I'm going to have my first job interview next week.
Please share your job interview stories, tips, tricks. Any help is welcome.
I'm going to have my first job interview next week.
Please share your job interview stories, tips, tricks. Any help is welcome.
Let me ask you something else first
For what job did you apply?
Thread derailment.
New Topic.
Guess what he applied for.
My guess is Rabbi, and he's uncut! o:
I was a Death's Demise.
Those were the good old days.
No, you're the competition!
Be confident but not cocky, be positive and pay attention It also helps to have a question prepared for when they ask at the end "do you have any questions?" it makes you seem eager!
before this thread closed due to stupidity of others here is fewthings
1) Bottom line you are there to market YOU. Pretend you were an advertisement and how would someone try to market you
2) Show up early and look professional/appropriate (unless your job fall under construction/Merch/Hardware/Fast-food do not wear jeans)
3) Always have a cover letter with your resume...make something up how YOU are the best possible candidate for this job. You your creative writing skills! This is basically part of your personal marketing and its something that will make people WANT to read your resume and find out things in greater detail
3) ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS send a Thank-you note...Fax it/email it text it w/e! Trust me it makes a difference. It shows positive character traits and shows appreciation and it's something that will separate you from others who have similar skills/experiences
gl and hope you get the job
Be honest. Do not try to bullshit your way through a question, just say you don't know but definitely pick things up quickly etc.
Cake!
Also, remember that you want to figure out if this job is actually a job for you. The company wants to hire someone who enjoys the job, so they can keep the person. Ask questions and show that you are interested in finding out about this company/the job. You are there to see if you are a match for the job, not only to sell yourself.
But don't ask too obvious questions. You should know as much as possible about the specific company.
As I said b4... if I would know for what job you are going to apply, I could really help you out. I've got a professional education in not only how to act when interviewed, but also how to interview... but there is a huge difference depending on the "class" of the job. As somebody said b4, you don't need much for a interview at Mc Donalds (well, as long as it's about burger-flippin') but if you want to join a firm of consultants, you better be prepared
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Ah okay, so software engineering.
Some time ago, I've spend some time with an acquaintance of mine who owns his own software company. Nothing really big, but not small either, round about 40 people working under him. So it's a rather familial company.
I've talked to a lot of employees and I got a really good gist of what kind of people they are.
First of all, it looks like you are going to apply for a knowledge ONLY job. Such job interviews are strongly focused on your actual knowledge about the subject, because human interaction is not as important. This means you should prepare yourself for in depth questions about specific problems. Some questions may seem like basic knowledge, but I would not surprise me if they face you with questions which you can not answer just like this.
If something like this happens, do not try to desperately solve the problem. Most of the time, those questions are ment to be unsolveable for only one reason: to see how you will (re)act under pressure. Stay cool, give yourself some time to think about it and then be honest. Explain the problem and tell them that you can not solve it without further "this and that". Show them that you are in control of the problem and that the problem does not control you.
Next thing is your visual appearance. I would recommend you to suit up. Even tho it is not a "public" job, it shows the manager that you can take care of yourself. By wearing a suit you send out a signal that you "care about what others think", which is also important for the company.
I will now tell you some "do's" and "don'ts"....
1) When you enter the room, do not turn your back to the manager while closing the door. Look at him while you close it with your left hand. Turning around is an indicator for insecureness and sends out a msg like "I don't want to be here".
2) Smile and look the manager into his eyes. Take a few steps into the room and wait for further instructions like "sit down please". If there are no instructions, ask if you can sit down.
3) Most of the time, the manager will stand up and greet you. Now this is a tricky part... depending on the typ of person, the manager will either indicate a handshake by himself or he will do nothing at all. I already had both of them. If he does, then feel free to shake his hand. Don't give him the slippery slope thing. Be a man and grab his hand, but try to not break his hands, please. If he does not initiate a handshake by himself, it means that he actually does not really want to shake hands with you. Happens often with the eldery managers. In this case, simply sit down.
If the manager is a woman, you must not be the one who offers a handshake. If she knows anything about etiquettes, she might feel slightly offended. A woman always gives you the permission to "touch" her, not the other way around.
4) Talk clearly and think about what you want to say BEFORE you actually say it.
5) Being nervous is absolutely normal and nobody is going to throw you out because of that. But you have to show them that you can overcome that nervousness and that you are in control of your "feelings". Try to act confident (or better yet, BE confidient in yourself). Do not avoid eye contact, don't shake your legs like crazy, don't fiddle around with your hair or pens and sit straight.
6) Listen carefully to what they tell you. If you do not understand a question or if you do not know the answer right now, NEVER ask something like "what?". Repeat the question in way like "I'm sorry, do you want me to tell you how "this and that" works? Did I undestand you right?". This will give you the time to think about a good sollution or, if you really did not undestand the question, it will show them that you actually did listen but who knows - maybe the manager was not clear enough. He may rephrase his question. It also puts YOU into the control of the interview (at least to some extent).
