Job Interview Tips
Foreward	Okay! God got you an interview! But now you're scared to death! Whether you are interviewing as an intern, a summer job, or now you've graduated and are interviewing for your first job, here are some great principles and techniques to apply!
Is this Job God's Will?	That's probably the biggest of all questions. We get scared if we end up in a job that is not God's will. And we don't want to miss out on God's best! Know that the Lord allows things to happen, and opens doors for a reason. Not every open door is of the Lord. Here are a few safeguards that you can apply. Ask the Lord: "Open the right door, Lord, and close all doors not of Your will!" - Rev. 3:7. God is faithful to keep us on the right path. It's comforting to know that He will make sure we do not walk into job situations that are not of Him! "Not my Will but Yours be Done!" - Here's a good motivation checker. Are you only going for the money and overlooking things like if this job will advance your career? Is money more important than the morality of the job, or if it means working ungodly hours that you have no time for church, prayer or fellowship? Jesus said we cannot serve God and money! "I'll Trust in You, Lord, No Matter What!" - Prov. 3:5-6 says to trust in the Lord will all your heart, and not to solely depend on your own understanding of the situation. He will direct all your paths if you acknowledge Him in all your ways. Sometimes the job interview may go so perfect but you don't get it. Don't be sad; be glad that God override the situation so you ended up with something better!
Dress for Success	Dress appropriately. If you're interviewing for MacDonalds, then I'm sure casual clothing is okay. If you're going for a job at the local shopping mall, then dress according to the theme of the store. If you're going for a white collar or blue collar job, then dress as approrpriately as possible. Here are a few dressing guidelines: "The Mens' Wearhouse - I Guarantee It!" - For the jobs I go for, I've never gone wrong suiting up and be all color coded. Clothes make the man, and man makes the job position! If you're going for a position that involves interfacing with clients, then your presentability is very important. "I can't afford great clothes!" - You may not need a suit. A navy blue jacket or coat (those of you in England, please beware of our cultural terminology!) will go with just about anything! You can use gray or tan slacks, a white shirt and a tie containing the colors of your coat and slacks would do great. Don't Dress "Loud"! - Avoid things like black or deep purple or colored shirts, and ties that give your interviewer a psychadellic experience just looking at it! Simplicity is elegance at its best. The Bugle Boy Syndrome - Be cautious not to find any youth-oriented pants in substitution for slacks. It makes for very sloppy dressing. Get proper shoes, not black-colored Reboks. Make sure the knot of your tie is small, not big like a boxing glove! Personal Hygene - Bad breath, unbrushed teeth, unkempt hair, and dirty fingernails, and an unshaven face is a turn off.
Overcoming Nervousness	"I'm nervous!" Don't be. The interview is about you interviewing them just as much as it is about them interviewing you! You have the same power to reject them! So carry yourself with confidence. Be career-minded and be professional. Meet them on their level. With this in mind, I have never done poorly in an interview. I have since lost my nervousness and flight/fright/fight syndrome! The Lord Jesus gives us a peace that surpasses all understanding. It is a peace that abides. He also gives us wisdom, that our tongue is like a pen in the hand of a skilled writer! You need to be career-minded. You must know why you want the job at their company, so do a little background homework. It's such a turn-off to interviewers when people say, "Well I want to work here because I need the money." These people don't seem to care who they work for and what they will end up doing, so long as the dollar amount is right.
Do's and Don'ts of Job Interviews	With all this in mind, you still don't want to act inappropriately. Here are a following tips: Be alert! - I can't stress this more. Don't look out the window. Don't bite your fingernails. Pay attention to the interviewer, but don't look at him/her like an owl looks at a mouse as breakfast! Relax! - Also paramount. Don't fidget. Sit in the chair upright but comfortably and professionally. Don't slouch! Get a business magazine and look through the ads to see how people sit or look. Get a "corporate look" if you can! Don't chew gum! - It's annoying. Take notes - You're there to interview them in the sense that you want to know more about the company, how it's doing financially. Get information like brochures, financial statements, etc. Do your homework to see if the name of this company will bolster your resume! Show Interest - One person actually shaved with an electric razor during his interview. Then he just put his resume on the interviewer's desk and said, "I'm late for my next interview" and then left. The interviewer placed the gentleman's resume in a safe, strong steel containment unit called a trash bin. Don't just go "Yeah" to Questions - When asked information, supply good information that will make you look good, but not at the expense, please, of overmarketing yourself or painting yourself in the corner. Don't over-offer information. Be Humble - The resumes of people with snotty attitudes almost always go that aforementioned safe, strong steel container!
