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Browse every published article connected to Peggy McKee, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
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What do you know about this company? This is a very typical job interview question. Hiring managers want to know if you’ve done your homework. Have you done any company research? You would be surprised at how many job candidates can’t answer this question. Other candidates get a basic working knowledge of what the company does from reading through the corporate website and think that’s enough.
How did you deal with the situation the last time your boss chastised you or strongly disagreed with a statement, a plan or a decision you made? There are a lot of potential landmines lurking in this behavioral interview question. Maybe your knee-jerk reaction would be to say, “Why, I don’t recall that ever happening and I can’t imagine that it would.” Why? Are you a yes-man? That’s not a good thing. It could say that you can’t contribute in a way that means anything.
Do you prefer working in a team or alone?
Are you going to have your phone interview conversation on a landline or on a cell phone? I personally think you should always, always use a landline. The sound quality of the conversation is better, there’s no risk of dropping the call, and there’s never any questions like, “Can you hear me now?” This is such an important conversation that anything at all you can do to reduce the risk of a problem is a very good idea.
Do you have a good work ethic? Do you have good communication skills? Are you a team player/a strong leader/an enthusiastic, innovative, driven job candidate? Well, so is everyone else. In job interviews, candidates tend to speak in generalities. It’s one of the most common flaws. Everyone says that they are persuasive, or that they have great communication skills, or that they are strong in some way—you get the idea. And those are all great things, but even the candidates who aren’t really telling the truth say those things, too.
Job Shadowing Job shadowing is ideal for college students as they graduate, but it’s not just for the kids. Anytime you’re transitioning into a new field (either by choice or because you were laid off), a job shadowing experience can give you a big boost in your job search. Why should you job shadow? It helps you see if you will really like that field before you invest the time and energy into getting yourself there. It helps you build your network because you’ll meet people as you go through your day (or week, in some cases).
How was your working relationship with your previous supervisor? How was your working relationship with your last boss? This is an attitude question for sure. They don’t really care about your last boss, they care about you. Hiring managers know that past behavior predicts future performance, so they are very interested in your answer. Are you going to trash your old boss? Are you going to complain about how you were misunderstood? Or are you going to talk about how much you learned? This is a pretty standard job interview question, so make sure you’re ready for it.
Companies sometimes use personality tests as another way to evaluate a potential employee. They know that certain personality types do well in certain positions within the organization, and they want to make sure they’re making a good choice. Typical personality assessments include DISC, Caliper, Myers-Briggs, or Gallup, but candidates sometimes stumble across tests that include convoluted, confusing, or even just plain weird questions. If that happens to you, what’s the best way for you to deal with it? How can you “pass” a personality test so that you get hired?
If you want to build your personal brand, establish an online presence, and be in the right place at the right time for your job search, then you have to utilize social media. The big 3 social media sites are LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. While LinkedIn is focused more fully on business, and Facebook leans toward the social, Twitter lands somewhere in the middle. Nearly 75 million people visited Twitter in January 2010.
The era of the thank you note after a job interview is over. Well, not the actual “thank you,” just the delivery system. It’s critically important that you thank the interviewer for the opportunity, but it’s also critically important that you get it to him within 24 hours. And a handwritten, snail-mailed note just won’t do that. Send an email.
Candidates always want to know the ONE thing they can do in the job interview that’s going to be the most impressive to the hiring manager. And there really is one answer. There are a lot of other pieces that go into a successful job interview, but the number one thing you can do in the interview to make a great impression is to ask questions. When you ask questions, you demonstrate your knowledge of the job through those questions.
The best time to present your 30/60/90-day plan is in your first face-to-face interview. In this difficult economy, many well-qualified people are applying for jobs, creating some stiff competition for you, so you’re going to want to come out of the gate strong. Don’t bother trying to bring it up during your phone interview—I don’t think you can present it well over the phone. I do think that you can email it to the hiring manager if you are trying to get the hiring manager’s attention and you’ve exhausted your other methods.
Don't be fooled by people who tell you that resume objective statements are optional, or that you shouldn't have one at all. Their reasoning is usually that they fence you in and limit your job-seeking focus. I'm here to tell you that you need an objective statement on your resume. Why? * An objective statement tells me why I should keep reading the rest of your resume. An objective statement is advertising, basically. It's the teaser that will draw me in to reading the rest of your resume. The cover letter won't do it.
