Feature Article: The Ultimate Guide to Job Interview Preparation
Special Feature: Don't Get Stumped by Off-the-Wall Job Interview Questions
A Quartet of Quick Questions: QuintZine's Q&A with a Career Expert: Louise Giordano
Quintessential Site: Featured Career Web Site of this Issue
The Career Doctor: Answering Your Questions
Latest Additions: What's New on Quintessential Careers
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Tips to Guide your Job Search
Notes from the Editor: About this Issue...
Ostensibly, this issue of QuintZine is
our annual interviewing issue, but
we could also call it the Louise
Giordano issue. New contributor
Giordano has not only written a
terrific and comprehensive guide to
interview preparation, but she is
also the subject of our Q&A feature
this issue.
We're always looking for experts
on various aspects of career development
and job-hunting to interview for a Q&A.
Our subscription list includes a healthy
contingent of career counselors, Webmasters
of career sites, career authors, and other
experts. If you'd like to contribute to a
Q&A, we'd love to hear from you. Drop me
a line.
The biggest mistake in interviewing is not being
fully prepared. It behooves job-seekers to use every
conceivable means possible to prepare for the interview
and to allow ample time to fully prepare. Understand that
interviewing is a skill; as with all skills, preparation
and practice enhance the quality of that skill. Preparation
can make the difference between getting an offer and getting
rejected.
There is no one "best" way to prepare for an interview.
Rather, there are specific and important strategies
to enhance one's chances for interview success.
Every interview is a learning experience, so the learning that
takes place during the preparation and actual interview
process is useful for future interviews.
Initial preparation requires recent assessment of
skills, interests, values, and accomplishments;
a re-assessment and updating of one's resume; and
research on the targeted company/organization and
position. Preparation also includes actual practice
of typical and targeted interview questions. Final
preparation includes details of dress and appearance,
knowledge of the location of the interview, what to
expect, and protocols for follow-up.
If your school, organization, business or other
entity has a Web site, we welcome you to link to Quintessential Careers.
If you already have a link from your site, we want you to know we
appreciate it. If you don't have a link to us, please
send a request to your site's Webmaster to establish a
link to Quintessential Careers. Thanks so much!
For more details (including sample HTML copy), see our
Link to Us page.
Special Feature: Dealing with Off-the-Wall Questions
Don't Get Stumped by Off-the-Wall Job Interview Questions
by Katharine Hansen
Picture yourself in this scene: You're in a job interview.
Everything is going better than you imagined it could.
You look professional and fabulous. You are totally
prepared. You are on a roll. You're nailing every
interview question. You feel wonderful rapport with
your interviewer. Suddenly, out of the blue she asks you:
"Imagine you could trade places with anyone for just a
week. The person could be famous or not famous, living
or from history, real or fictional. With whom would you
trade places?"
It's all you can do to keep your jaw from dropping.
You're stunned. You feel your mouth drying up and
sweat forming on your forehead. Your head is spinning,
and your mind is a blank. You're thinking, why in the
world is she asking me this absurd question?
Welcome to the world of the off-the-wall interview question
-- weird, wacky, gimmicky, and off-beat "wild card" questions
that seem to have nothing to do with your ability to handle
a job. If they're irrelevant to job performance, why do
employers ask them?
Quintessential Careers is now affiliated with With Liz Sumner, Life Coach.
A coach is someone with the skills, methods, and experience to help you clarify and achieve your
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Coaching works best in an ongoing relationship but even one free 30-minute sample call can be
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"I have new ideas and am now more focused on what to do with my job hunt."
"I couldn't figure out why I didn't just do it. Now I have a clearer understanding of what's holding
me back and I can address that issue directly."
QuintZine's Q&A with Career Expert Louise Giordano
Louise Giordano is a career counselor at Brown University.
Asked in our Q&A about job-seeker frustration with trying
to follow up after submitting resumes in response to
job postings on the Internet, Giordano responded:
"Clients ... report that they don't know how to
follow up effectively. And they can't when there
is no indication of the company name or an email
address or phone number. However, in many cases,
there are devious but ingenious ways to learn
more about a company, utilizing the very tools
that often prove so frustrating."