Goals and Vision	Establish now where you want to be five, ten and fifteen years from now. What is the salary range you realistically want to make at each age range? Investigate your career path. In fact, talk to a recruiter agency or headhunter that specializes in your career and ask them what kind of positions are the natural progression in the industry you want to get into. For example, the computer industry is extremely diverse. Some require Masters degrees in engineering if you want to go into microchip design. If you're going into computer networking, then companies seek certifications. Within the networking industry is technical support, systems engineering, pre-sales, project management, etc. So try to find out what fits your personality and your degree of skill! Knowing where you want to go is attractive to employers. Knowing what your own personality and skillset combined, and knowing what benefit you can bring to their company is great. If you have a proven track record that can be measured in a dollar amout, that's good ammo. For example, "In my three years with the real estate firm, I've dealt with $23 million worth of transactiosn." Or, "I've dealt with Fortune 500 companies such as Lockheed, Intel, Apple and NEC."
Answers to Tough Questions	Here is a list of questions they almost always ask, and here are good ways to answer them. Once I began to get the ebb, flow and mentality of these questions, my nervousness went away. "Why do you want to work for our company?" - If you've done research then you can say things like, "Your company is a proven industry leader." If you can obtain their information by mail prior to the interview, then read up. A good trick is to regurgitate the brochure back to them, but don't quote it! For example, if the brochure says, "We are the leading provider of these services, accruing $50 million in assets" then you can say, "You guys did very well last year, and your dedication to being a leading service provider particularly interests me to work with you!" "Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?" - Again, establish where you want to go. Some of us make the mistake of not doing anything in the name of trying to hear from God. Prov. 16:3 says, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed" in the NIV. In the KJV, it says, "... and your thoughts will be established." Make up your mind, in faith. God will always give us mid-course directional fine-tuning! Find out from a headhunter agency, recruiter, or someone in the industry what a possible career path is. "What are your strengths?" - Please don't say, "I'm a people person!" because it is the most overused useless slogun in the corporate world. I sometimes jokingly say, "Some people say, 'I'm a people person'" but then I quickly add with seriousness: "However, I'm a customer person. I believe the customer always comes first, and work my best to develop client relationships, so that they become a repeat customer." Concentrate here on things like reliability, dependability, ability to work as a team, ability to work without supervision, ability to set goals and achieve them (be ready to give examples!!!). "What are your weaknesses?" - This one almost always gets everyone. They're stunned. Then they say something that the interviewer gets uncomfortable with and then uses against them. However, I turn a weakness into a strength. I'll say, "One problem I have is that I get extremely anxious if things aren't done well and aren't done on time." If they want me to elaborate, I'll then say, "I really make every effort to ensure that my work is timely and qualitative." If they ask me if how I handle stress, I tell them I can work well under stress. I'd say, "Yes, sometimes I do get stressed, but I've learned to make stress a personal guage to self improvement. I set goals and try to meet them. If I do, I'll set them a little higher the next time. But the satisfaction that comes far outweighs the stress, and the loyalty of the customer is the best reward." "How do you handle irate/angry customers?" - Here's the formula. Memorize it. Say, "First off, it's important for us to be proactive and not reactive towards the customer. What I do is: First, I listen to the customer completely. Then, I assess the situation and define the problem. Next, I establish goals and meet them, and finally, create a solution and implement it. "Give me an example of when you handled an irate customer." - Be ready. I can't give you the answer for this. If you don't have professional experience doing this, then list situations in school or such where you were in a critical position or in an area of leadership or authority where you did handle such a position. Your parents don't count as irate customers! "Why should I hire you?" - Try not to repeat yourself by giving the interviewer the same list of your strengths. Instead focus on the interviewer's business objectives. "I want to be part of a team..." "I have a proven track record of..." "I want to develop client relationships and increase business." "I have an excellent customer service interface and want to increase customer satisfaction and decrease complaints and improve quality of service." "I want to generate sales." All this basically translates into money. The more profits, the more the entire company is, and the happier you are!