Read more: http://www.thegrindstone.com/2017/11/13/mentors/interviews-role-models/6-job-interview-mistakes-youve-probably-made/#ixzz501ujFnSv
Friday, December 01, 2017
6 Job Interview Mistakes You've Probably Made
Read more: http://www.thegrindstone.com/2017/11/13/mentors/interviews-role-models/6-job-interview-mistakes-youve-probably-made/#ixzz501ujFnSv
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
13 comments:
I know that I haven’t made a few of these mistakes which means that I must have messed up some of the other points in this article. I certainty have never revealed my current salary since I have never applied to a job while I had a salary, I guess technically I have never had a salary in the first place. I highly doubt that I have ever not asked enough questions because, well, does that sound like me? However, have I asked the wrong questions? Probably. No, I haven’t asked about days off, but maybe I have asked about things that I could easily find on a website or info packet. The royal we point is a good one and its hard to do sometimes. I bet I’ve messed that up. I have the most amazing sense of humor so I don’t think I have a problem there, expect for this thing that happens where I get paralyzing careful with my words and am super dull. This shows itself when I start heading down the “that’s cool” and “that’s great” path. However, I did once make a joke about a guy labeled “writer” in a video about the Museum of the Bible which I think went over alright. I always follow up with an email, never a hand written note, so I definably mess up on that front, and even with my emails I don’t really know what to say.
This is a decent article with somewhat obvious suggestions, I wish it went into a little more depth.
Most of these seem pretty obvious, other than the royal we one, which I have read about in another interview tricks article, which into why to use “we” so at this point that one also makes a lot of sense to me. I guess it is nice to see that these interview tips articles tend to agree with each other. It makes it easier to know what to do. For me the hard one is asking enough questions. I have some standard go-to questions, but usually I at most ask one or two. I just never know what to ask. There are plenty of things I’m curious about, but I have trouble getting those curiosities into concrete questions. Also, in terms of follow up, I don’t exactly include an anecdote, but I do always try to mention something specific from the interview, usually some aspect of the company they mentioned that I found very interesting and/or made me more enthusiastic about the potential of working there.
I always make sure to read the articles relating to job interviews and presentation skills, since I know this is an area that I need to personally work on. I am naturally somewhat socially awkward and introverted, so job interviews and other such things often make me nervous and stressed out, but articles like this one help me plan and break down my approach ahead of time, which reduces my day-of jitters. Knowing what common mistakes to avoid is definitely a good addition to my list of considerations, as I had not considered many of those listed in this article. I have been making an effort to improve through presenting projects in class as well, and I am sure that between articles like this one and continuing to practice in my classes, I will eventually be ready to tackle real job interviews with ease.
Most of the points in this article seem pretty obvious and easy to understand to me. Not revealing your current salary is obvious as your past job may not have anything to do with what your doing and lets be honest if your looking for a new job your looking for a better job and a common part of that for most people would be better pay. Questions is something that I'm always told I need to do more of in interviews and in exchanges but I have had experiences in the past asking the wrong ones as the article says so I know I personally go through all the information and write down some clear concise questions to ask in the interview. Not using the "royal we" makes perfect sense as well as an interview is about selling yourself and you only most likely. A sense of humor is nice yah but its really being personable that I think comes across the best. And of course following up is going to make a difference in helping you get the job you want.
Again, this is one of those articles that the information provided seems pretty basic. HOwever, for as much as I gripe about these articles I always manage to find one piece of advice that is helpful. For this one it's the second tip: "Not asking enough questions. Sure, on a job interview your potential employers are interviewing you, but you should ask them a few questions, too, based on research you did before you sat down. It shows that you’re invested in what they do and that you’re truly eager to learn more about the company and your potential role within it." I'm usually stumped at the end of an interview to find a good question. Any question I think of always sounds too stupid to ask. Usually I just say some baloney like " no, but I'm sure as soon as I walk out I'll think of something" ugh.
I think those are all pretty good tips when you are in an interview. I think using the royal “we” only works in certain types of jobs that are team based. As a stage manager I do know if it would hurt you if you used the word we when discussing problems that you had to solve yourself and asking about how you reacted in a situation. It might be helpful when you are talking about what your team did and how you worked together because then it shows you were invested in your team and are ready to be a team player again. It is very important to ask questions in an interview and this is something I often struggle with. I lot of my questions get answered during the interview and conversation about the job and by the time they ask if I have any other questions, I do not have any. This is something I need to work on for future job interviews.