Giordano checked out some online job postings on
monster.com and careerbuilder.com. "In most cases,
she reports, "I was able to find information about
the company or
organization -- from a link on the
page directly to the company, or by using the part
of the email address after the @ to search for the
company itself or for information about the company.
(I use Google as my primary search engine; it almost
never fails me!) I use AnyWho.com and
Reverse Look-up to find the name of the company or
person."
In our Q&A with her, Giordano elaborates on
Internet job-hunting and offers some poignant
thoughts on how job-seekers are recovering from
the paralysis brought on by the Sept. 11 attacks.
With DirectEmployers, job-seekers can now search
the Internet for employment opportunities, apply
online directly to a company's Web site, and establish
ongoing relationships with prospective employers.
DirectEmployers includes all jobs on company Web sites,
thus providing access to opportunities not posted
elsewhere on the Internet. DirectEmployers enables
job-seekers to apply directly to company Web sites instead
of third-party sites. Resumes go directly into
the employer's software program. Job-seekers
can also establish personal job-search agents
for all companies or with select companies only.
Instantly email your resume to 1000s of recruiters,
headhunters, and direct hiring companies! With the most
comprehensive and targeted network of recruiters on the
net, you can rest assured you have taken the steps
necessary to jump start your search. We are so sure
you will be happy that we guarantee our service!
AceTheInterview.com --
an interesting collection of interviewing resources, including technical interview questions (and suggested answers) as
well as other information on other aspects of job-hunting, such as resume and networking. Free to job-seekers.
CorporateInformation --
a great resource for researching companies and industries in the United States and around the world. Search
for company and industry information -- or search by U.S. state or by country to find companies that
operate within a specific geographic region. More than 350,000 company profiles. Free to job-seekers.
Medical Assistant Careers
-- a site where medical and healthcare professionals can search (by location, category, job type, and keyword)
for jobs, post your resume, and take advantage of key healthcare-related resources (such as medical school
listings, healthcare job descriptions, medical associations, and more). Free to job-seekers.
Teachers.Net: Career Center
-- where job-seekers can browse listings of K-12 teaching jobs by location throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Also includes JobAlert, which emails you new job postings for the geographic area of interest,
and JobTalk support network, dedicated to teachers helping teachers. Free to job-seekers.
Find even more career and job site additions to Quintessential Careers by visiting our
Latest Additions section.
Zari writes: "Would you please be kind enough and let me
know what the newest methods of employment interviewing are.
If it is possible please send me some articles about this matter."
Mike writes: "I am a 26-year-old male college
graduate who majored in sociology with a minor
in business and communications. As I have found
out, jobs in this major are scarce without further
education and, frankly, I do not have the time or
resources to go back to school. I am currently working
in a retail sporting goods job that I dislike. My heart
is telling me to pursue something that truly makes me
happy instead of working for corporate, money-hungry
executives. I really want to pursue an environmental
job, but without a major in biology or a related field,
this seems impossible. Please, I am lost. What can I do?"
Kathy writes: "I contacted a company to see if
they had any positions available in the field
that I am interested in (fashion design). Someone
responded with a description of a position that
opens up every now and then that she thought I
would be interested in, and she told me to send
my resume. I went to a job fair and found out that
that person was there representing her company and
introduced myself. I am no longer interested in that
position. Should I still write a thank you letter of
some sort and what should I say?"
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
Lynn Padgett, National Training Manager for Linkage, Inc.,
suggests remembering the acronym BEFAR for interviews:
B -- Build Rapport -- This step helps to break the ice with
the employer. Make a comment about the office, the local
sports team, the weather, whatever ... It helps get you
and the employer out of "interviewing" mode and into
"talking" mode. E -- Establish Needs -- Find out what the employer is
looking for. Questions can include "What type of person
do you need here?" or "What qualities do your best
employees have?" or "What makes a person successful here?" F -- Flush Concerns -- Find out what red flags the employer
may have about you. The best question to ask at this
point is "Do you have any concerns about my qualifications?"
