Interviewing and Resigning Suggestions
“Tell me a little bit about yourself”
This is where you start. Practice this. The response to this can be somewhat misunderstood. Basically, this is an opportunity for you to promote a 45 to 60 second commercial about yourself. Start from when you graduated school and go through your career to the present day. Include experiences you’ve had, things you’ve learned and achieved. Above all, be succinct. This gives the interviewer the ability to pick a piece of information and expand on it.
If they never say this, fine. What you have practiced will come up in the course of the interview and it will come out smoothly.
THE TELEPHONE INTERVIEW
This is like an open book test. Your resume is in front of you as well as a notebook. You take notes when the interviewer is speaking and preparing your responose. The resume is like a road map. When you are asked a question, you can refer to a particular spot on your resume and explain that experience. Your goal here is not to get a job. It is to get a face to face interview. When you sense you are coming to the end of the call, you indicate you are interested, you have seen the website, and what is the next step. Within 24 hours, send the Thank You email. Here you can expand on some of the topics covered and reiterate your interest.
ON SITE INTERVIEW
One of the best ways to separate you from the competition is to be prepared. First of all, you need to know what the interviewer is all about. Your wining resume, and the way I presented your abilities, character, and background has gained you entry into the Employer's office. The interviewer has already reviewed your resume in detail with me so they are intamately knowledgeble about the hard facts of your employment history and skills. The actual interview is a subtler, more subjective aspect of the process. During the course of each interview, each person you meet will be forming an opinion of you and gauging your compatibility with the needs of the organization and more importantly, their ability to work with you within that role. Bottom line-you are trying to make a good impression.
Basically, there are really only three questions you have to prepare for and you can link most of the interview questions back to these three. Preparing for these three questions also means you can answer most questions more naturally, simply by referring mentally back to your preparations for these three questions.
1. Have you got the skills, expertise, and experience to perform the job?
2. Are you enthusiastic and interested in the job and the company?
3. Will you fit into the team, culture, and company?
THE THANK YOU NOTE
In days gone by, the thank you note separated you from other candidates in a positive way. These days, the lack of a thank you note separates you from the others in a negative way. It is part of the interview. Now, this is an opportunity to expand on things covered in the actual interview. Also, this is where you reiterate: “What is the next step?”
RESIGNING
Tell no one but your immediate supervisor. When you write a letter of resignation be professional and explain that you have had good experiences, and have learned from them. However,it is time to move on. Iinclude the phrase: "My decision is final and irrevocable.”
When you resign, one of three things will happen:
1: "If that is your feeling, clean out your desk and leave now". This does not happen that frequently, but it does happen.
2: "Congratulations on your new position and I wish you well". Then work out your two weeks or whatever your agreement is. Most of the time, this is fine, but can be stressful, as you are no longer a member of the group.
3: We all are familiar with the counter offer. Regardless of what you are told, studies have shown that the reasons that lead to you wanting to leave are still there after six months. Also, the counter offer is a stop gap measure. The company can hold onto you while they are looking for your replacement. It is rately successful.