Job Interview Advice

When I was interviewing people for Mech Eng jobs I was depressed by how many candidates had never actually made anything and had no experience.... they didn't have any hobbies or interests in mechanics, design or engineering, which made me wonder why they wanted to work design.
The job went to a guy who had the same qualifications as the others but dabbled in sound and light systems for a mobile disco which he ran for the fun of it.
So have examples of stuff you've worked on proffessionally or as a hobby (photos drawings, models etc). If you can talk enthusiastically about your experience or a subject even if it's only vaguely related to the job then that's great.
Hobbies show you can be self motivated and are actually interested in something.
Some people say research the company where you are applying for the job.
Above all be honest, if you don't know something say so, if you would like time to think about something say so.
I got asked to solve a technical problem at one interview, I gave a very general response saying I'd need to think about it but there were several approache. By the end of the interview, the answer had come to me so I explained the solution.
One of the weirdest questions at a different interview I had was when I was talking about something I'd designed and the guy asked how could he be sure I wasn't lying???? I said that he could ask anything he wanted about it and I would know the answer (That question should have warned me that he was a rather weird suspicious and erratic character, who fortunately left the company a few years later).
Be confident and respectfull but not cocky.
Good luck
Del

Oddly for a guy who works avionics and software, I got one job by troubleshooting the interviewer's diesel truck problem for him and reluctantly sharing the name of my good mechanic 'before' the interview.

Enthusiasm wins huge points, don't think about wanting the job, think about the job they describe and decide if it sounds like you want it. You are supposed to be interviewing them, too. But if the job sounds good, get excited about it.

My current job had routine and very challenging aspects. We went quickly through the routine, then I started grilling them on aspects of the really hard stuff. When we got to things they hadn't considered I didn't solve it, I took a note and moved on to the next like it was already my job. By the end of the interview they were grinning and it was my job.

This won't help in time for this interview, but longer term look at joining Toastmasters International (www.toastmasters.org), guaranteed to improve confidence and presentation, which will enable you to get your message across.

As for the job applications - learn how to use a spell checker (or get someone to look at your written things for you). With the number of mistakes in your OP, I wouldn't be keen to interview. For me, the lack of attention / care to detail in written work makes me wonder if that same "it'll be reet" carries over to all aspects. Plus, if you can't communicate effectively, it doesn't matter how brilliant you are, the rest of us can't join in / benefit / discuss.

Good luck with the interview - Del's given you some great tips.

Take deep breaths - give yourself thinking time - don't feel you have to keep talking all the time, but don't be silent! - listen to the questions - prepare some questions of your own. Believe in yourself and let your enthusiasm show.

Three very good advisors so far, all with excellent points. [edit: While I was composing, Anonymous Hero commented with some excellent points as well. Hey, this is good stuff, I am going to write these pointers down.]

I would especially agree with edignan. You are also interviewing the interviewer... be interested in the surroundings; ask questions about the work atmosphere; pay attention to the office decorations... is the soda machine charging a ridiculous price, or is a less than average price charged. Is the lunchroom fairly clean and inviting. You may discover this is not really the sort of place you want to work if you have a good look around.

If an employee candidate arrives for an interview with me and has the posture and attitude along the line of "Boy, I can't believe you people get along without me", the interview is curt and pointed. If his attitude is one of alert interest in what goes on inside the building, I will spend some time with this individual... I may indeed be able to put him to work.

Thanks a lot guys, i really appreciate it...I have 4 days to prepare for this interview.

Keep them comming!!

Wouldn't you know it. Several responses in the time it took me to compose mine. Oh well, I'll plow ahead anyway...

I won't talk about the resumé since you've already got the interview. You've got a foot in the door and you'll probably have no more than an hour to sell yourself.

Job interviews can be very stressful. Preparing yourself is vitally important.

1. Do your research. Find out all you can about the Company before the interview. You don't need to know what their stock might be trading at, but knowing their products and who their competitors are shows that you've done some homework.

2. Have a mock interview with people you can trust to give you honest feedback.

3. Be confident, but not aloof. Use lots of eye contact. Be aware that your body is sending out signals, too.

4. Think of the interview as a presentation. Bring copies of your resumé in case an interviewer doesn't have one. There will probably be more than one interviewer, so remembering names is important.

