Interviewing 101

I feel at this point in my career and probably yours too, you know the basic do's and don'ts of interviewing, but I felt the need to touch on this subject because of the poor choices I witnessed people make this week and it fits since I have an interview coming up myself  :)

While I was sitting at the reception desk earlier this week at one of my jobs a young lady came up and asked to speak to the person she was interviewing with. She didn't address them as Ms. or Mr,. she just said their first name and she didn't tell me she was there for an interview either. On top of that she had on a short little polka dot dress, which don't get me wrong was cute, but not interview attire.

So my first tidbit is to dress the part. You should at the very least be business casual for an interview but if they specify otherwise, adhere to that. Don't overdue makeup, wear shoes you can't walk in comfortably or draw any unnecessary attention to your appearance. You want them to focus on what you're saying during the interview, not those huge earrings in your ears. It'll distract them from important points you may be making.

With everyone you meet, you should be friendly with and maintain a pleasant demeanor (I think this should be a part of your everyday life but that's all on you LOL). The young lady who came to my desk in my previous example wasn't rude but I also had no idea why she was there. Provide specific information if possible and address people as Mr. or Ms., call me old-fashioned but if you don't know the person yet, I wouldn't refer to them by their first name. Plus at other jobs I've had, even though I was not the one making the decision about whether to hire someone, my opinion was asked of. You never know who you're talking to and how they can impact your potential position.

Piggy-backing off 'know who you're talking to', make sure you do your research. Employers are impressed when you know their background and have some idea of what you're getting into. You also don't want to say the wrong thing. My professor gave a great example of this referring to a student interviewing for internship. She told the committee she did not approve of projective tests, one of the people on the committee was a huge advocate for the use of projective tests, so clearly he approved and in turn she was not offered a position at that site.

In sum, look the part, know your stuff, and know that when you're there, EVERYONE is interviewing you. Even when you're with the people who you're interviewing with,  how you're interacting with others may be evaluated. If you keep these simple tips in mind, you'll be good to go!