If you research “resume writing tips” online, chances are great that you will discover that your resume should be 1-2 pages. But what if you’ve been working for 20 years or so and in order for you to get all the relevant experience included, it takes you 3-4 pages? Sorry, you’re going to have to learn to edit. Some of it just won’t be relevant. Unless you’re at the highest levels (CEO, CIO, CFO, etc.), you must keep your resume down to 1-2 pages. What should you consider cutting?
Why do you want to join this company? All companies want to know that you want to work for them rather than you just want a job. An enthusiastic employee is a better employee—and more pleasant to work with, too. Your answer to this question should sound like, “I want to join this company because…” and then you need to list at least 3 reasons why.
Want to be organized for your phone interview? Leave nothing to chance? Give yourself the best possible outcome? Then create a phone interview checklist like this one so you won’t forget any vital detail. Pick a good time and place – The first thing you have to do when setting up a phone interview is to choose a good time for you, when you will be at your best (most alert), and then choose where to have this very important conversation. It must be somewhere quiet, where you will not be distracted. No pets, kids, or chatty people at the next table. Quiet.
As a recruiter, I’ve always recommended to my candidates that they bring a 30/60/90-day sales plan to the job interview and it never fails to impress hiring managers. Although most candidates who use this plan are in sales, job seekers who are not in sales roles often ask if they should use it, too. The answer is “Absolutely yes.” In fact, I wouldn’t go into any job interview without a 90-day plan for how I was going to attack that job. And you might say, “Why is it a good idea for someone who isn’t in sales?” It’s because of what the plan demonstrates.
Candidates often ask me, “Post-interview, how long should I wait AFTER I send the thank you note to contact the hiring manager again? What should I say? Should I call or email again?“ The post-interview follow up period can feel like the trickiest of situations for candidates. Push too hard, and you’ll annoy them. Don’t push, and you risk not looking like a go-getter. If you’re working with a recruiter, the recruiter will do the calling to see what’s up. But if you’re going after this job on your own, then it’s all up to you.
There are plenty of people who think that a LinkedIn account replaces traditional methods of job-hunting. While this might work for a few, this is not really the concept that propels the existence of this professional networking site. The purpose of LinkedIn is to provide a means of connecting with other people in the context of career opportunities…that’s why there are groups to join, Q&A sections, testimonials, and more. LinkedIn can be a valuable tool even when a resume is already in place.
Job seekers over 50 (and over 40) can run into real trouble getting job interviews. Before you assume it's age holding you back, make a few improvements to your resume. With the right resume know-how, your age and experience will be a huge positive for you in the job search.
What will you contribute to this job? This job interview question is very similar to “Why should we hire you?” Or, “Why do we want you over the other candidates?” The job interview is a sales process in which you are the product and the hiring manager and company is the buyer. Your salary is the price of the product, you and your skill sets. It’s fair for them to ask, “What are we going to get for our money?”
Job interviews are notoriously stressful, and in each one there are going to be a couple of difficult questions for you to handle. The key to being successful in your job interview is being prepared for the most difficult interview questions so that you can answer them smoothly and with confidence. "Tell me about yourself." Some candidates see this as an open invitation to talk about everything that's happened to them since birth. That's just not right.
What are your salary expectations? Oh, the dreaded salary question! The good news is that it doesn’t have to be a big problem for you if you know how to handle it. The primary strategy I teach my job seekers is “Do your research so that you know what the going rate is for that job in your part of the country, and then deflect naming a number for as long as possible.” Still, there are different approaches to use depending on who is asking you this question.
Why did you freelance for so long? A lot of people have taken up freelancing, consulting, or other independent work in the last few years just out of necessity. In many industries, it’s been difficult to find a job. Others have struck out on their own because there has been just so much opportunity—especially in consulting, writing, graphic design, web programming, web design, and online marketing. Whatever your situation was, employers are going to have questions about your reasons for doing what you did and consequently, why you want to work for their company now.
Have you ever been on a team where someone was not pulling their own weight? How did you handle it? Asking about any difficulties with team projects in the past is a great behavioral interview question, and interviewers love to ask it. At some point, everybody’s been on a team where someone didn’t pull their own weight. Remember group projects in school? And at some point in this job you’re applying for, you’ll almost certainly be asked to participate in another one. So it’s a fair question for them to ask.
