We wrote last time about the need to use your nervous energy before a job interview in preparation, studying the company and yourself (view that post here).  In this second part, we’ll focus more on tips for the interview itself.

During the Interview

Listen for hints – The questions and comments from the interviewer will likely give you clues about their preferred traits. Without resorting to flattery, target your answers and questions to these highlighted areas. You may want to have a way to take notes during the interview to help.

Give examples – After giving a stellar answer to an interviewer’s question, there is nothing quite so powerful as giving a past example of how you followed your own advice/value/prioritization/approach. Be sure and have several examples in mind so you can easily pick the best few.

Ask questions – When I hired in the past, the most impressive candidates were those who asked intelligent, open-ended questions about my organization. This showed an interest as well as preparation. It also showed someone who was willing to think (a great addition to any team). I was never attracted to a passive interviewee who simply waited for the interview time to expire.

Ask for a tour of your potential work area if appropriate – This is a simple request but can yield several positive things. First, you get more first-hand, personal education about the company. Second, you can ask more questions to build trust with someone already employed by the company. Third, you show a genuine interest in the organization and how it runs. Fourth, you will pick up valuable culture clues to either encourage your job quest with the company or alternatively scare you away.

At the end of the interview, ask a clean-up question – Here are two examples to get you started.

• “Do you have any other questions about my background?”
• “Do you have any concerns about my background that I could address now?”

Say “thank you” – It amazes me how little this two-word phrase is heard. Use good manners before, during and after the interview. Assume EVERYBODY you meet in or near the company setting has a say in the hiring decision and treat them accordingly. It is impossible to always predict pockets of informal power.

There you have it, 6 tips to utilize during the job interview.  Would you have any others to add?  Please take a minute and share your thoughts in the comments below.

This post was written by Michael Friesen, a coach at 360JobInterview.com. He is the author of Expected End: What Culture Is, Why It Matters and How to Improve It. He is leadership coach and a former CFO and Budget Director for the U.S. government. You can schedule an interview with Michael on his 360JobInterview.com coach page.

Photo iStockPhoto © James Tutor

Interviewing with any company can be intimidating but preparation will help chase away some of the butterflies. Remember it is unusual for a company to hire a candidate who fits the job description 100%. View the position advertisement as a dream sheet. You should have a majority of the traits but just because you’re missing a few parts of the experience does not necessarily knock you out of contention.

Without trying to be too traditional, here are some interview thoughts gleaned from hands-on experience.

Before the Interview

Learn all you can about the company – This is much easier in our era of mega-search engines. Look for names, facts, figures, news, anything, etc.

• What are the recent big news items?
• What are the company’s major services or products?
• What are their guarantees?
• What are the approximate revenues?
• What are the customer service trends?
• Who are the big names?
• How do competitor companies look at your interviewing company?
• If you know somebody at the company, quiz them about the organization.
• If appropriate, see if you can make an appointment with someone at the company for your educational purposes (be careful with this one).

Play stump the dummy – Nothing personal … but prepare a list of the toughest questions you can create based on your intimate knowledge of your own profile. The idea is to train hard to make the actual interview seem easier. Be as tough as you can on yourself during the preparation and you will find yourself more confident at the real event. Here are a few starter questions and you can think of more.

• What is your core message related to the position?
• What are your top 3-5 strengths?
• What are your weaknesses? How do you manage around or offset them?
• What will be the most difficult areas of the new job for you?
• Why are you unique?
• How would you interview yourself if you wanted to paint the most complete picture?
• How will you make up any shortfalls in your experience as it relates to the ideal job description?
• What will you do if you are not selected for the position?
• Do you like the company enough to apply for more positions?
• How will you respond if salary comes up early?

In a future post, we’ll talk more about how to maximize your time during the interview.  To summarize, focus any nervous energy you have on preparation. Write it, say it, and think it (or any combination thereof). This will help with the actual interview and keep anxiety in check. Remember too that a little nervousness will help you be sharper in the interview as well. All the best!

And if you have any thoughts or ideas, take a minute and share your best ideas or experiences in the comments below.

This post was written by Michael Friesen, a coach at 360JobInterview.com.  He is the author of Expected End: What Culture Is, Why It Matters and How to Improve It.  He is a leadership coach and a former CFO and Budget Director for the U.S. government.  You can schedule an interview with Michael on his 360JobInterview.com coach page.

