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Job Interview

09/24/2013 – 12 Minutes Which Win Every Interview

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Written by Bethany Wolf

Opening Remarks

“Hope changes everything.”

That’s how Jessica Pierce, Executive Director of Career Connectors, opened today’s event held at the Gilbert Campus of Central Christian Church. After welcoming participants, Jessica went on to tell the inspirational  story of one recent Career Connectors graduate who had landed a job with Green Tree after hearing about the company at a Career Connectors event in Gilbert two weeks ago.

Keynote Speaker

According to today’s keynote speaker, Bill Markham, hope means to look forward to with confidence and expectation. Having the right attitude and staying motivated can mean the difference between disappointment and self-pity, and landing your dream job.

As president of Winnerviewer and a career coach with over 35 years of experience, Bill has worked with countless professionals in transition to help them prepare for and succeed in their job search. In today’s keynote, Bill outlined 12 steps to winning every job interview:

  1. Decision – Read the job description and ask yourself, does this job work for me? Should I go for the job or not? Evaluate whether you should apply to it. Do your skills match up? As Bill pointed out, 80% of people don’t know what they want to do.  Rather than sending out hundreds of resumes, be selective on what companies you apply to. Some great questions to ask yourself are: Is this a job to which I can become committed? Do I even want this job? Can I see myself doing this job every day for 40 hours a week (or more)?
  2. Squaring up – Bill stressed the importance of “squaring up” – pulling yourself together mentally before your interview. It’s important to review your strengths and think about why you can be hired. He also talked about visualizing the interview room and the interview itself before going in as a way to help calm nerves.
  3. Gangplank –  Bill used the word “gangplank” to describe the walk from the lobby to the interview room.  The gangplank is a wonderful opportunity to start selling yourself and establish rapport with the interviewer.  Have a brilliant opening – smile and give a firm handshake. Lead with the best you’ve got. This shows you have a positive attitude and that you have confidence, passion and are engaged in the interview process. Smiling is one of the best indicators of self confidence. You need to be confident in yourself before someone else can be confident in you.
  4. Yourself –  The “tell me about yourself” question is crucial. Be brief and keep your answer to a minute and a half max. The interviewer doesn’t want to know your life story. This is an opportunity to describe your skills and the results you’ve delivered on previous jobs. Bill stressed the importance of focusing on results. Go through your resume and find the results you delivered, then weave them into your answer.
  5. Results –  Results are the number one thing you need to convey to win the interview. Talk about your strengths and greatest accomplishments. Are you skilled in leadership? Problem-solving? IT? What can you deliver that someone else can’t?  What makes you unique? During your interview, talk about your accomplishments on previous jobs. It’s all about the results.
  6. Weaknesses –   Being asked to describe your weaknesses during an interview can be tricky. Don’t let your guard down when the hiring manager throws this difficult question at you. These types of questions are designed to trip you up.  Keep your answer focused to administrative functions, never behavioral weaknesses.
  7. The Company –  The hiring manager’s job is to screen people out and pick the best candidate. One question you might get asked is what do you know about the company. Do your research before the interview and come prepared.  Not knowing what the company does, it’s philosophy or who works there could be a fatal mistake.
  8. Value –  As Bill pointed out, the interviewer will try to determine what value  you can add to the company. What are you good at? What expertise do you have that they need? Are you a good cultural fit for the organization?
  9. Revenue –  The bottom line to getting hired is whether you can create revenue and/or lower the company’s expenses.  Answer this question by focusing on your results in revenue generation or cost savings.
  10. Summary –  Towards the end of your interview, Bill described giving the interviewer a quick summary. Review your 4 – 5 best points for the interviewer and why you are the best person for job. This will help leave them with a good lasting impression.
  11. Close / Pick Me – The best way to close the interview is to ask for the job. Bill suggested saying something like, “I’m very interested in the job and I’d like to work for you. If given the opportunity, I know I could make an immediate impact on the job.” Remember, you have the skills and talent to succeed. You can be the answer to an employer’s problem.
  12. Hello Boss – It’s important to follow up with the hiring manager after your interview. Thank them for the opportunity and reiterate how much you want the job.

