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Path Finders Recruiting Service

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You Have Been Invited for an Interwiew
 Obviously this means that your experience and talents are of an interest to the firm! You have been invited in to present your accomplishments and skills. Be sure and make this opportunity to present yourself and your qualifications count. Remember that a successful interview is one that is well-planned and well prepared.
Here are a few tips to help you turn the interview into an offer.



BEFORE THE INTERVIEW:

Research the company. Pathfinders will give you the web site for most companies. What does the employer do? What is the corporate culture like? What are the challenges facing the industry? These are clues to what the employer are looking for in a candidate. Research the company. Prepare a set of questions you would like to know. Please do not include questions regarding salary/benefits/compensation. This will be taken care of later in the process. Think about your goals and write them down to take with you. For example, "What do you see yourself doing five years from now"?

GET REST!!! Fatigue shows and works against you.
Dress professionally - to the eyes of a stranger, the way you present yourself reflects the way you think of yourself. Your appearance is critical. Every meeting is a chance for you to be evaluated. You never get a chance to make a first impression.
Do not overdo the make up, cologne , perfume or aftershave.
Keep jewelry to a minimal.

WHAT TO CARRY:

List of references - typed out, with name of person, job title, Company, phone number and how you know this person.
Portfolio/legal pad (with your questions and a place for notes).
A copy of your resume

PLAN YOUR TRIP:

Have an alternate route in case of traffic.
Arrive 15 minutes early.
If you are running late, call the client.
Present your name to the receptionist. Smile and be very courteous. Make the receptionist your ally. Get her/his name.
Sit and wait patiently. Review any literature they have on the firm there.
Go over the questions you want to ask.
Be prepared to fill out an application - fill it out completely and neat.

THE INTERVIEW:

Be professional, use Mr./Mrs. - until asked to use their first name.
Speak clearly and slow.
Smile - shows interest!
Be humble - do not be arrogant.
You have to sell yourself!

THE GREETING:

Handshake. Look them in the eye. Thank them immediately for taking the time out of their schedule to meet with you. Do this with each person that interviews you at the firm. Try to find something to complement them on - a picture on the wall, diploma office - but be sincere. This helps to break the ice! Use their name often - everyone likes to hear their name! Take notes: This shows your interest and will help you gather your thoughts for questions later. Present your current skills, and successes. If asked why you believe you are qualified for the position, pick two or three main factors about the job and about you that are most relevant. Select a technical skill, a specific management skill and discuss it in detail with specifics. If you feel you are weak in certain areas, speak about your strengths and show a willingness to learn new things. Talk about your past accomplishments and how quickly you learned a new skill. Be positive , but not cocky! DO NOT speak badly about your current or previous employer. Do not ask about salary or benefits. If asked about salary, tell them what you are making. When asked about what salary you desire, say you are open and that you are there to discuss the opportunity and how your skills could be an asset to the firm. Ask 3-6 poignant questions. Ask specific questions, if you can about what the interviewer said. These questions should be probing questions like "Where do you see my role in this project". Or better, I see myself doing work in this area because of your past experience. "What new products are being developed in the next year"? "Why did you join this firm"? If you have a second interviewer, formulate questions about something you did not understand. Remember, you may also have to reiterate what you told the other person …don't cut corners. Explain away!! AS THE INTERVIEW WINDS DOWN: Summarize what they do and what they are looking for with your skills. If you do feel weak in a certain area - give an example of how quickly you picked up on something from a previous position. Tell them you are interested and would like to discuss this further. Ask when you could expect to hear from them. Ask for the job!!! "I would really like to have this position because my skills and interests will benefit your firm". Thanks them again for taking the time to interview you. ASK FOR A BUSNESS CARD! FOLLOW UP: Send/fax/email or a thank you letter that day or the next. Explain why you feel you would be an asset in the position. Call your recruiter and discuss the interview with them.

FOLLOW-UP

Follow-up with a thank you note (see below). If you are interested in the position, say so. The employer is looking for your interest and enthusiasm. They want people who want the job.

THANK YOU LETTERS

Now that you have written a resume and done everything right during an interview, there is still one important thing to do (no one said this was going to be easy). You need to write a Thank You Letter.

Sending a Thank You Letter is an important step in the process. It shows that you understand and practice good business etiquette. The letter gives you a chance to reinforce some of the positive things you said in the interview. You can also add anything that you forget to mention in the interview. Keep it brief!

Here are some things to consider when putting your Thank you letter together:

Thank the employer for his or her time during the interview; this is, after all, a thank you letter.

Mention some of the things you learned during the interview, specifically those things you feel you are qualified to do. For example, 'I was especially excited to learn that you are looking for someone with ProE design experience. As you may recall my mentioning, I have over five years of experience designing components in 3D.'

Invite the employer to contact you for more information if necessary.

Mention that you are looking forward to the employer's positive decision.


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Path Finders Recruiting specializes in Information Systems and Technical
Recruiting.  We have had success in focused searches for small to Fortune
500 companies across the US.  We are not a resume fax agency - we try to
make a perfect match for both
our applicants and clients. Information systems, recruiting,
programmer,software engineer, DBA, LAN/WAN, C/C++, jobs, staffing,
systems, Networking, RDBMS, web, client-server, project manager,
mainframe, Visual Basic,Java, internet