Photo iStockPhoto © Ken Kan

There is a new web-based service that is quickly shifting the way we think about and approach staffing. In one fell swoop, the process is streamlined, efficient, effective and raising the bar regarding quality. This new product is the perfect mix of current technology and process efficiency leveraging the best of both. This is 360WorkForce.com.

In a world of constant shifting and re-invention, there are many tools that come and go. What was ‘hot’ twelve months ago is likely to have been replaced by the next generation and the third generation is well on its way. Rarely does something come along that is so unique and innovative, that you know it is going to change the way we work. The launch of 360 Workforce is going to revolutionize the staffing industry.

With talent acquisition fast becoming one of the primary focuses of businesses, large and small, there is a significant opportunity to innovate in such a way that the impact will be beyond our current line of sight. Staffing is an area that still maneuvers in much the way it always has…and not because it is without areas for improvement.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be involved with 360 WorkForce during beta testing. I sat in the provider seat and experienced first-hand how the product works and what it has to offer. As an HR professional with over fifteen years experience managing staffing for global companies, this tool would not only have revolutionized the way we executed our staffing process, but would have saved us thousands of dollars per hire without compromising quality.

Imagine that you have an exclusive portal into a website designed to meet your staffing needs. Each candidate that applies arrives electronically into the portal and automatically becomes a part of the process. The service provider and the client document each touch point on the candidate with easy access for notes. You, as the client, have complete access to every step along the way and have the ability to move the process along at the pace you desire with access 24 hours per day.

The 360WF provider assigned to you is a seasoned HR professional with expertise and experience in your industry. This top-notch resource is screening your resumes, making comments for you to review and is at your fingertips for assistance. You have the option to get acquainted with your assigned 360WF staffing resource and your personal 360WF professional WANTs to understand what you want and what you don’t.

Once you determine which candidates are worthy of a screening interview, your 360WF staffing resource will facilitate a recorded video interview. This recorded interview is then uploaded into your portal for you to review at your convenience. You now have the ability to determine whom to bring in for face-to-face, possibly final, interviews at the click of a button.

The value and quality of recorded video interviews will provide in-depth information about candidates – how they present, if they are prepared, what motivates them, are they a strong fit, etc. What does this mean to you? You have a credible HR professional handling your staffing process. There is complete transparency regarding all documentation as the candidates move through the process. You will never, again, have to spend thousands of dollars bringing candidates in-house for face-to-face interviews without actually ‘seeing’ them in a screening interview. This will shorten your time-to-fill, decrease your cost-per-hire and allow you to reallocate the members of your staff who are dedicated to the staffing process. In a time when everyone is doing more with less, this is your opportunity to use them in areas where you need them more.

From first-hand experience, I was the staffing source for the beta testing and I was astounded at how easy the process was to use. The open position was a high-level management position, critical to the business. 360WF worked closely with the client to understand the needs and desires in order to get the best possible result.

The end results? 75% success rate for candidates submitted. Time-to-fill less than 45 days. Best-in-class metrics and a delighted client. This is the future.

If you’re job hunting, chances are you have been scouring every reputable publication, in print as well as online, for valuable, potentially employment-earning tips, tricks, and tactics to put to good use if you’re one of the lucky few to score an interview. In this economy and given the widespread job loss across the country, if you’re given the chance to knock the socks off of a potential employer, you know very well that you may not have many other chances. So with a ‘time is of the essence’ attitude, you’ve most likely been searching for any and all information you can get your hands on in order to convince your interviewer that you’re just the person they’ve been looking for.

While business experts have been forth-coming with their abundant resources and lessons from the trade, it is very easy to take all of the information being supplied to you and apply it a little too vigorously. Being prepared for an interview is certainly a step in the direction of employment; it’s very important to know what kind of questions you will be asked and how you will be expected to answer. However, being prepared is something very different from being an automaton, which could happen if you are focusing too much on the grocery list of tips you picked up the night before on your latest Google search for ‘how to get the job.’

Through the time I have spent filling out job applications and sending out resumes I have come to know one thing about my self in the workforce—If I get the chance to be interviewed for a position I am seeking, I know I will land that job. That is the way it has been since I was asked in for my first job interview that led me to my first job right out of high school and the outcome has never been anything different. I don’t have any in-depth analysis of why this is or any knowledge of the underbelly of the business world; the only thing that I kept in mind during an interview is the fact that this company is interviewing me, not quizzing me on what I had learned while preparing for this moment.

