Finding a Job Interviewing for Experienced Candidates
面试流程 Utilize examples from community service, hobbies, academic work and additional family life experiences, where appropriate.
RESEARCH AND PREPARATION
Experienced job candidates should be able to comfortably and fluently describe how their experience,accomplishments, and career goals match the expectations or needs of the industry and organization in which they have interest. Employers cited this preparation as the top way that candidates could better prepare for interviews and distinguish themselves from other candidates.
This is not an “entrylevel” interview. You will be expected to understand the industry and job in far greater depth than was expected in your entry level job interviews. It is important to “talk the talk” and to describe accomplishments that clearly define your ability to succeed at this higher level.
WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE THE INTERVIEW 面试流程
You should know the following information before all of your interviews:
- Who are the main employers/competitors in the field?
- Current trends/news about the employer and the industry
- Major trade and professional associations for your field of interest
- Mission, philosophy, goals, structure, and key people of the organization
- Locations of headquarters offices, major branches and subsidiaries; size and number of offices
- Major projects, services, and clients of the company
- Annual production, performance, and growth parameters for the organization
- Hiring department’s role as it relates to organization’s overall mission
- Organizational reputation and culture performance metrics for the position and company 面试流程
- Job responsibilities and qualifications sought
- How your skills, experience, and accomplishments meet job requirements
- How your longterm goals fit this job and organization
For an experienced level job interview, you should also know or be able to describe the following:
- What was learned from your most recent positions/activities that will be useful in this job?
- What is your track record for success?
- How can you hit the ground running, and what will you accomplish in your first three months?
- If you are a career changer, why are you interested in this new position or industry? What transferable and relevant skills do you bring to this position?
- Why are you looking to leave your current position?
Differentiating between related and unrelated experience is key. Examine your background, and decide which aspects of each experience are relevant to your current search.
AT THE INTERVIEW 面试流程
Focus on understanding the employer’s needs and how you can fill them. Try to “reverse engineer” the position for which you are being considered. Determine, based on your research and assessment of the company and position, what the key attributes of a successful candidate are and how you match up to those requirements. Also, probe into the goals the employer is expecting you to achieve and within what specific time frame in this position. Assess whether you feel these goals are realistic and achievable. Give a variety of examples that demonstrate your ability to be successful in the areas needed. Remember, not all of your examples need to come from work experience. Utilize examples from community service, hobbies, academic work and additional family life experiences, where appropriate. 面试流程
At a nonentry level interview, an employer is expecting you to have ideas about the organization’s needs;areas you have identified for improvement, possible recommendations you have developed for steps thecompany can take to rectify identified problem areas. Use information or recommendations you have developed judiciously; you want to impress with your knowledge and perspective but, at the same time, not to insult or appear arrogant.
Give consideration to those goals you would like to accomplish in this new position. You will be expected to demonstrate your deeper understanding of the company, its industry, and of the work of the organization with the types of questions you ask.
Avoid saying anything negative about a prior employer or industry. Instead, focus on the positives and what you have gained from each past experience that will be beneficial to this new employer. Your goal is to help the interviewer picture you in this position. Do this through examples, highlighting of skills, and knowledge of their needs.
SPECIFIC TYPES OF INTERVIEWS
1.Behavioral Interviews: “Tell me about a time when…”
These are based on the premise that past behavior predicts future performance. To assess how skills and abilities have been demonstrated, employers ask openended questions that require a personal situation or relationship (either of which could be personal or professional) to be described. 面试流程
Tips for Answering:
- Pinpoint the skill the employer wants to learn about; select an example that best proves it.
- But don’t focus on describing the circumstance or example. The employer is interested in hearing
- WHY and HOW this example helps describe your response to predictable professional challenges -they are not as interested in the particulars of the example.
- Examples can be from any experience (academic, internships, volunteer & extracurricular activities,athletics).
- Be organized and show your thought process by using the STARS framework to describe the Situation, Task, Action, Results and Summary of the experience.
- Don’t forget to highlight individual as well as team contributions.
Resources for practice:
- Quintcareers.com [1]
2.Case Interviews:
Consulting, financial services, and marketing organizations are some of the employers who may ask you to analyze a hypothetical business problem in order to measure your ability to logically and thoughtfully assess a business situation, arriving at a clear, logical conclusion and recommendation. While case interviews rarely have just one right answer, there is a right way to approach them: preparation and practice. 面试流程
Business problem case questions tend to fall into three broad categories:
- A typical problem encountered by a business (judges problemsolving, logical reasoning,communication, resourcefulness, creativity, response to pressure, ability to make a decision with limited information, interpersonal skills, judgment, and business insight)
- A market sizing question (judges quantitative skills and ability to think on feet)
- A brainteaser (judges creativity, quantitative, and “out of the box” problemsolving skills
To solve the business case question:
- Gather information (listen, take notes, question, probe & clarify)
- Organize your analysis (use frameworks; take time if needed)
- Address the problem asked or the specific question posed by the interviewer
- Close the case make a recommendation (have confidence!)
- Remember most case questions do not assume you have (or need to rely on) specific industry knowledge or expertise to answer the question posed to you they can be solved using common sense and your powers of analysis and deduction
3.Panel Interviews:
You may be interviewed by two or more individuals at the same time. Make sure to make eye contact with each member of the panel, directing attention at the beginning and end of each response to the person who asked the question. Also, it’s helpful to know the name of each person in the room in order to direct specificpoints when appropriate. Do not shy away from “managing” the interview process if it becomesdisorganized. During panel interviews, your questioners may ask questions simultaneously or to followup on another question. Organize your answers to address each question asked and don’t hesitate to ask for a repeat of a question if you do not recall all the details.
4.Multiple Interviews:
It is not unusual to have several interviews over the course of a day with different interviewers involved inthe hiring decision. You might meet with the person who will be your direct supervisor, his or her supervisor and/or peers, potential subordinates, and human resources.
Each person is involved in the process for a reason, and his or her feedback will be taken into account in the decision making process. It is important to stay enthusiastic and fresh throughout the day. Where possible,give different examples to different interviewers. This accomplishes two goals: it gives them more information with which to evaluate you, and it keeps the answers more interesting for you.
One or more of these interviews may take place over lunch or dinner. This is an opportunity for your potential employer to observe you in a business/social setting. Regardless of how informal the meal might seem, remember, you are still being evaluated on everything you say and do. Follow the lead of your host,and stay clear of controversial topics.
AFTER THE INTERVIEW 面试流程
Send a thank you note to everyone who interviewed you. Refer to the Thank You Letters tip sheet [2] for more information. Followup with your contacts at the company if you have not heard from him or her within the specified time.
Good luck!
Source URL: http://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/resources/tipsheets/findingajob
interviewingexperiencedcandidates
Links:
[1] http://www.quintcareers.com/sample_behavioral.html [2] http://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/node/949