5. Be familiar with your own resumé. Keep it in front of you. Draw attention to it when necessary.

6. Don't spend more than one minute answering a question and answer it succinctly. Don't wander off someplace and invite more questions.

7. Engage each interviewer throughout the interview. They each have their own skillset. Answer a question with a response that applies to all of them.

8. Now, the dreaded "tell me about yourself" question. In my opinion, this is probably the most feared question in any interview. You can't anticipate every question, but you can anticipate this one. Don't talk about your personality. Talk about how you saved your last Company a ton of money, or how your smart designs increased market share, or how your smart designs opened up a new market. If you can bring samples of your work, without breaking any confidentiality agreement you might have with your last Company, use them to show off a little. Engineering would be interested in left hand and right hand parts, for example; Manufacturing would be interested in how the part is made [use existing tooling?]; Purchasing would be interested in where your sourced the part. Talk about how you reacted to a shop floor emergency and how you communicated your resolution to the appropriate people. Talk about how you collaborate with other departments. Talk about your level of responsibility and your Team skills. They'll get a real good idea about what kind of person you are without you actually describing your personality.

8. Depending on the Company, you might prepare yourself for a question like "If you were an ant in a blender, how would you get yourself out?", or "If you saw an old lady overloaded with shopping bags trying to cross the street, what would you do?". These are not irrelevent questions, so take them seriously.

9. Remember that you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. Their responses to your questions also gives you an idea about what they might be like to work with. You can also gauge how they interact with one another. Are they friendly toward eachother, or do you sense some animosity?

10. Thank each interviewer for spending the time with you. You could even follow up with a thank you letter or email.

11. If you don't get the job, stay in contact with the interviewers, but don't stalk them. They might have a contact in another Company or end up dissatisfied with the person they hired over you.

Going forward, you might want to hook yourself up with a job placement and counselling service. They could offer you tips and tricks, seminars and other tools to help you in your quest for that perfect job.

These days, it's who you know and not what you know, so networking is very important. I once landed a non-existent job with just one phone call, so it works.

Just remember to be yourself. Trust yourself. Don't fear the interview.

Good luck! Post back after the interview to let us know how you did.

Can you explain what "mock interview" is?

I am friends with an Engineer who works for this company through social networking...is it a good idea to send him an e-mail and tell him about the job? Is it a good idea to talk about him during the interview? The job I am interested in is in his department, what if he is in the interview panel?

Mock Interview = Practice Interview with someone else that can coach you afterward.

A mock interview is where you could gather a group of two or three "advisors" and have them pretend to interview you. These "advisors" could be trusted coworkers [coworkers that won't rat you out to your current employer], friends or family members. You would need to prepare them first. Tell them what you need to learn, why you need to learn it. Tell them about the Company and what role they would play during the interview. Tell them what you want them to watch for. Above all, tell them that they need to be serious. You need to be serious too. You are counting on them to provide you honest feedback. You want to take what they tell to the real interview. If you have access to an off-site meeting room, use that room to gauge how you react to unfamiliar surroundings.

Regarding your friend at the Company: you could use him to learn about the interviewers, the Company and the atmosphere beforehand. He could even give you tips about what the interviewers like or don't like to see with respect to the interview. He could be extremely useful to you, but be careful. I would advise against mentioning his name, or even mentioning you know someone within the Company, during the interview. Why? Because your friend may not be well-liked, for whatever reason. Associating yourself to him could turn out to be a very bad idea. On the other hand, he might have a good name there. But I wouldn't risk it. If he's on the interview panel, I think you could safely acknowledge his relationship to you as it pertains to activities outside the Company [like you've bumped into eachother at conferences, for example]. Remember he is there as a representative of the Company, not as your friend. Treat him as you would any other interviewer. He must make the decision whether he wants to push for you or not. Don't make him feel uncomfortable in any way; he's still employed there while you've already walked out the door. If this works out he could help you in the future because of the way you've handled the relationship.

Good luck!

I haven't told him about the interview, maybe he knows already as he trains Engineering Interns in his group.

He's got a pretty good reputation, even here where I work as he spent 12 years in the R&D section here.

