or should you call back? If you feel you are
a good fit for the job, say so - and say why. If you still want the job, ask
for it.
After the Interview
Analyze your performance and your attitude. How do you feel?
How interested was the interviewer? What stands out in your memory? Where
could you have done better? Were your questions answered?
If you made mistakes, you might contact the employer and try to
remedy them. Or you may call it a valuable lesson and focus on
getting your next interview right.
Follow Up & Follow Through
Send a thank-you letter and gently remind the
interviewer how well you fit the position. If you don't hear from
the employer in two weeks, perhaps telephone and remind them that
you're still interested. Maybe ask if you can provide other
information to help them make a good decision.
Some
job opportunities don't work out even when you seem to be a perfect
match ... and you may never know why not. Instead, focus on your
next interview - you still can influence that one. And while you
are waiting - why not get our coaching?
Benefit from our experience
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