One of the best aspects of LinkedIn is that it allows people to connect with other professionals in specific areas of interest. LinkedIn Groups is a place for communities to form based on a common experience, goal, or any other characteristic. The idea is to provide a venue where collaboration and support can be encouraged. There are plenty of LinkedIn groups to choose from…so many that it can be overwhelming to see which groups you should join. To make the task less daunting, a good practice is to see if the group you are interested in is in line with your goals.
Are you in an executive job search? Statistics say that you’ll spend one month in the job search for every $10,000 you earn. Do you have that kind of time? Of course not. You can have your pick of executive positions if you are as strategic with your executive job search as you are with your executive job. How? Let’s start with this: Here are the 3 things that keep most executives from getting interviews:
Changing career fields can be daunting, especially in this economy when so many experienced candidates are competing for the same jobs. It can be hard to even land an interview—much less get an offer. However, with the right strategy, it’s possible for you to land the interviews you need and experience success in your job search. How?
Why do you think you can manage a team without any prior managerial experience? If you are interviewing for your first management-level job, you will definitely be asked some version of this question. They are going to want to know if you think you can do this job and why.
"A" players demonstrate many strong competencies on a consistent and convincing basis. As a medical sales professional, having these items clearly in your mind is a great way to structure your performance, develop your resume, present your experience, and understand your own weaknesses. Some skills "A" players always demonstrate include: * The capacity to identify and hire other "A" players for their own supervisors, managers, and team members. This capacity is a combination of recognizing ability and developing strong sourcing plans for finding these kinds of people.r
Finding a mentor can definitely help you advance your career, but there are several important points to keep in mind when choosing a career mentor. Usually people choose a manager, recruiter, or friend, but those choices might not be the best. A manager, for instance, might present a conflict of interest in certain situations, and they probably won’t have the time to help you. A recruiter just won’t do it–a recruiter’s primary conce is to please their clients (the hiring company) and he or she won’t have time, either.
Here’s a tip that you should always keep in mind. Never leave all the question asking up to the interviewer. You always want to ask questions during your job interview. There are three reasons for this: - It helps you uncover information you can’t get anywhere else…who’s a better source than the person hiring for the job? - It helps you have a more relaxed and productive conversation. The key word here is ‘conversation’. Asking questions will make it feel less like you’re in an interrogation. - It shows that you researched the company when you ask informed, thoughtful questions.r
Nothing is as much of a foundational piece of your job search as your resume. If you think of the job search as a sales process (and you should), then your resume is your marketing document. What does your resume say about you? Does it grab the attention of the reader like it should? Does it give the reader the information he or she needs to make the decision to call you in for an interview to find out more? The first fourth of your resume is the key to grabbing the attention you need.
Trade Shows Trade shows can be fantastic, rich resources for the aggressive job seeker. They are full of real, live contacts from a concentrated selection of companies in your field. You may not come away from the show with a job, but you very well could come away from the show with a valuable contact within that company who can point you to the hiring manager you need to be talking to. To make the most of these opportunities, prepare before the show, have a strategy to follow during the show, and follow up after the show. Before the Show:
Many, many people do not know how to write a resume, despite a wealth of information available. It's not just a list of jobs you've had, or skills you have. It's a marketing document. You are marketing yourself. In an uncertain economic climate, you must make the most of every opportunity you have to give yourself an advantage in a competitive job market. Your resume is the first place you can distinguish yourself from other candidates.
LinkedIn is an amazing professional career tool and perhaps an even more amazing job search and prospecting tool. With over 65,000,000 members (and adding thousands of new members daily), this social networking service is your ticket to a world of career connections that would have been possible to achieve in years past. LinkedIn sets you up to unbelieveably leverage your experience, your skills, and your time during the job search. Are you aware of LinkedIn has to offer? Are you a member?
How do you rate yourself as a professional? There are people who will tell you that your automatic response to rating yourself (on a scale of 1 to 10) should be “11”. They say that anything less would be admitting a weakness. I don’t agree. An over-the-top answer like that is bragging, which is a lot different than selling yourself for the job.
