@Duane: "...that the other candidates don't." Me talk good one day. :(

Duane

When I was briefly laid off and working with an outplacement shop, the term we came up with was to be "comfortably confident" in your abilities. Don't go into an interview trying to convince people to believe that you know X, go into an interview knowing X and have the confidence that the people interviewing you will get that from their questioning.

With that approach in hand, I typically spend interviews explaining to the people that while I have the skills they asked for, what I also have is X Y and Z that they didn't even realize they need yet. What have I got that the other candidates doesn't? Assume that everybody walking in the door has what the requirements said, now how do you differentiate yourself? Walk out of the interview having reset the standard for what they think they need in such a way that you're the only one that can fill the spot.

Oh, and one don't - and by that I mean DON'T! Please don't be so comfortable or confident that you refuse to answer the interviewers questions. I used to work at a coding shop where we asked people to write code, or answer puzzle questions, and every now and then somebody would blow it off and say things like "Normally I'd just look it up on google" or something like that to justify their lack of a good answer. That never works. That's you telling the interviewers they are idiots for asking the question. If you believe that, fine, but don't expect the job.

[www.commutesmarter.com]

Duane

I would be careful with thank-you notes. Consider the role you are applying for and the personalities of the people you met during your interviews. Personally, I find thank-you notes transparent and annoying - I dislike the implication that my judgment can be influenced by niceties. Perhaps for certain kinds of client-facing roles a nice thank-you note might be a plus. Just use your (well-formed) intuition and adjust to the situation.

brownie

@Duane: "Normally I'd just look it up on google"

+1 to that. Interviewers hate that. They don't care what google knows - they care about what you know. If you answer that to any question without even trying then it looks like you just look up everything on google. It's fine to look up stuff on google, but if you don't have the knowledge to get started on a problem then you probably aren't what they are looking for.

Also - these days if you're looking for a REAL job and the interviewer is using those stupid questions that they ask at every interview then I gotta say I'm greatly turned off to the company. That sort of stuff does not look at me as a person - it looks at me as a drone who can dodge those stupid questions. I much prefer an interview where you have a normal conversation and talk about the job and the company rather than "if you could go back and change one thing about your life..." When they don't ask the stupid questions then it's a sign that I'm being hired and respected as a person and not a monkey.

PatrickTulskie

In my last interview I knew I had the technical skills so I didn't even try to impress them with that. I just focused on the fundamentals I follow and my GTD attitude. I didn't brush off the technical questions, but I always brought it back to the big picture. I didn't know everything they asked, but I think my approach more than made up for it.

The syncing and story stuff is good.

SamburgerHandwich

@brownie: I tend to agree with you, but a thank you note coupled with a good follow-up question is a good alternative.

For example: Thanks for the interview, blah blah blah. I was impressed with (your supercharged coffee machine, efficiency, atmosphere, whatever impressed you). I have a question about (work life balance, working from home, customer base, etc).

Cervantes3773

The interviewer will almost always invite your questions. Don't blow this opportunity by just asking about benefits (i.e. what's in it for me?). Prepare at least one well-informed and relevant question that demonstrates that you know something about the company and that you're interested in what they're doing and the challenges they face. How's that MicroFoobar project going? Are you still having problems in the southern California market? Have you been happy with outsourcing your tech support to Outer Mongolia?

LeeHunter

@LeeHunter: I agree!

I found that some good questions to ask are:

Does the latest piece of news (merger, bought up, etc.) affect the department, and how? (shows your preparation and reveals how clued in the people are)

Projected growth, new position or replacement?

How exactly do the first 3 months look in the job? (is there a project/ piece of work that they have waiting for you etc.)

How does your daily workday look like? (only makes sense with a line manager, not personnel manager, and with this question you find out how happy they are in their job, and in turn, what you can expect from them)

I've been through the process recently (last week, that is), and was offered the job =)

I knew the stuff about the synching etc., and used it in interviews. When I was asked: Why do you want to work for our company in particular, I always replied that I'm not necessarily need to work for them, because the job content etc (what is important to me) matter more first, then always added that this job offered matches that, also that during the conversation, this was confirmed, and I like (enter other stuff here that you liked from the interview) - that way you match them and let them look good

strongblackcoffee

You can't talk yourself into a job, but you can certainly talk yourself out of one. I just had to hire two mid-level staff, and the interviews were eye-opening.

Telling your potential new boss "You SO need me!" is a no-no. Insulting the current product/advertising/marketing effort and explaining how you'd do it better/differently (unless asked) is a big no-no, too.

My best tip is that if you don't have actual experience in a certain area, explain how other experience you have would translate over.

Ex:"I don't have direct experience in writing annual report copy, but I believe that my extensive experience with writing press releases and other PR materials will translate, and allow me to be very effective in the position."

superbadgirl

There is always the possibility that you could just be yourself. Therefore ensuring that if you actually are a good fit for the organization that you are applying with you will see it in their responses immediately.

What's the point of trying so hard to get a job with people that you have to put on an act for? Sounds like a sure way to put yourself into a job that will eventually make you unhappy and unproductive....and searching for a new job again soon.

Kneel_before_Zod

The thank you note is a powerful often overlooked one.

Michael@ Awareness * Connection

"...I'll be the number two guy here in Scranton in six weeks. How? Name repetition, personality mirroring and never breaking off a handshake."

This nonsense about "mimicking their personality" is absurd. If they are asking mind trick questions in an interview, chances are they'll play mind tricks when you work for them.

How bout try this:
Be genuine, be confident w/o being cocky, be polite, be talented.

sideshow

I just got through a lengthy process to find a good candidate for a job here, and from the other side of the table, I can certainly say we didn't hire any of the people that sent us thank-you cards. Without exception the interviewers found this creepy and discounted people that might otherwise have been good at the job.

I definitely think that the preparation step needs to be addressed. Too many people arrived late, too many people didn't know what the job actually was, only that they'd applied for this position among many. We always gave the candidate time to ask questions and only a few even bothered, but the entire short list of people had asked a few questions not only about the job, but also about the company and the team.

ugly

My company runs a small tight knit team. We look for quality candidates that know how to find solutions even if they didn't know it in the first place. The most important quality in my scorecard is that our people know how to ask questions, be it at our customers, with each other, or simply formulating the right question to find the result in Google.

I don't want people who have a very solid skill set and then that's about all they can do. There's no room for improvement and seemingly no motivation to increase their skill set. This describes 98% of the people in the work force. They just want a steady paycheck, do their 9-5, and go home. So I don't particularly care that someone knows X, Y and Z. I'm more interested in the fact that they can pick up F G H M N O P and be competent at it in short order.

Experienced people are great. But they are too limited in how they think. They might have the "vendor product lock", which means they firmly believe that a certain product is the solution to everything. Huge corporations will want these people, and if you want a job crunching reports and code, by all means, show your experience in X Y Z. But if you want something more rewarding and challenging like a start up, you need to show adaptability and smarts. And admitting that Google is a good place for answers is a good first step.

superdx

Gosh, the negativity around thank-you notes is surprising. The writers of those notes must have done something to earn the "creepy" label, because many people I've talked to who have hired various folks have generally appreciated thank-you notes as a nice gesture, although to be fair it's probably unusual for a thank-you note to put a marginal candidate over the top, or knock a great candidate down to second place.

smugjerk

Everyone claims to be an expert in job hunting and interviewing. It's impossible to know who or what to believe.

I got laid off a looong time ago and never got back on my feet. I made the awful mistake of taking some time off for my family, and have not been able to find anyone who would give me a shot since. It has been the most demoralizing experience of my life. Oh well, right?

leftist