Bteljuice

Hey everyone,

I'm a Civil Engineering student and am about to start doing some job interviews.

Now i know most of you, if not all, are successful buisness men and have reached high in your jobs. Can you please tell me what to do and dont do in job interviews?

what to say to impress? what to avoid? how to ask for high wage.

I have done about 3 internships so far in my field. Every summer for the past 3 years, i go to Saudi Arabia for 2month and work to get some experience.
i know i should include that.

Thx guys.appreciate your help.

Gene

Do: Look professional, dress to impress
Do: Arrive early and bring in a few extra copies of your resume and reference list
Do: Take your time and speak clearly when answering questions
Do: Go over some standard interview questions with your friends or with yourself in the mirror. (a quick google search can get you a list of generic questions)

Do not: Come in with the "so what can this company do for me" attitude
Do not: Answer the salary question with a specific number.
Best answer for this IMHO is "looking for your best competitive salary you can offer an individual with my knowledge and experience."
Do not: spend too much time speaking about academic achievements and boasting about GPA's and what-not....
Do not: recite verbatim your resume, the interview should compliment your resume, not supplement for it. They have already read resume and that got you in the door, now they most likely want to see/know about you....




GL

Bteljuice

thx gene impressive.

i have a small question. My friend had an interview the other day and they asked him.What do you do in ur spare time. And he answered, i don't usually have much spare time as i usually give my job 99% of my time. He told me the guy smiled, and said, that is the smartest comment i ever got.

should i use that, or sounds cocky, or trying too much to impress?

Bteljuice

i also would like to know if someone can give me some successful things to say.
Some key words to use. Something that will motivate the person interviewing to be impressed.to WOW him.

sixcard

Google the company. Learn about the execs, the board and company history. Learn about the business. Tell them what you will do for them and don't tell them why you need them. Brag on specifics, not generalities.

1esquire

+1 to Gene's comments above, however if you have never had a job before, then I don't think it would hurt to talk about your academic performance too much, because that's basically all you got (that and internships).

I would not say that you don't have free time because you work 99% of the time, particuarly if you are a student and haven't had a "real job" before. It will make you sound like you are either trying too hard or you are a loser w/o a social life. If you get asked about that, just talk about your interests, so long as they are (1) legal, (2) appropriate (3) and don't sound obsessive (like saying, "oh, I spend 5 hrs a day on e60.net..").

The best advice I can give you is to be honest and genuine. If you try to use "key words" like "gap analysis" and "S&OP" and "Kaizen" and "Six Sigma" and you don't really really have a good understanding of those terms, then you will come off as a poser. People can see through BS pretty easily. If you are genuine in the interivew, then when you start there, you can still be yourself and not have to keep up the "act."

Finally, don't discuss salary or benefits or anything until you have an offer. Create the demand, make them decide on you, and then you are in the best position to negotiate those sorts of things.

good luck.

1esquire

+1, give lots of examples. If they ask you about your abilities and you say "I have good leadership skills" don't just leave it at that. Add "for example, I was president of the Cal Poly E60 club my sophomore year." Interviewers like specific examples of facts they can write down, not buzzwords.

RJH&CO

i would not use that line for two reason.

1. shows you have no work and life balance.
2. it can back bite you, if the guy hires you and you spend 80% of our time at work, not 99% - you will be looked as slacker.

If I was asked the same situation, I would say something in the line of :

Continuing furhter education such as MBA etc and/or Industry Certification. This would show you are building on your skill sets and your versatile along with you do other things then just work. A good worker is always good but he/she does not have potential to move into management if he/she has no balance in life.

Dressing professional and being confident is GAME. There has been studies indicating the hiring manager decides within the first 30 seconds if the candidate is right or wrong. You could be the smartest guy out there, but if u showed up dressed like a bum - you have automaticaly given points away.

Anyway, good luck and most important of all, Always be truthful and honest. It will help you in the long run both you & the employer.

kscarrol

A big one here... And when you do speak, speak like a professional. Don't respond to a comment with "cool" or something to that effect. I had this really bright kid intern for me but everytime I asked him to work on something he would respond with "cool". I felt like I was at a frat party...

Bteljuice

thx, appreciate the help and the words of wisdom. i do always dress well on daily basis.

as for the part about the "wht i can do for them". im still a fresh graduate, wht can i possibly do that people b4 me, with much more experience, couldnt have done it?