...so, you plan on paying me in 'money,' correct?

[steffan]

I used to dread interviewing for jobs until I got a job that required me to interview and hire people. I had to do that A LOT, and I probably interviewed 2 or 3 hundred people over the course of the 4 years that I worked there...

I took away three points from all those interviews, the first was: "if you can communicate and can actually perform the job you are applying for, then you have an advantage over 80% of the other applicants. That bit alone is helpful for me, because I'm very insecure, but I'm also honest, so I'll only apply for jobs that I'm capable of *doing.* Knowing that when I enter the door, I'm going to be better than most people they will see, is a big boost going into the room.

The other bit was: "Have some idea of how the company makes what it makes or does what it does and be able to explain that basic concept back to the interviewer, and have a few broad ideas on how you can contribute to that." Believe it or not, very few applicants will actually be able to do that, and it will seem very impressive, and it won't take a ton of prep work to get there.

The last point isn't part of the other two, it's about flipping the script on the interview. Don't get too hung up on the idea that they have all the power to REJECT. You actually can do some rejecting as well. THink about it this way, "Some guy wants me to work very hard to make money for them, instead of doing things that i enjoy and aren't stressy. I'm going to make sure they are good people to work for..." There are employers that are great, employers that are mild hassles, and employers that are abusive. In the interview, it's helpful to ask questions and start classifying. I like to ask these questions in as innocent a manner as possible... like, "what is the policy on company cell phones?" Because this gives me a hook into whether they will want me to answer issues at 7:30 PM at dinner, and they won't have prepped for this the way they will have prepped for "what's the work-life balance like here?" "Where could I go to get a nice sandwich after the interview..." gives you a clue into whether they actually GO TO LUNCH at this place, or they sit chained to their desks, etc. "Why are you hiring at this time?" lets you judge whether they burn through employees in a few months, ("we're always looking for good project managers!") or whether they are expanding because they've had a new product launch. ("We've promoted Bob to handle this new client, and we are helping him build a great team to go into Sweden!")

Comments

[cosmolinguist]

This post was really well-timed for me; I read it last night just after a long preparation session for the interview I had this morning. I pored over the information I was given, Googled a bit, even asked a friend who knew something of the organization. I didn't feel all that prepared but according to your post I was more so than most people! So I was able to sleep a little easier because of that, I think. I'm glad you wrote it when you did.

[steffan]

I'm glad you got something from it, I posted it after reading about your interview, initially I thought I'd comment. I never know how welcome a big long load of mansplainy advice will be, so i just made it into a post... Interviews used to really terrify me.

[cosmolinguist]

My last job involved sitting in on training my boss provided for clients, and one but of that ended up being about job interviews. One of the most useful things I got from him, someone else who'd conducted a lot of interviews, was his conviction that all the questions in a job interview are to answer one of three questions: can you do the job, will you do the job and will you fit in. Thinking about them this way has made them a lot less intimidating for me.

[steffan]

That's very good advice!