Interviewing Tips

Interviewing Tips

If you're currently expecting a job interview, don't be too surprised if you encounter something similar to one of the following hypothetical scenarios: After two months of sending out hundreds of resumes, you're finally getting phone calls. The first call comes as a surprise, and when you answer your phone on the way to the grocery store, you agree to answer a few questions. A minute later, you find yourself racking your brain for answers to very specific questions, and it suddenly dawns on you--YOU'RE BEING INTERVIEWED! If you've never had a phone interview, you might find this a jarring experience. You might wonder, if perhaps you would have been better off asking the recruiter to call you back. But then you worry that if you do that, they might proceed to call another applicant (who just happens to be prepared for this kind of situation) and you feel you may have lost a great opportunity. Though not specific to phone interviews, Lou Adler's Five Things You Must Not Do in an Interview and Five Things You Must should be required reading for anyone expecting to be interviewed. Read morehere. At the next interview you have, you're asked if you can lift 30 pounds. "Sure," you respond (hoping they won't ask about a back injury you're recovering from.) Then they ask, innocently enough, if you have a strong back--and you start to worry. Next, they ask you if you've been hospitalized for anything recently, and you feel the beads of sweat start to form on your brow. You feel pretty certain that this is NOT a legitimate interview question, but what do you do? HINT: If you suspect that an interview question is illegal, you're best option is generally to politely decline to answer. For a list of illegal interview questions, and strategies for handling them, you might want to check out this Business Insider article. If you're unfamiliar with current interviewing trends (such as phone interviews) you might also want to check out one of our Interviewing Workshops, offered at no cost to you. To sign up for Interviewing Workshop, or other workshops at our Chester location, call 610-447-3350. If you'd like to register for our Interviewing Techniques workshop at our Media office, call 610-723-1220.