It is much easier to handle employer concerns while you
are still in the interview than it is for you after
you've already left. A -- Ask For The Job -- If you are interested in the job,
ask for it. The best statement is "I really like what you
have to offer and feel good about the company. When can
I start?" Employers are much more excited by a candidate
that wants the job then they are in someone who is
nonchalant about it. R -- Restate Interest -- Let the employer know that
you are interested in the job and you are excited
for them to get things started. When you get home
from the interview make sure you email (and possibly
snail mail) a thank-you note. Make sure you get the
hiring manager's card and contact information.
If you meet with multiple people, get all their
cards and send each of them a note.
Since they were launched in Nov. 2001, more than a thousand visitors have used our
Practice Interviews. Many career experts recommend composing written responses to
Frequently Asked Job Interview Questions as a way to prepare for interviews. Composing
responses in writing helps you solidify effective answers in your mind so you won't be
caught off guard in the interview and will sound exceptionally prepared.
Take steps to ensure a professional image when you go on a job
interview, cautions Diana LeGere, of Executive Final Copy.
"Suits should be conservative in neutral colors such as navy,
brown, gray and black. Clothing should be neatly pressed.
Studies have shown that wearing blue denotes trustworthiness.
It's no wonder that police officers, security guards, and many
service professions choose blue uniforms. If you were applying
for a creative, artsy position, you would, of course, not wear
a serious suit. Similarly, if you were applying for a
position of bank president now is not the time to pull out your
favorite 70s leisure suit. A mechanic would not apply for a job
with a banker's suit. However, his or her clothing should be cleaned and
neatly pressed. Tasteful common sense is the key. It is doubtful
that a hiring manager would seriously consider a candidate with dirty
shoes, a rumpled shirt, or torn hems. Let's not forget about chipped
nail polish, excessive make up and perfume or garlic breath.
Remember you are trying to make your best impression. Interviewers
realize you will not always arrive for work dressed like a million.
Do not let them wonder for one second how bad your daily hygiene
might become. Attend to the details of yourself and it will be
assumed that you will attend to the details of their company."
This Q Tip courtesy of Diana C. LeGere president of
Executive Final Copy and the employment coordinator for
Greenbacks Bringing Hope Foundation in Salt Lake City, UT.
Remote job interviews are catching on as employers try to cut costs amid the economic
slowdown and reduced travel after the Sept. 11 attacks,
reports Stephanie Armour USA TODAY. "Virtual interviews
are in vogue with the rise in videoconferencing," Armour
writes, "and employers also are turning to phone and computer
screenings. The use of alternative interviewing formats,
which once had been derided as overhyped, is finding a
receptive audience amid the recession, experts say.
For example, between 10 percent and 15 percent of
first interviews at bioscience firm AstraZeneca
are being conducted via videoconferencing. Officials
expect that number to rise as hiring continues
because of company expansions in sales."
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WATCH FOR feature articles on these topics in upcoming
issues of QuintZine:
* Cover letters to recruiters
* Home-based careers
* How to create and publish a Web-ready resume
* Crafting a successful e-mail resume
* The interview as sales call
* Getting the raise you deserve
* Your senior year in college: Pivotal to job-search success
* 10 things I wish I'd known before starting college
* 10 things I wish I'd known before starting my first job
* Letters of recommendation
* 10 ways to develop job leads
* Why, how, when to use a career coach -- and whom to choose
* Employer research: step by step
* Learn about careers through job-shadowing
* Balancing career and family
* 10 job-search reality checks
* Is job flexibility right for you?
* First days on the job: Strategies to get ahead
* Dealing with a bad boss
* Making your case for telecommuting
* A day in the life of a recruiter
* Don't wait by the phone: Following up on all job leads
* Dining etiquette
* Career journaling
* The relationship between personality and career choice
* What employers are really looking for
* How to create and use a networking card
* How to resign from your job gracefully
* Step-by-step guide to career planning
* New series: 10 mistakes to avoid in: resumes, cover letters, interviews, salary
negotiation, career change, networking, job-search
* Quintessential Career Profiles of YOU, our readers
* Q&As with well-known career experts
* Book reviews
. . . and much, much more!
Don't ever want to miss another issue of QuintZine? Get a free subscription to
the email version of QuintZine by completing our
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Quintessential Careers also offers writing services
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