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 The biggest mistake professionals make during
interview sessions is resting on their professional laurels. While it is true
that the hiring market is largely controlled by the job-seekers, not the
companies, most companies are wary of stories/tall tales they have heard about
hit-and-run contractors and want to know that you are genuinely interested in
working for them. The biggest mistake you can make is to bring up the subject of
what's in it for you, in terms of pay, travel, or any benefits-related issue
before you have sold the company on your services. The key is to win the company
over first, then negotiate your needs using their desire to hire you as
leverage.
The hiring market creates some unique and
sensitive tensions during the interview process. In some cases, the applicant is
going to enter at a higher salary level than the people who are interviewing
them - a very tricky dynamic. To draw on one true-to-life scenario, if you are
an professional used to extended vacations, you might want to be aware of the
possibility that the hiring officials you are dealing with - especially if you
are going through a human resources department - have probably worked years to
achieve a benefits package/salary inferior to the type you already enjoy and
want to equal or improve.
The key here is not to settle for less, but to be
sensitive to the needs and concerns of the company until they are sold on your
services. The best time to negotiate fine points in the benefits package,
salary, or the 401K plan is AFTER you have had a good in-person interview, or at
the very least after your technical skills and value to the company are both
firmly established.
One more time for emphasis: the golden rule is to
impress the company first, then talk about your specific financial concerns. It
is also important to not make a big show during the interview of all the other
companies you've interviewed with and the many offers you've received. As an
professional, you are worth a lot, you are in control. The company knows it and
so do you - no need to remind them.
The best way to impress is by researching each
company you interview with. Try to get a feel for their particular needs and
make it clear just how you will be able to fill them. Keep in mind that your job
involves both technical and communication skills, and both will be evaluated
during your interview. Especially if you are interviewing to be a consultant,
your communication skills and ability to solve the human workflow problems that
implementations create are important. For those of you who are H-1's looking for
U.S. positions, remember to communicate clearly and with the best English you've
got. As a general rule, people talk too fast during interviews. Most positions
involve client-relations; your abilities to communicate clearly are vital to
your chances.
The most important and sensitive phase of the
interview is the subject of salary and compensation. The classic rule is that
the first person to name the price loses. In practice, this can be tricky. The
company may be very determined to obtain your salary expectations.
Hiring officials may raise the question of salary
early on, perhaps even in your first phone interview, to make sure that they can
afford the serious resume they see in front of them. If you are an candidate,
you may welcome this discussion of money - at least you will know for certain
whether or not this company can meet your salary expectations - before you take
a day off from work for the interview.
But while it may be tempting to clarify salary
early on, any specific talk of money almost always backfires. Your goal is to
obtain a job offer from every company you might apply to. The first step is to
impress them with what you have to offer. Your focus needs to be on presenting
your skills in the most compelling light. Each company has a different practice
and different needs. Your mission is to personalize your approach and highlight
the skills that will be of most interest to the company you've targeted.
There are many ways of tactfully handling the
question of money if it is raised. Usually, it is best to come up with your own
comments that echo the following sentiment: "At this point in my job search, I'm
looking for the opportunity to expand/build-on my skills in the -insert your
expertise- area. Although I would like to receive a fair offer just like
everyone else, my main goal is to find the right professional fit. So far, your
company has a lot to offer in the -insert expertise- area. I'm sure that we'll
be able to settle on a pay scale that's fair for both of us, but right now I'd
like to tell you about the skills I can bring to your organization."
If your interviewer presses you on the specifics
of the money you are looking for, and clearly wants you to name a price, one
possible approach is to mention the rate or salary you are making now, and say
that you want a fair increase from that. Do not mention the offer amounts you've
been given by other firms - this interview is not about other situations, and no
two situations can ever be reduced strictly to financial factors. If you are
interviewing for a permanent position, try not to emphasize the contract offers
you're exploring, or you might give the impression that the company will not be
able to meet your financial needs. Above all, do not mention what a close
associate of yours advised you to quote as the right rate for your skills.
If you are transitioning to low travel, you may
even want emphasize your willingness to look at less pay for a the quality of
life a low travel position can provide. Even a contractor, who is understood to
be looking for an hourly rate, can benefit from this approach. Like many other
contractors, you might have chosen that route primarily for the money, but in
your interviews, focus on the skills you have to offer and the challenges you
can meet for your new company. If you can honestly say that you will not let
salary be a deal-breaker for the right professional opportunity, this is an
ideal comment to make during the interview.