Interviews are one of the most unique interactions between people. It has strange rules about how to talk and how formal/informal to be. I am personally a huge fan of sending handwritten cards after an interview, and bonus points if the card itself is unique and memorable. I never would have consciously thought about using the royal we during an interview, but I think that I generally do a good job of using it. What can often be the hardest thing for me during an interview is making jokes. I can get very nervous and shy at the start of interviews, and if I don’t get comfortable quickly I end up getting even more awkward. In terms of saying what salary you want to make, it can be very difficult to decide what salary to ask for simply because I haven’t had any experience with it yet so I would have zero ideas on what is too high or too low.
This article details good information for doing well in an interview, but nothing new and ground breaking I haven't already heard or figured out by now. I think the best point is asking questions, often I have a million questions going into and interview and by the time the person asks me if I have any questions, I've forgotten them or they were already answered. After having worked at a summer stock theater I do have a better idea of the questions I want to ask in the future, and I think along those lines more will come with time and more work experience. Having a sense of humor I do think is very important, especially in the theatrical industry. One thing they should add is to make sure you are understanding who the interviewer is and the company because I am sure that their are some where if you tried to joke around it would hurt you much more than anything.
The biggest mistake I’ve probably made on job interviews is Number 6 – not following up. That being said, most of the interviews I’ve had have been for summer jobs. Not that following up is any less important, but it might be less expected. I don’t think I’ve done the other five items on the list. I’m not sure how many interview tips I’ve read in the past year, but most of them are the same. Whatever the source is, chances are that tip appears in the others as well. Some may go into more detail or use different phrasing, but the tips are the same. Interviewing is a big deal; it could land you your dream job. That doesn’t mean that it has to be rigid. Interviews can be light and don’t have to be nerve racking. The biggest pieces of advice I can give for interviewing are to be yourself and if you don’t have an answer to a question remember that question for the next interview so you can have one.
While I've had a couple of jobs in my life, none of them were really "professional" interviews; simple questions we asked as these were both small, part time jobs. Because of this, I've never actually experienced an interview, so I always enjoy reading these articles. This being said, though, this article was kind of obvious, but still useful. I've never heard of the term "the royal we," but it makes quite a bit of sense to create that pre unification subliminally before getting the job. I think this article would have benefited from listing and discussing more of these psychological aspects of interviewing for a job. Besides this, however, I did appreciate the housekeeping tip mentioned about following up. When I interviewed here, which now that I think about it could really be considered a professional interview, I sent a thank you note to all of the faculty and staff that were present at my portfolio review after reading an article similar to this. It creates a personal atmosphere and lets the interviewer know you listened.
In my past, I have had interviews that have both go exceptionally well and relatively poorly. Surprisingly of these six things listed I don't think many of them have had much of a role to play in the process going well or poorly. That is because I believe that I was well prepared for the experience of having interviews and being in those types of high-pressure situations. I had taken a course on how to adequately prepare myself and the information that I should have on hand at the time. The most significant thing that I find most difficult is any time that the conversation shifts to financial. There seem to be so many ins and outs, little details and nuances about when to ask for more, when to say nothing, and how much to ask for that seem so arbitrary and not governed by any rules that make it hard to predict what exactly will the outcome be. Like most lists like this, it serves as a good starting point for one to start digging deeper into the topic as a whole.
These seem pretty basic, but right off the bat I can identify mistakes I've made. In undergrad, I remember a painful interview in which I was so stressed that I completely failed to have sense of humor, let alone crack a smile. Recently, a family member almost stumbled in his interview process as his second round interview panel reported him back as being "low energy." When interviewing, we are more than our resume's and cover letters, and often times people forget that when they are interviewing for a job, they are still talking to another person, and a little personality can't hurt. Of course you must be aware of what situation you are in, but being able to laugh and connect via humor can't hurt. As for the salary, I am of two minds on this. Of course it can mean that you will get low balled, but on the other hand, if you refuse to reveal that information, I can see an employer not liking this. This is because they might not have any idea of what kind of offer you'd accept, and maybe go with someone they have a better idea of--they don't want to waste time. I do think giving a range is a better compromise, and say that you'd like to also be paid in a given range to have some wiggle room.
I think points number 2 (about asking questions) and number 4 (about the royal "we") are the least obvious ways to enhance an interview, but also might go the farthest. I remember being in several interviews where - though they did ask if I had any - interviewers did not actually expect me to have any questions, which indicated to me that many people do not actually use the ability to ask questions to strengthen their interview. The point this article makes about the royal "we" is interesting; I think more so than just employing the royal "we" in interviews to allude to teamwork, this is also about how you present your work and things that you have accomplished. Beyond simply using the royal "we", an interviewee should look to incorporate anecdotes and information that also establishes them as a team player. Conversely, I think it is also okay - and sometimes good - to incorporate an instance in which the interviewee alone did something good, showing that they can work independently as well.
Post a Comment