7) I almost forgot it: There is always one question that nearly every employer asks during an interview: "What do you think are your strengths, and what are your weaknesses?"
VERY IMPORTANT: Do not say that you don't have any weaknesses. Everybody got at least one weakness. But try to formulate them in a way that they can also be seen as one of your strenghts, or that you can "easly" turn them into one. For example: "I'm not really good with dealing with other people"..."BUT I am sure that - given the chance - I can improve my social skills within a short time, since I "this and that"" (tell them about previous jobs where you had to work with other people and how successful you were )
Well... thats basicly it. I could write even more but to be honest, even tho I've gone through all those things myself so often, I always end up improvising things as the interview goes on... There are so many things that can go wrong or simply different during an interview... no book could ever cover all of it. It also depends very strongly on the employer and how he's doing the interviews. Maybe he sucks at it and gives you a really hard time... maybe not.
But if you follow the basics I just told you, you should be on the safe side. The rest is up to you.
Good luck
Last edited by StayTuned; 2012-02-08 at 02:55 PM.
Be ready to answer java based questions. They will expect you to know the theory as well as the practical. Common questions I've come across are:
What's an object?
What's a class?
Explain how java allocates memory for an object?
Explain how to initialize a string and check if it's blank or null.
Also, never say "I don't know" to a question. Often times an interviewer will ask you a question that they know you don't know. They just want to see how you react. For instance during an interview I was asked how many gas stations there are across Canada. I responded with, "I'm not 100% sure, but if it's fine with you I will do some researc tonight and get back to you by email."
Last edited by Tyrianth; 2012-02-08 at 02:12 PM.
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This link has some great tips.
Another tip I didn't see here: Make sure what kind of company you are applying at. Some job offers can be a little vague as to what the company actually does. Also look up the market in which they operate, competitors etc.. Not that you should flaunt your 1 hour internet knowledge but if they ask you if you have any experience/knowledge in the field, you at least don't have to say no.
Also, find out what a decent salary would be. They might ask you what you want and "i'll take anything I can get" sounds terrible. This because assertive people are wanted and not people who can't even take care of themselves. Just ask for a fair salary.
And don't forget your body. being nervous is one thing but don't forget to give a good handshake. No sweaty hands and a girly shake please. And look the person in the eye as much as possible. Have good posture when sitting and standing so you don't look like a caveman. If you have an accent, make sure to hide it.
Some obvious, but often missed stuff:
- Be polite
- Greet people
- Your behavior to the secretary or other "unimportant" staff can be more important that your interview. If it's a good boss, he knows you will always be kind in the interview, even if you are a rude person. So he/she will ask the employees you met before.
- Show that you like what you do (or are intended to do)
- Never complain about something at an interview. Even if your current job is really crappy and the boss an ass, never mention it - in this case, say you are not too happy with your current job as it was not as interesting as expected and now you look for new challenges. People should have a positive impression when you leave. If you complain its always something negative, even if its justified.
- Have a reason to apply for this job. If you really never heard about the company before, show at least to be highly interested in their domain and give this as the reason you applied. Better check their website and think about what's interesting about them to make you apply.
I always prepare for one question, since I had it unprepared once:
Tell us 5 positive and 5 negative characteristics of yourself.
Positive is easy.
For the negative: Of course you don't tell them, you are an addictive gnome eating WoW player that always sleeps at work and got fired for this before after you attacked the boss with the replica of a legendary axe. Think about negative things, that are common, accepted and unimportant for your job.
Be confident. Look into the other person's eyes when you shake their hand, briefly, using a firm but not crushing grip.
Don't fidget.
Have some anecdotes ready showing how you're intelligent and hard working.
Be ready to answer the stupid standard interview questions like "what's your greatest weakness" without using something stupid and trite like "Oh I work too hard"
Know as much as you can about the company before you go in, and have a rationale for why you want to work there.
ALWAYS be ready with some questions for the interviewer at the end of the interview.
NEVER discuss money or benefits until the job offer has been made, which probably won't be the same day as the interview. Do not make money or benefits part of your questions at the end of the interview.
Have an extra copy or two of your resume with you.
'Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead
Or a yawing hole in a battered head
And the scuppers clogged with rotting red
And there they lay I damn me eyes
All lookouts clapped on Paradise
All souls bound just contrarywise, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Give an example why you would want to use a HashSet rather than a TreeSet. Give an example of when you would want to use a Linked List over an ArrayList, and why that is. What are some potential uses for Bit-Whacking in Java?
Small example of what you're probably going to be asked. Make sure you don't just understand the how, but also the why.