The key thing you must do in the interview is sell yourself. It’s okay to brag about your accomplishments. The more successes you can list, the higher you will rise above your competition.

Hiring Companies

State of Arizona

Jan Plank,  Human Resources Division, Department of Administration

The State of Arizona is comprised of over 100 agencies, boards and commissions with approx 35,000 employees. But don’t overlook the State as a potential employer because of it’s size;  25% of State employees will be retirement eligible in 2014, meaning the State of Arizona is hiring. The best way to land a State job is to apply online and use networking techniques. Try to track down the  hiring manager (using public records – internal State of AZ phone directory). Send that person a hard copy of your resume, or  leave a voice mail for the hiring manager after hours. In your voicemail you might say something like, “I’m […] and I applied for […] job. Thank you for your consideration I hope I get a chance to meet you.”  Find ways to differentiate yourself. Customize your resume for each specific state job. Make sure job description keywords are in the resume.

Jobs on offer: Graphic design, fish and wildlife, child protective services, corrections, administrative assistance, human resources.

Clearcall Solutions

Danny Real, Talent Acquisition

Clearcall Solutions is a growing sales and marketing company in the East Valley offering security and systems and dish satellite services.  It also operates a call center with a “sales floor” culture. They are looking for people who can fit the corporate culture, who are coachable and highly motivated. You will need great attitude to succeed at Clearcall Solutions.  The company works hard and plays hard together.

Jobs on offer: Sales advisors and recruiters, sales managers, director of marketing, IT specialists, marketing analyst.

Insight

Linda Michaels, HR Manager

Insight is a  fortune 500 computer technology company. It is the largest global software reseller in the U.S with extensive license management services. Client focused, accountability, and excellent customer service define it’s corporate culture.  Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Tempe, Insight operates in 23 countries. There is a strong emphasis on community involvement. Staff are given time off to volunteer and the company offers an on-site health center.

Jobs on offer: Account executive, sales, financial analyst, network engineers, services technician, pricing analyst, developers.

Closing Remarks

Jessica encouraged participants to take advantage of the full range of services on offer. These included professional resume writing services,  taking the DISC assessment, getting a professional photo, and talking with educators about national certification programs.

The next Career Connectors event will be held Thursday, October 3, 2013 at 9:00am in Scottsdale. Check out the Events Schedule on the website for further details and information on how to register.

 

 

 

 

 

Staying Positive & Productive During Difficult Times – January 4, 2012

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As is her usual style, Jessica Pierce gave a hearty welcome to everyone in attendance, including the approximately 60 first-timers (of about 115 in attendance).  Jessica discussed New Year’s Resolutions, and how some have taken a different approach this year, by choosing a word to connote their year’s goals, rather than traditional resolutions (that nobody keeps).  She said this approach helps create a purpose rather than just a goal.  Her family’s words for the year are Faith, Fitness and Finances, and with fitness being one of her purposes this year, the North Phoenix Baptist Church handed out one-day passes to their on-site fitness facility.  Thanks, Dusty, for helping make that happen.

Today’s Speakers

Today’s keynote speaker is Paula Shoup, with internalGPS.  Paula, a life coach, discussed how to “Use Your Internal GPS to Stay Positive & Productive in Difficult Times”, which can be a challenge for those in transition.  During her years in corporate America, Paula had gone through a dozen layoffs and about 1/2 dozen corporate reorganizations with Motorola, United Technologies, Honeywell and Medtronic.  Now she is doing what she loves, by helping people, leaders and executives create a better work environment and help teams be more productive.  This has allowed her to come up with some techniques to help job transitioners in their search.