The fondest interview memory I have is from the second job I have ever had; when I was interviewing for a position at a book store. I have been a constant reader all of my life. I have always seen books as a reward; either they were pumping me full of knowledge and intellect or they were providing new and exciting lives for me to live in for a little while, so naturally one of my first jobs was working at a book store. While I knew a great deal about the company, as well as what that company expected of me as an employee, and what that interviewer was expecting from me during the interview, I never lost who I was during the interview process. I was courteous, respectful, answered the questions I was asked exactly as I was supposed to, and was do my best to wow the pants off of the person who was conducting the interview by asking follow-up questions to the duties and responsibilities that were being outlined for me..and then I was asked about who my favorite authors were, and that is when I shined through and through. I never tucked who I was away for the event and as I listed the authors I so frequently read, admire, and cherish, that is the moment I knew I landed the job since right after we finished talking about our favorite authors, my second interview was conducted right there on the spot and the next day I received a call letting me know that the job was mine.

The key to any person-to-person exchange, whether a job interview, business contact, or acquaintance is to unapologetically be yourself. You can read as many interview preparation articles you can absorb in one sitting but the part of the interviewer that is going to stand out for the person conducting the interview is when you show them what kind of person you are and how valuable you would be to their company.

I need not tell you that in this day and age, with such few jobs and so many candidates the need to ace the interview is an understatement. Yet, so many people go into the interview without a clear strategy and plan. They do not anticipate what questions are going to be asked and what their response would be. Thus when asked a question that they obviously have not prepared for they are thrown off course. They become anxious and are unable to focus on the questions the interviewer is asking and are not responding to the nonverbal cues which give insight to what the interviewer is responding to both positively and negatively. Therefore the candidates need to have a firm grasp of the company, who they are, and themselves, what they bring to the table and what they can do to help the organization meet its organizational objectives.

In this column I will focus on typical questions both traditional and behavioral that each candidate should be prepared to answer. If these questions are prepared for, it will take a significant amount of pressure off the interviewee and allow them to focus on the interviewer thus being more present.

Question # 1- Tell me about yourself.

This is the classic open ended question. This is the question that always throws people who do not prepare for it. It demonstrates how people organize their thoughts and also gives them the opportunity to control the flow of the discussion. Many people who do not prepare for this question and try to wing it, often ramble on and on with no focus. They end up forming a bad impression to the interviewer, which they can’t recover from in subsequent questions.

The best way that I know of to handle this question is through a functional presentation. Tie the functional presentation to the key duties and responsibilities highlighted in the job description. For example:
“I’m a financial professional with more than 20 years of experience in working in investment banking. My back ground includes:

1. Analyzing Financial Statements
2. Preparing Financial Reports utilizing spreadsheets
3. Reviewing various company performance information and making investment recommendations.
4. Creating budgets and forecasts for financial products.
5. Designing systems and procedures to improve departmental performance.

Which one of these areas would you like to discuss first?

The interviewer’s response will indicate what she values most in the position. Thus giving the opportunity to give further responses to demonstrate your competency to do the job.

Question # 2- What are your Strengths?

The strengths that you discuss should be related to the position you are being interviewed for. For that financial analyst position you should select as your primary strength, your analytical skills. That is the primary reason they would want to hire you. Your interpersonal and administrative skills are supportive skills. If you were going for a sales position, your interpersonal and communicative skills are of primary importance.
For all of your strengths, make sure that you have specific behavioral examples that demonstrate those competencies.

Question #3- What are your weaknesses?

This can be tricky, you don’t want to admit something as a weakness that is important to the job. On the flip side you don’t want to give a canned answer that most interviewers have heard a number of times before. There are several options here. One option would be an area that once was a weakness that now has been remedied. It should be in an area that is not essential to the position. This is an example for the financial analyst example. “I used to be uncomfortable with public speaking, yet I realized that it was an area where I wanted to master. I joined Toastmasters International whereby I have had the opportunity to learn how to make presentations and I am now very comfortable speaking in front of audiences and have received positive reviews from others.”

Another option is to say something like this, “I can’t think of any weakness that would keep me from doing this job effectively, but I do believe in self improvement.” Then give examples of what you do to further develop yourself, from reading, attending seminars, etc.

Question #4- Why did you choose the college you graduated from?

Your answer should reflect that your choice of school had to do with professional goals, not such things as location, social life and cost. Again with the example of the person applying for the financial analyst position. “I choose my school for several reasons. I wanted a school where I would have professors who had real world experience as well as academic knowledge. Also, this school was located in the financial district affording me the opportunity to have internships in financial institutions, gaining real word experience. That is what I bring to your organization. Excellent professional education with actual job experience.”

