Effective Approach in Getting Interviews
Job Strategy, Job Tips, Job Search, Interview Questions 
The ABCs
A for ATTENTION
You must be noticed. The must read your cover letter or they won’t read your CV. They must listen to your phone or you won’t be invited in.
You must have something to offer – a capability, a problem you can solve, a service you can render, an answer to give. You must also communicate this benefit I sufficiently convincing manner so that the reader or the listener will want t hear more about you and how you can help. Remember the previously mentioned universal hiring rule: Any employer will hire ( or interview) any individual if the employer is convinced that he will bring more value than it costs.
C for CLOSING
Get the interview scheduled then and there. Ask for and get specific time commitment – or a definite turndown. It’s important to avoid procrastination.
What the Employer Wants to Know About You
During interviews, the employer will usually attempt the following.
- To verify the accuracy and completeness of your CV and application form and to resolve any gaps or apparent contradictions.
- To quantify the information you gave. (For example, say you were a country club manger. How many members? What was the membership fee total? Were you responsible for recruiting new memberships? If so, how did you do? Did you manage a monthly budget of 25,000 or 100,000?)
- To appraise your verbal skills. This include you ability to respond to questions sensibly, and with originality and sincere interest. Off-the-self responses can lose a job offer.
- To probe your experience and accomplishments, and to evaluate their pertinence to the present job possibility.
- To judge personality or social factors (interpersonal skills etc.) that may be relevant.
- To describe the position, and note your response and interest.
- To determine salary requirements.
HOT TIP: An interview is not intended to be and artificial experience. It is a chance to showcase the “real you” and see if you and the job are a good fit. Be yourself!
Interview Planning Form
Take a look at the Interview Planning Form. We recommend you use a copy of this form for each interview you have. The form will help you organize in advance all the information you can possible manage that might be relevant during your job interview.
The various items on the form are explained below.
ABOUT YOURSELF
Review your CV
Is all the information complete? Can you amount for all the time since you started full-time employment? If the are gaps, have an explanation planned. If you are not sure of the dates of specific events, check.
Work Accomplishments
In the interview you will be asked to provide information about the previous positions, education and special training or skills. List at least one accomplishment from each experience that is slanted toward you present job target.
Private-Life Accomplishments
Often, accomplishments in one’s private life can contribute to one’s aptness for a job in the commercial world. Write down prepare strong responses to questions you could be asked.
Anticipate any areas in your past that might stand in the way of your getting the job offer. Review these points and prepare strong responses to questions you could be asked.
Questions to Asked the Interview
There are two types of questions to prepare here.
Work Oriented Questions will help you decide about the quality of the company, and where it is going. “Who are the firm’s major competitions, and how are they doing?
‘What is the company’s strategy for being a leader in the field?’ ‘What are the newest technologies most appropriate to the work you will be doing?’
The second type of question to prepare in advance is about specific elements of your perspective job. This category is not about holidays and benefits but more professional matters such as these:
- What are the job day to day duties? (Do they meet with your concept of work pleasure?)
- What is the working style (participative, highly managed, tight, and loose)?
- How much authority will you have over decisions?
- What is your growth potential one, two or five years hence?
- To whom does your future boss report?
- What happened to the person who last held the job you want?
- What would be the best continuing education for you to consider if you were to have a job?
Note: Before the interview, prepare six to eight question in advance on the form provided or on an index card you take with you to the interview.
ABOUT THE EMPLOYER
Get the correct address. If there are multiple offices, the interview might be at an address other than the one which you’ve been in touch. If the location of the building is unfamiliar, get explicit directions so you are not late.
Individual Getting the Interview
Get the exact name and title of the person with whom you are meeting. Also, get the name and title person who will make the hiring decision.
Job Description
Even if you feel familiar with the nature of the job, write down as detailed a description of it as possible. Don’t be shy about ringing the secretary or the person who is interviewing you to ask for additional information.
Before to your interview, accumulate as much information as you can about the salary range in this job-target area. If you know the range in advance, you will be in a better position to negotiate salary. You can get salary information by contacting officers of trade associations or people you know who are in the field. Another tack is to contact a career counselor who deals in the field to see if he or she can give you and idea what the going rate might be at this firm or a comparable companies.
You should know the major products and/ or services that the employer produces or delivers to the public. You should also know the responsibilities of the department or section which you are being interviewed.
Competition
Know the relative position of the company within the industry. Are they among the larger or smaller firms? Are they growing or declining? The more you know about your potential employer’s competition, the more you may able to show yourself to be a value to them.
How does the company’s public image compare with its industry image? Find out what people in the same business think of them.
History
The higher the job level, the more you must know about the company’s past, present and future. At any level it’s wise to know the major changes occurred in recent past and what trends are apparent in the near future.
Day-to-day Problems
Before your interview, try to find the kind of day-today, month-to-month problems faced by the person who would hire you. Those problems could be budgets, overload or overwork poor organization. You want to get this information in as specific terms as possible.
Contributor: Yanzkeh Velasquez,a Freelance Blogger. She is a blogger and a cyberlinker. He topped the adlsu cyber dean’s list. She administers different blogs for general purposes.
Source: Graduate Options and Development Seminar 2009 “Empowering Graduates Towards Global Competitiveness”
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