It sounds as though your friend is in a senior position at the company, and as such you should be careful how you behave - your relationship is changing from a casual friendship to a work relationship where you are part of a team under his leadership. How you handle that transition is important = if you are too casual, then you might not get the job.

I wouldn't approach him to ask about the interview, if I were in your position. But if you encounter him casually you could certainly tell him how excited you are about the interview - tell him you're nervous too if you like. Then if he has any tips for you, he'll give them voluntarily. But he may not be in a position to do that, so asking directly could be a mistake.

It may well be that he already put in a good word for you, so that you got the interview... then it's up to you to show you are ready to join the team. Treat him with respect, I reckon, as though he's already your boss. Good luck.

Blimey, you've had some great advice.
One point reminded me of a nice ploy, if asked about yourself.
Tell them your strengths, but you can also tell them a 'weakness' as long as you make sure it's an advantageous one.
E.G. I say my biggest fault is I'm impatient... but that means I get the job done. I could elaborate, but you get the idea.
Del

I had mentioned during an interview some time ago that I was aggressive. The interviewer's eyebrows popped up and I proceeded to quickly backpedal, noting that I was aggressive because I did what I needed to do to get the job done. If I had done a little more research on Mennonites [owners of the Company], I might have learned that most Mennonites are not aggressive and treat everyone with respect. I got the job, but I got the feeling they were really watching me those first few months.

It's next week now....how did the interview go? We're all keen to hear how well you did with all the wonderful advice

Yeah!! It was all good! They asked a couple of technical RF related questions (which is not my expertise) but I managed to answer what I can and was honest where I can't.

I must say this was the 1st time I've had an interactive job interview and I realised that I'm the one who made it interactive. I managed to ask them a few questions too. This website helped me prepare pretty well...http://www.businessballs.com/interviews.htm

Your advice made me feel more confident, hence I felt in control of the interview. Thanks a lot guys!

The next step is some psychometric tests if they think I'm a potential candidate for the job(they better!). They're running a few more interviews this week (Why do they always say that?) but I'm expecting their call pretty soon(this friday).

I'm positive...will fill you in as soon as i get the call!

Thanks again guys!

Yay!!! Rootin' for ya!

Congratulations!

It's a great feeling knowing that you absolutely nailed an interview, isn't it?

I like how you made the interview interactive. Turning the interview into a presentation can be a game changer. The whole process becomes proactive, rather than reactive, and gives you some control.

Regardless of the outcome, you've learned a lot. Take what you learned from this one into the next one. Above all, stay positive.

You're spot on Steve...I learned a lot here and it already worked for me.

Today during my lunch-time I went to an interview for a Project Manager (Part-time/Weekends) position, for a Non Profit Organization and got the position right away!

I'm busy signing the papers to accept their offer!

Again, I bow to all of you guys, you don't know what impact you had on me in the past few days!

I'm back!

Holy crap. Have we created a monster?

hahahhahah

Got that million rand call! they invited me for assessment next week.

I've never prepared for an assessment, but I've never failed one. Based on your knowledge and experience, how should I prepare for this?

One step closer! Awesome for you!

1,000,000 ZAR = 124,300 CAD. Not bad!

Are you referring to that psychometric evaluation you talked about earlier?

hehehe...Why did you have to scale it down? By the way, that's not the salary the'll be offering me. Devide that by 4...

I'm not sure if it's a personality test numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning,phsychometric test or a combination of all. They will e-mail me the details and I will ask them what exactly it is and how long it will take.

Should I dress to kill this time again??

Well done, old chap. Splendid show. Professional attire, my man.

_{That should satisfy the Cat}

Be prepared for a group exercise on an all day event. Here they're looking to see where you fit in the team - and the one who takes over is not always the best one. Negotiation, problem solving and smoothing the way between others' head-to-heads will get you most marks.

Mind you, it depends on the firm and the job. In some cases the Rottweiller will win...

Above all: BE TRUE TO YOURSELF

Good luck

You wrote, "Should I dress to kill this time again?"

Unless you are going to do some dirty work that requires it, dress the way you did at the interview. I assume a suit and tie. Appearance matters. They are still evaluating you and put your best polished shoe forward.

This is great news and go show 'em how it is really done!

Avoid word 'KILL' if doing psychometric tests
Del

So....what happened??? It's 10 days since the last post.