Interviewing for a Job

I've done a fair amount of interviewing from the hiring side, and what I've noticed is that most people simply don't understand the concept of how to really respond to questions in an interview. Now, to be completely upfront, all of my interviews are over the phone, and thus rely almost entirely on the verbal communication that goes on within the interview. I also hate "formal" interviews, and so none of my interviews are very formal.

Understand why you're being interviewed

You're being interviewed because the company you applied to wants to know if you're the "right fit" for the job. Most likely you put something on your resume that triggered a keyword or just generally said something in an email, cover-letter, or resume that triggered word recognition (not always automatic, this is also how most hiring managers work). This doesn't mean that we've actually read your resume, it probably just means we've skimmed it.

Do your research before the interview

Make sure you research the company and workspace that the company you're working for is in. Googling for the company's name should turn something up, and you should be able to find a bit of information about what exactly the company does before the interview. This is important for both you and the company, to make sure that you're not wasting each other's time. It's ok to ask questions like "so what exactly do you do?", but it's generally a good idea to have researched the general field that the company is in. If you're applying to a company like mine, you don't want to go in thinking that you'll end up in an office writing games for the 360.
If I'm really interested in hiring someone, before the interview, I'll check to see if they have a twitter account, facebook, G+, or just generally type their name into google and see what comes up. It's a good idea to do this about your interviewer too. For example, if I was interviewing you, you could have come up with this guide and then know exactly how to nail the interview with me!

Communication is Key

If you want to move on from the first interview (which, for me, usually means we bring you on part-time on a trial basis), you need to be able to communicate well in the interview. It's really a test of how well you interact with the interviewer more then it is about the knowledge you have. Try not to ramble on too much, and whatever you do don't ever make up an answer. It's perfectly acceptable to say "I'm sorry, but I really don't know the answer to that". If you lie about something you know or are comfortable doing, it will only turn around to bite you later on in the job. Expectations are set on the day you interview, so don't make them something you won't be able to live up to if you do get the job.

Be excited, but not cocky

It's important to show enthusiasm for the work you're about to perform. Nobody wants someone that's just willing to be a drone, they want someone who's actually going to work because it's something they like to do. If you answer with just one-word answers, you're probably not going to get the job. I personally look for people that can ramble on about what they've done and how much they like doing it, but that doesn't mean you should ramble on too long. It's a good thing to have a job you absolutely love doing.
However, this doesn't mean you should be cocky, or simply tout how good you are because of what you've done. Yes, be proud, but don't think you're better then the interviewer. You don't want to be stuck-up, or sound like you're belittling the interviewer because he/she doesn't know something that you do. Never say "Well, it was on my resume", don't assume that your time is worth more, or even as much as, the interviewers time. It's generally a good idea to end the interview by saying "thanks for taking the time to interview me".

Don't be discouraged if you don't get the job

Just because the interviewer doesn't give you the job doesn't mean you're not capable of doing the job, it just means you're not the right fit for the position, or perhaps just the company. When I interview people, I'm not just looking for someone who has the knowledge or ability to do the work, I'm looking for someone who will be able to fit within the work environment we have. We're a completely virtual company, and it takes a special breed of person to be able to handle that. Don't take it personally

Don't blame the economy for being unemployed

Every time we turn on the news people are complaining about the "horrible unemployment rates" and how "jobs are incredibly hard to find". Yet, for some reason, whenever anyone I know goes looking for employee's, they can't find any that aren't happily employed elsewhere.

The problem isn't that there are less jobs, the problem is that the US is becoming smarter and doing things more efficiently, thus we require the right type of people, those that know certain things, not just jobs that any electronic monkey can do.

Eric Hammond's Post on how companies have to work harder to get quality employee's just shows that it's even the big boys out in LA that are having problems. Don't blame the economy if you can't find a job.

Even those that don't have the skill set for the kind of work that Eric and I are looking for still have options. Companies are always hiring, even if your current company goes away, there's always another place that will hire people doing something.

Here's my three simple rules for getting, and keeping, a job.

Rule #1 Don't be picky

I'm not saying that you will always  be able to find a job immediately, in fact it often takes some work, but there are always companies looking for work. Just because you were doing plumbing at your previous job, doesn't mean that if you get laid off you can't go work at WalMart.

If you're in need of a job to get by, don't complain that there's no jobs for you. There are a multitude of jobs out there, maybe not in your area, but that doesn't mean you can't move.

The worst thing to do in an interview is turn down a job based on the amount of money it's going to provide for you. Even if you're moving down to $10/hour from $20/hour, at least it's a job. Take it and move up in the company, don't set your initial expectations so incredibly high that you don't find anything. Remember, even $10/hour is better then $0/hour. Unless you have several job's lined up already, you can't afford to turn down any offer, no matter how bad it may seem.

Don't be afraid to go back to an old employer. Just because you left them doesn't mean that they won't take you back. Again, don't expect to just jump right in where you left off, but any job is better then no job.

Rule #2 Make a real Resume

I don't know when it became no longer standard practice to include a decent 1 page resume with specific details about the job you're applying for, but as someone who's hired several employees and waded through hundreds of resumes, I'll tell you that if your resume isn't focused and short, you're not going to get a job. The Resume is a 1 page representation of who you are and what you can bring to the company. If you're applying for a job doing software programming and you have 3 pages of job experience, mostly detailing your work in retail, then you're going right in the trash.

The most important part of the Resume is to make it focused on the kind of job you're applying for. The best resume's I've seen were from people that often kept several copies of their resume, each tailored for specific job positions. For example, you may have one resume for software programming, and another for project management, and maybe even another for sales (remember rule #1).

Rule #3 Be Honest

The worst thing that you can do in any job interview, or any part of the job hiring process, is to lie. If a prospective employer asks you about how you would go about solving a particular issue, don't bumble around and make something up, be honest and tell them you don't know. Eventually, these things will catch up to you. If you put on your resume that you speak Spanish but really all you know is how to say "I need to use the bathroom", you're going to get fired when they put you in a meeting with all spanish speaking people and you can't understand anything they're saying.

Don't make things up, if you honestly have no idea or have trouble understanding what the interviewer is asking for, just ask for clarification and explain the situation. Don't be afraid to say things like "I'd have to do more research on that topic". The only time in your life that you need to memorize answers to complex questions is when you're in school, in the real world we have Google.

Be upfront about any issues you may have. I was interviewing for a company about a year ago that didn't want to hire someone who was looking for anything more then a 6 month "job". Since I already had a decent job that I was working at, I could afford to break rule #1, so I told them right upfront that I was looking for a career, not just a job. This may have meant that I lost the higher paying job, but by being upfront about it, I avoided the long-term issue of being out of a job in 6 months.