Question # 5- What are your career goals?

Your career goals should reflect reasonable expectations. You should aspire to a senior level position in your profession. Aspiring to be CEO could turn some employers off, in that most people will not be CEO. They may fear that if you did not progress to that level you may get frustrated and leave, thus they would loose any investment in you. By the same token, they want somebody who is interested in career progression. They don’t want somebody who is content to stay in the same position for an extended period of time, thus blocking another person’s progression. A response may be: “ I would hope to progress within the financial management profession moving to higher level positions based upon my performance and the opportunities that open up in the organization.

Question #6 Why are you interested in working for this company?

In the back of people’s mind might be, “because you were the only organization that was interested in interviewing me.” But obviously that is not what you are going to say. Also, you don’t want to give a patronizing response like “because you are a great company.” You want to demonstrate your match to the job and the company. For the financial analyst, “the job and career path with your organization is an excellent match to my skills and career goals. The job description is for a person who…. The career path in financial management leads to… That is what I am looking for.

Question #7- We are interviewing other candidates, why should we hire you?

Of course you cannot know how qualified the other candidates are, but you can certainly make the case for yourself. “The reasons you should hire me are as follows. “I have an excellent academic record as demonstrated by my high QPA. I have work experience having had several internships in this industry with excellent reviews. I have demonstrable analytical, organizational and interpersonal skills. Which one of these areas would you like to discuss first?”

Question #8 – What jobs did you like best? What jobs did you like least? Why?

You never want to be in a position where you are badmouthing other people. Do not say anything bad about a company or person. Say something like this: “I have learned a lot from every position I have had. What I preferred were supervisors who communicated to me what their expectations are and were open to asking questions. In a situation where that was not the case I managed to adapt and communicate what I was doing and get feedback via email.”

There are certainly many more questions that could come up and you cannot anticipate all of them. But if you prepare for these questions you should do very well on the interview and way better than people who are not prepared which is sadly more people than not.

You can improve your skills by practicing with a skilled professional, such as a 360 Job Interview coach. Be sure that you are familiar with the technical skills that are required for the job and have the answers prepared. In future columns I will cover what questions you should ask on an interview.

Looking for a job is a full time job. It will ultimately produce some of the most intense career ups and downs and it’s easy to find yourself discouraged on many levels.

It used to be that you found an opening, applied, interviewed and got an offer. Times have changed and there seems to be more competition for openings complicated the entire process.

Early in my career I remember anxiously waiting for a job offer that I really really wanted. I planned to relocate back to California from Seattle, but I had to get a job there first before quitting my current one.

The company I interviewed with made private label soaps and lotions for large corporations. I knew it was the perfect path for me to take and the location was perfect. I wanted it so badly.

When I didn’t hear from them on the day promised, I was beside myself with what to do. I paced, ate chocolate and jumped at every call I received. It was three days of waiting until I finally picked up the phone to follow up with them.

I didn’t get the job.

Words cannot describe the disappointment at that moment but thankfully I had been coached by a mentor to ask “why” when you hear that you weren’t selected to hire. The HR manager’s reasoning made sense, the person who did the job a year ago wanted to come back. They would fit right into the role without any training. It still hurt.

These are the times when you have to pick yourself up and figure out a way to stay “inspired”. It’s easy to let disappointment rule, but you have to get going, stay focused and keep trying. If you let it get you down it will be counterproductive.

I remember calling my dad long distance. He said some really great things that I really needed to hear to keep forging ahead. It was cliché, but he was right:

“When one door closes another door opens.”

Shortly after our conversation, I received a more attractive job offer from a software company that I interviewed with in California that would change my life for the better. Keeping my chin up despite the rejection kept me from not giving up. It all worked out in the end, but I knew I needed emotional support to get through it.

Recently on the job hunt myself and in need of a little pick me up, a close friend invited me out to dinner. At the end of our meal the fateful Fortune Cookie arrived.

Mine read:

“Your careful nature will bring you financial success”

How appropriate and what great timing this little cookie came. I was inspired! I have the fortune taped to my computer.

If you don’t have a solid support system in place, make one. Whether it’s a mentor, career coach or just a solid group of people that can cheer you up or give you good advice it is another important aspect of job hunting. Short term, it will help you get a job and long term it will help you grow your career. It’s just as important to be on top of your game. Nail that job with help from a professional; try out 360′s Job Interview Coaching. It’s one-on-one help that’s affordable, customized to suit your needs.

How about we go out and eat Chinese food and read your fortune together?