Did you ever wish you had the “inside track” at your interview? Or that you knew exactly how to explain that slightly difficult/embarrassing/sensitive situation in your job history? Or even the very best way to explain who you are and what you do in a compelling, “hire me” kind of way? Maybe you’re getting interviews, but you know that something’s not going quite right because you’re not getting called back for the second one. What’s your solution? Hire an interview coach.
A 30/60/90-day plan is a guaranteed way to make a powerful impression on the hiring manager and help you stand out from your competition in the job search. It’s simply an outline for what you’ll do in the first 3 months on the job: how you’ll get your training, get up to speed, and attack the principal challenges associated with the job.
What’s Your Greatest Weakness? “What’s your greatest weakness?” is possibly the most annoying job interview question just because of its sheer ridiculousness…your choices seem to be either to give them an obviously fake weakness (like you’re a perfectionist or you work too hard…ugh!), or a real weakness (like you’re disorganized or you have a bad temper), which means you might as well kiss your job offer goodbye now. Most people stick with the safe route and go for the fake one. Do you? It turns out, the ‘safe’ route is not the best route.
What is the difference between an internal recruiter and an external recruiter? An internal recruiter works directly for the company they are recruiting for. An internal recruiter for Frito-Lay, for example, works to fill a variety of positions within the Frito-Lay organization, and receives a paycheck from Frito-Lay.
At AACC, I had the pleasure of a long conversation with a national sales manager of a $30M company (10 sales reps and 10 technical support folks) where I discovered his opinion that “sales reps these days just aren’t as strong as they used to be.” I said, “Really? I’ve found that sales reps are just as good as the ones from the ‘good old days.’” So, naturally, I asked him about his hiring practices. He said that they hire their own people with no outside help (no recruiters) through ads, sales rep referrals, and a Rolodex.
Why research the interviewer before your phone interview? Look at it this way: The job interview is a sales process in which you are both the product and the sales rep. One of the first rules of sales is “Know Your Customer.” You can’t sell effectively unless you know a little something about your customer. How annoying is it to have a sales rep come up to sell you something without even asking a few questions about your problems or issues? They have no idea what you’re interested in, so they’re not effective. The same principle is at work in the interview process.
Don’t be surprised in your phone interview if the hiring manager asks, “What do you know about our company?” It’s a reasonable question. Why would they want to bother talking with someone who doesn’t even understand what they do? And who didn’t care enough to find out? Some candidates think the phone interview is an information session for them, but it’s really a screening process for the employer. They’re looking for reasons to cross you off their list and narrow down the field for the face-to-face interview round.
Job Boards What do I mean by job boards? The big ones are Monster, CareerBuilder, SimplyHired, and Indeed. Companies post job openings and requirements on there, with instructions for how to apply for that job.
A field preceptorship a fantastic way to boost your chances of landing a medical sales job. Also known as a ride-along or job shadowing, it's usually something we associate with students, but a field preceptorship offers multiple benefits for the jobseeker: * It gives you on-the-job experience without having to get the job.
Before you get to go to the face-to-face interview, you’ll probably have to go through a cheaper, easier (for them) phone interview to prove you are worth the time, trouble and expense of a longer conversation. Here are the top phone interview tips to make sure you get your chance to prove your worth in person. 1. Concentrate on your voice.
Have you ever found yourself in this situation? You turned down a job offer because you were sure you were getting a better one…and then you didn’t. What now? Can you get that offer back? Maybe. Here’s your best shot at turning this situation around for you:
What are your advantages and disadvantages? This job interview question is another way to get at what your greatest strengths and weaknesses as a candidate are. But in this particular one, they’d like a list of the pros and cons of hiring you. Don’t let it throw you. It is a beautiful thing to be the one in charge of putting together that list (if only during the interview). You can spin this story like a politician and turn it in your favor. Don’t lie. Just focus on the positive.
Yes, you can. There are all kinds of resources online for you to tap into: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, corporate websites, and Google. Your network can come in pretty handy here, too. If for some reason there’s a lack of information online (like maybe it’s a smaller company) and you can’t, then that’s definitely a strong reason to do what you can and bring it into the interview anyway, since that’s an excellent opportunity to ask the questions that will lead to a greater understanding of what it will take to be successful in that job.