Strangely enough, in most cases companies offer
more money to those who do not insist on a certain salary. You may not get the
offer you wanted every time, but the less you stress your financial needs and
the more you stress your interest in the company, the better an offer you're
going to get. The best time to talk about money is after the company wants you.
And they can't "fall" for you if you screen yourself out with a "what's in it
for me" premature discussion of salary.
During your interview, simple things like
stressing your enthusiasm for the firm will set the right tone, and create the
best atmosphere for a later talk about salary. Ideally this talk will take place
after, or at least at the very end, of your in-person interview. Once a company
wants you, then you can be the negotiator you've wanted to be all along. In some
cases, you might even turn down an offer that was less than you expected, only
to see the company turn around a few days later and offer you $10,000 more than
they said they were willing to pay. As an professional, you DO call the shots in
this job market. But to get good job offers, conduct yourself as if the opposite
is the case.
Although the technical standards applied to hires
are becoming stricter - it is more difficult to obtain an position unless you
have at least six months of experience - the vast majority of unsuccessful
applications are due not to lack of technical skill but to slip-ups during the
interview process. This next section reviews a series of simple tips that will
help you to avoid common pitfalls. Many of these tips will seem very basic, but
they are not meant to be read in a condescending light. Most of the tactics that
will give you an edge over other applicants during your face-to-face interview
are surprisingly simple.
In the days preceding an interview, tie up all
loose logistical ends. Call and reconfirm interview times. Make sure you have an
up to date schedule of all the people you will be interviewing with, their job
titles and responsibilities. Nothing is more awkward than finding yourself in a
surprise meeting with the president of the company when you weren't prepared for
her/him. Verify flight arrangements if necessary, plan your travel time up until
the point you will walk in the company's door, making sure that there will be no
tight points where a slight delay in your flight or drive could set your
interview off with a late arrival.
Once the logistics are set, gather and review the
information you have obtained on the company. Hopefully by now, through your
phone interviews, you have gained some knowledge about this company's particular
project and what your role there might be. You will almost always need to bring
a list of references, usually three. You will usually need to have at least one
supervisor, a co-worker, and a personal reference. Reference expectations vary
from company to company, so check on this ahead of time. Find out if the company
expects you to fill out the application ahead of time, and verify all of the
materials that they want you to bring. The company may also request verification
of income. If they do, make sure you also indicate any bonuses or hidden
benefits that affect your salary. Make sure you take the time to pick up or dry
clean the right clothes. Picking up those little interview aids like breath
mints doesn't hurt either. Have a few fresh copies of your resume ready to bring
to the interview that day.
On the day/night before your interview, it is
best to set aside an hour or more to make a written plan for the next day. There
is no substitute for this quiet time with pen/laptop computer in hand. It is
best to do this late afternoon, early evening, in case you have any last minute
questions as a result of this final preparation. Have our evening number handy,
in case you have any questions the night before. Don't be afraid to call us late
if necessary - much better late than never.
Now that you are ready to focus, clarify your
main objective, which is to obtain an offer from this company by making as good
an impression as possible. Whether or not you end up wanting to work with this
firm, you need to obtain an offer either way. Perhaps the other job you had
lined up will fall through, or this company may come up with a compensation
package you can't refuse. So keep your goal in focus: go for that offer. Write
up or review what you know about their particular needs.
Then make a list of the various experiences and
capabilities you have which will be an asset to them if you are hired. Review
your possible responses to difficult interview questions. Some of the more
difficult questions include: "What are your strengths and weaknesses," "Why do
you want to leave your current position," "How do your spouse and children feel
about this career move" - especially important if this job involves relocation,
"What do you know about our company," "What are your short term and long term
goals."
Most of the difficult questions, such as "What do
you know about our company, or "Why should we hire you," are easily addressed
with proper preparation. If you get the five year plan question, always be a bit
vague. NEVER say you want to be a manager- you may inspire some job insecurity
in the manager who is interviewing you. Typically, the hardest questions to
answer are those that invite a negative answer, such as strength and weaknesses,
or "How do you like working with your current supervisor?"
