The Behavioral Interview

Tell me about yourself.
Why are you looking to leave your job?
Why do you want to work for our company?
Tell me about a professional conflict you've had.

These are all very common questions asked by recruiters and hiring managers that every job seeker should be ready for. What exactly are employers looking for when they ask you behavioral questions that aren't necessarily related to your skills or the role?

Employers are looking to see if they'd want to work with you and if they'd like having you on their team.

When listening to your answer, employers are evaluating you on a few core areas.
1) Is this person excited about this position at this company or do they just need a job?
2) Can this person play well with others and solve problems or could they disrupt the current team dynamic?
3) Is this person aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and will they take criticism well?

The best way to prepare for a behavioral interview, in addition to doing mock interviews, is to do some soul searching. Have your resume in front of you and take notes about each job you've had, specifically what did you like/dislike about the job, what did you do well/accomplish, what did you learn, and how did you work with others. Being aware of these factors will help you understand what responsibilities you don't like, and more importantly what duties and roles you do like.

After you've analyzed your work history and are more aware of what you're looking for in a career move, it's important to come up with examples and stories that can be used in an interview. If you have a handful of specific examples with detailed stories at hand, you can use them for a wide range of questions. The types of examples you want to have should address the following:

• An accomplishment/success
• What are you proud of? Have you won any awards or received a promotion?
• Conflict resolution
• How do you work with difficult people? What would you change about your manager? When have you disagreed with a colleague?
• Challenges
• What has been the most difficult responsibility or project you've tackled? Have you spearheaded a new project/program? How did you successfully complete it? Did you exceed expectations?

Interview Prep - Questions and Answers

Interviewing can be tricky, and it's normal to be nervous, but preparing for your interview is the most important thing you can do.  Check the company website, www.Glassdoor.com, and do a quick Google search for interview questions.  Write out the questions you might get on paper and practice your answers.

Ask a question at the end! Have some stock questions prepared in case you don't have any questions about the job:

• What are the challenges of the position/department?
• How is performance measured/what are the goals?
• What is your favorite thing about the company/department/position?

Be confident!  Its not just about what you say, but how you say it.  If you're not confident with your skills and experience, the interviewer won't be either.

Say "I" not "we"

Remove "I believe" or "I think" from your answers and just make the statement

"My strengths are communication and prioritizing." sounds better than "I think my skills are communication and prioritizing".

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The Two Most Important Things When Job Searching

Ever since the recession hit in 2008, the job market has been in the employer's favor.  While unemployment rates in the U.S. have improved overall, there are still far more applicants than there are jobs.  With the job market being so competitive, you need to be able to sell yourself to employers positively and with confidence.

Your cover letter and resume should highlight the skills and experience you bring to the table, not what you want out of a job.  You're not begging to be hired, you're telling employers why they need to hire you and what they'll get out of hiring you.

Confidence and positivity are two of the most important things you need when job searching.  It's easy to get discouraged and become jaded, but you have to catch yourself and switch back into positive thinking.  Go on Youtube and watch a clip of your favorite comedy skit, or search "funny animals".  Do something to laugh and the go back to applying for jobs, because no one wants to hire someone who seems negative or desperate.

What do you do to stay positive?  Let me know in the comments! :)

Interview Prep - Your Turn to Ask the Questions

"So what questions do you have for me?" is something you will be asked in 99% of all your interviews, and you need to be able to fire back with at least two thoughtful and relevant questions.

One great question that was brought up by a student when I spoke at Cal Poly Pomona was "Are there any concerns you have about me being a good fit that I can address?".  This gets to the heart of what you want to know and allows you to recover from anything that the interviewer might see as a weakness or red flag.  This may throw the interviewer off so give them a second to think about it and make sure you respond by addressing their specific concern.

Ask about specific things at the company, such as the company culture, most important things for someone in this position to achieve, what a day in the office would look like, and the biggest challenges the department faces.  These questions are very specific and will tell you a lot about the company and the role.  These questions also show that you are serious about the opportunity and very interested

You should always end an interview with "When can I expect to hear back from you?" or "What are the next steps in the interview process?".

While you may think its funny to ask "So do I start tomorrow",  its not, don't say that.

What are some good questions you've asked the interviewer?  Let me know in the comments.

Interview Prep - What to do the Day of the Interview

Take care of everything the night before the interview, the last thing you want is to forget something or be late.  So the night before, make sure you've printed out a few copies of your resume, have paper you can take notes on, and have your outfit picked out.  Make sure you know where you're going and have your route mapped out; be aware that drive times from google maps and siri do not accurately factor in traffic, so give yourself plenty of time.  Make sure you set a couple alarms so you wake up on time.  Get plenty of sleep!  Do not under any circumstances pull an all-nighter or go out partying the night before your interview.

Go about your normal routine, if you normally eat breakfast or drink coffee, do so, but don't drink coffee or an energy drink if you typically don't, you don't need to excuse yourself to the restroom in the middle of the interview.  Take your padfolio with your notes, resumes, and directions, and head out the door.

When you arrive (5-15 minutes early), be nice to everyone from the lobby attendant, random people in the elevator, and the receptionist.  Recruiters and hiring managers ask the receptionist about your interaction, if you're nice, and if you'd be a good fit for the department, so make sure you're on your best behavior.  YOUR CELL PHONE SHOULD BE OFF FROM THE MOMENT YOU ENTER THE LOBBY!  In fact, you can just leave it in the car.

This is where all your research, discussion with the recruiter, and soul searching come into play.  You should have already discussed compensation with the recruiter, so you shouldn't need to bring it up unless the recruiter said to or an offer is made on the spot, if this is a final interview with the director, then you can bring up pay and perks.  If you prepared, then just take a deep breath, you're ready.

Do you have any interview-day rituals to get you ready?  Let me know!

Interview Fridays: Tell Me About Yourself - The Elevator Pitch

An Elevator Pitch is basically your brief summary about who you are and what you do and should be no longer than an elevator ride.  You can use an elevator pitch during an interview when asked "Tell Me About Yourself" or as an introduction when networking.

The key to an elevator pitch is to sell yourself and be confident without being smug or annoying.  Practice makes perfect, so rehearse your speech and ask people for feedback.  Does it sound sincere?  Is it to long? Does it make sense?

Hi, my name is Natasha and I'm a recruiter.  I've been in recruiting for over 3 years now and have worked in both corporate and agency environments.  I've hired for all types of positions including entry-level sales reps, Java Developers, and managers of health information departments.  I also work with people to help prepare them for their next job opportunity by editing resumes and conducting mock interviews.

Interview Prep - Researching the Company

Researching the company is a must-do prior to interviewing and there are a lot of tools to help you do this.  Some interviewers may ask what you've come across while researching the company, so make sure you come prepared.  Not only should you look at a company's website, but look at all their social media including LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.  Keep an eye out for promotions, community activities, and any events they may have.  Here's a great article from LinkedIn about how social media can help you land your next job.

You should also look at other resources like www.salary.com and www.glassdoor.com.  Content on these sites should be taken with a grain of salt, and they are just part of the research that you should be doing.

Take notes!  During the entire interview process you should be taking notes so you have easy access to the information you've discovered or been told.  Refer to this to help you prepare for the interview.