Paula advised to think of your “internalGPS” as an internal tool to help you find where you are and help you get where you want to go, with a key part of this equation being “where you want to go.”  (As someone who has used a GPS in the woods for search and rescue, this writer can verify that a GPS can tell you only where you are. It cannot provide guidance until you program it / tell it your desired destination.)

Paula indicated our brains are programmed to protect our selves, though we can retrain our way of thinking.  Our “fight or flight” response can get us stuck in our thinking, taking us on a downward spiral in what is known as “mood congruity”, where one little thing can set off a chain-reaction of negative outcomes during the course of a “bad hair day”.

In keeping with the GPS theme, Paula asked us “Where are you now?”, what mood or mental place we were in.  The good news is that the concept of “Plasticity” can allow us to rewire our neural pathways through deliberate, consistent change in thoughts and habits.

Next, she asked “Where do you want to go?”, and encouraged us to picture where we wanted to be.  In referencing the book “Switch, How to Change When Change is Hard”, she had us envision the concept of an elephant and rider as our brain, the elephant is our emotional brain, and the rider is the logical mind.  In such a scenario, the elephant is really in control, though with enough training the rider can get the elephant to follow his lead.  If you consider what your emotional reasons are for various actions or thoughts, you can then figure out the logical reasons why the emotional component is correct or flawed.  “Decide with your heart, justify with your reasoning” is how many people make decisions.

Think about and visualize how you want your life direction, interview, whatever, to go or be, whether it’s a new position, move to a new city, or how a hobby project will turn out.  What does it look like when you get there? How does it feel?

In discussing “How to get there?”, Paula referenced the book “Positivity”, by Barbara Frederickson, which relates that people who are positive in nature and life have a 3:1 ratio of positive to negative emotions (over time).  Negative emotions will come, but try and minimize the time you are stuck in them.  Eighty percent of people have a 2:1 ratio.

Three tools that Positivity discusses for helping become more positive:

  • Shift your daily habits, make good and positive habits become part of your daily routine, like brushing your teeth.
  • Dispute your negative thoughts as though you were a lawyer.  When something negative pops into your head, ask “Is that true? Is that a fact? Or is that merely embellishment?”
  • Figure out and use your strengths, this will increase your positive emotions.

Finally, Paula told us to “Thrive while we drive”, by taking the time to think about someone who made a difference in our life, and to write them a note about what they did and how it changed you.

 

Next up was Jian Boldi of LPL Financial, who went over the “Top Ten Financial Considerations During Career Transition”.  Jian is a long-time volunteer for Career Connectors, and wanted to share pointers he believes can be useful in helping you survive financially during your time of unemployment.  He can be reached at 480-722-0202, extension 14.

  • Understand your unemployment benefits
  • Don’t forget to continue to pay taxes (severance pay, unused vacation can be taxable income)
  • Deduct job hunting expenses if you can
  • Go back to school to advance skills or learn something new
  • Become underemployed
  • Budget, budget, budget
  • If you are over 55 you can take penalty free money from your IRA using IRS Rule 72t  (“substantially equal distributions”)
  • Purchase health insurance with your IRA funds (if on unemployment for 12+ weeks)
  • Consider reversing a contribution you made to your IRA (within same year)
  • Ask for help

Hiring Companies

Emilie Shiner, the Director of Recruiting for New York Life in the Phoenix area, discussed the company, its benefits and hiring plans for the coming year.  Unlike many financial and insurance product companies, New York Life doesn’t start people out on a commission-only basis; new employees receive a base salary during their first three years as they go through training and build their business.  In 2011, they hired 17 agents for the greater Phoenix area, and their office ranks #21 of 119 offices nationwide.  For more info, contact Emilie via email or at 480-580-4842.

Dan Stowell, the Recruiting Branch Manager for metro Phoenix, discussed Manpower staffing.  A list of openings and registration can be found at www.manpowerjobs.com, but if you have questions, you can email him or contact his office at 480-855-0400.

Jessica closed out with the customary mention of job leads and all the other information that can be found at the Career Connectors website.