The general rule is to turn these questions into
positives without completely glossing them over. For example, one safe weakness
would be your tendency to get wrapped up in a project and work too hard, not
leaving time for family and rest. To an employer, this could very well be seen
in a positive light, and yet it still shows an honest self-awareness. Obviously,
you may face questions about salary, so prepare yourself for this!
Since a premature discussion of salary puts the
chances of your getting an offer in jeopardy, and since your goal is to get an
offer out of this company, you want to redirect these questions. Even if your
primary concern is money, if this is raised during the interview do your best to
reframe the discussion by making it clear that your primary goal is a good
professional opportunity. Be prepared to say that a fair increase will be fine
with you, but that you make your job decisions based on an overall view of the
company and the opportunity, and not salary. This is music to a hiring
official's ears. Once again, the BEST time to handle a salary negotiation is
after the company has made it clear that they want you, and you are confident
that they know what your skills will be worth to them.
Now you have written or reviewed the key
questions you will be asked. Your focus during the bulk of the interview will be
to keep emphasizing and expanding on what your skills could bring to this
company. Personalize your approach to match this company's needs, and be as
specific as possible about the delivery times of your previous implementations,
problems and glitches you have resolved, etc.
The final part of the interview, after you have
given the company a solid overview of your skills and fielded their questions,
is an opportunity for you to ask a few key questions about the firm. If you have
concerns about this company's long-term commitment to , and what you might do
when the implementation ends, or if you wonder about where their clients are
located, you may want to address these key concerns. Don't have a whole list of
these prepared for the interview, you don't want to dwell on your anxieties too
much. The opportunity to ask questions is too often overlooked. The best
questions to ask are ones that implicitly show your knowledge of and this
company's particular challenges, such as: "Who is responsible for training and
supervising the ASAP programming team," etc.
Now you have prepared yourself for the following
day's interview. Ideally, you have written a couple of pages of well-prepared
thoughts which you can reread in the morning.
The in-person interview invokes your basic
abilities to communicate and present yourself. At this point, you have probably
had a technical phone interview and the company is prepared to hire you,
assuming all goes well. Since you have already prepared and probably have a
handle on dressing yourself properly, we'll go through these in-person tips
quickly, just hitting the most important ones, in chronological order:
Take your time in the morning, so that you don't
forget all of the things you will need that day, such as references, resumes,
directions to the company site, etc.
Leave for the interview EARLY. Allow plenty of
time for any delays.
If you can, get to a bathroom right when you
arrive, make sure any cream cheese has been wiped off and that you haven't had
your appearance altered in commute.
Shake hands firmly - but don't use a nervous
death grip. Make sure to note the names of the key people you are meeting.
People have a tendency to talk too fast during
interviews. Take your time, speak clearly, don't forget to breathe.
AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW, ASK FOR THE JOB.
This is very important. Shake the hiring official's hand, and state clearly your
interest in the company and the position. This may feel a bit gung-ho for you,
but it will make a major and lasting impression. Even if you have some
misgivings about the firm, give some indication of your continuing interest.
Pick up business cards as you go if you don't
already have them, so that you have addresses and names and job titles of the
key people who interviewed you.
ONCE YOU RETURN HOME, WRITE THANK YOU NOTE(S).
This is the most overlooked and most critical step. Get notes out immediately,
that day or first thing the next day, to the key people you have spoken to.
Thank them for the opportunity, and once again re-emphasize your interest in the
company. Don't just be general, this is not a Hallmark card. Come up with
specific things about the position and the company that you liked and restate
them.
Go home, relax, and debrief. At this point, you
should call us and prepare, hopefully, for the offer stage. This is the stage
where the third party can be most useful. We can help you work out the fine
points of the offer from a more neutral vantage point. In addition, we can be
instrumental in ironing out any misunderstandings that occurred during the
interview, so be in touch with us as soon after your interview is over.
IV. Special Closing Note From The Author:
When you are done reading this guide, please
contact us with any further questions you might have. There is no way to be too
well-prepared. Those applicants who have a clear plan going into the interview
are the ones who will get hired.
As you put these tips into practice, don't forget
the intangibles. More than any other factor, your ability to establish positive
rapport with your interviewer is critical to obtaining an offer.
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