SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CAREERS / THE PATCHWORK OFFICE : ‘Be Prepared’ Is the Motto to Arm Yourself for Job Interviews
Interviewing for a job is an exercise in salesmanship that many people dread. But being prepared for an interview is the best way to make a good impression on a prospective employer. It also gives you information to help decide whether you’d want the job.
Here, according to career experts, are some of the latest trends and pitfalls you may encounter on the interview circuit.
Today, many interviews will have two parts: the classic question-and-answer portion and a skills-testing portion. This latter part, called “work sampling,” is increasingly common for all job levels, said Virginia Manley, director of special projects for Women at Work in Pasadena, a nonprofit career resource organization for men and women.
In work sampling, you are presented with a typical problem situation and asked how you would handle it. For example, the sampling test for a customer service position might entail role-playing in a situation involving a difficult or irate customer.
“It’s a way for people to evaluate your knowledge and your problem-solving skills,” Manley said.
These tests might be written or oral. Interactive computer programs are increasingly used to conduct the tests.
The heart of an interview, however, is still the subjective, question-and-answer part.
There are two kinds of interviews: traditional and “behavior-based,” said Tom Washington, president of Career Management Resources, a career development firm in Bellevue, Wash.
Traditional interviewers ask general, open-ended questions designed to point up the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, while behavior-based interviewers ask for specific examples from previous work experiences to try to assess how well the candidate would fit the new job.
The key to handling either type of interview is to know exactly what information about yourself you want to impart to the interviewer. This involves doing some homework to ascertain your best skills and to stockpile examples of ways you’ve used those skills before.
“The most important question in the traditional interview is the ‘Tell me about yourself’ question,” said Susan Miller, a career counselor and owner of Vocational Training Consulting Services in Los Angeles. This is your opportunity to describe your best skills and illustrate your points with anecdotes about how you have used those skills, she said. Your stories should be short, interesting and illustrate how you benefited your former employer.
In a behavior-based interview, you might be asked to describe your past jobs, your initial expectations, your responsibilities, accomplishments, failures and mistakes, Washington said.
Remember that the interview is as much a chance for you to find out if the job fits you as it is for the interviewer to decide if you fit the job. Be prepared with some questions of your own. These should be non-threatening, open-ended questions that help you gather information without giving away details about yourself, such as “How would you describe your management style?” “What kinds of people seem to do well in this position?” or “Why is this position available?” Washington said.
Stay away from asking questions that show concern, such as “There isn’t a lot of travel in this job, is there?” Such questions may tip the interviewer that you are not very flexible.
If you have concerns about the job or the company, you should definitely ask those questions, but wait until after you receive an offer, Washington suggested.
You might interview with more than one person, either in a series of sessions or with several people on a panel. It’s useful to find out in advance how many people you will be talking to and how long each session usually lasts, Washington said. Although the basic preparation is the same, this helps you prepare psychologically for the stress and devise some coping strategies.
If for example, you will be interviewing all day, make sure you take small breaks, even if it’s requesting to go to the bathroom. This gives you a chance to regroup, think about what you’ve said and what you want to say to the next person. Also, think of several examples for each skill you want to illustrate so you aren’t repeating yourself endlessly.
During the interview, you may run across some minefields, such as illegal or embarrassing questions.
Interviewers are legally prohibited from asking questions about race, religion, family status, health or disabilities, Miller said.
However, people still get asked these questions, sometimes indirectly. Instead of asking whether you are married, for example, the interviewer may ask, “How would your husband feel if you had to travel frequently for this position?”
The most tactful way to handle these questions is to address the underlying issue the interviewer is concerned about, Manley said. If, for example, the interviewer asks a question about children, you might answer, “I can assure you my children are well taken care of while I am at work, and I have backup care.” The key is to always answer a personal question by putting it in professional terms, Manley said.
To avoid answering an illegal question, you can say, “I’m not sure what this has to do with my ability to do the job,” then rephrase the question in professional terms, such as, “If you are asking whether I am able to fulfill the terms of this contract, then the answer is yes.”
Lastly, don’t lay a minefield of your own by failing to research the company. “You’d be amazed how many people go into interviews without the most basic information,” said Nella Barkley, co-founder of Crystal-Barkley Corp., a New York-based career consulting firm.
More Career Help
* TimesLink has job tips and tools, an archive of career-related news, hundreds of California Occupational Guides, information from the Employment Development Department and an on-line career counselor.
Details on Times electronic services, A8
