Finding work Part 10

When you finally get a call to go for a job interview, it is best not to sound like a babbling idiot when you get there. To keep that from happening, it is a good idea to know things about the hiring company before you walk in the door.

In part 9 we talked about having an informational file about the company. This file in fact is much more important than your resume as it helps you to get through your job interview. Aside from appearance and body language, what comes from your mouth is very important.

There are few things as impressive as knowledge, and giving the impression you will hit the ground running if you get hired is a big plus. If it comes down to deciding who gets the job between two or more equally qualified candidates, this without a doubt will give you the edge.

Job interviews are a bit like a date, because essentially you are deciding if you want to get married to this company, and the company is deciding if they want to get married to you. As a result questions should be asked from both sides of the interview table. Knowing what questions to ask is related to your foreknowledge of the company before you go for your interview.

So in this informational file, Item number one is a copy of the job advertisement that you responded to. You should also have a summary in your own words about the job along with your personal comments.

Next is information about the company that can be copied from their website. What service or product do they provide. Being familiar with their product or service is a very big plus during your interview. How big the company is and do they have more than one office or location. This will help give you some idea on how deep their pockets are and how well they are faring the economic downturn. It will also help to formulate what questions to ask at your interview. Don’t be shy about putting your personal notes and comments as you will be the only person seeing this file. Knowing what questions to ask will be covered down the road in another part of this series.

Google will be your best friend here. Check not only the regular Internet, but check for news stories and blogs about the company. You may be surprised at what you can find in a few seconds.

Who are their customers and what reputation do they have are other things to find out. Chances are if they have a bad reputation with their customers, then chances are high the position you are apply for is to fill a job that someone quit for unfavorable working conditions, or was fired. Check to see if they have a high employee turn around. That should be fairly easy to discover if they run regular advertisements. Perhaps you know a friend of a friend who works there that can provide some backdoor information. When times are tough, some employers can be particularly nasty in getting as much out of an employee with the least amount of pay.

Speaking of pay, do your best to find out what the job pays and all the particulars. That information should also be in this file. That way when the time comes you will not low ball yourself when they ask you how much you want.

Put the names of top company executives in this file, it is good to have an understanding of who is driving.

At the bottom of the file should be listed the questions you want to ask during your interview. This is all common sense and it helps you to appear more professional when you need it most.

Next part 11 so check back or hit the subscribe button.


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