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Ciao bellas!
Remember back in my intro post, I ranted on & on about how I used to work in retail & I had this overabundance of knowledge in my brain that I wanted to share with someone who may find it useful? Well, this is one of those instances. Today’s segment is going to be all about job interviews: getting ‘em, nailin’ em, & securing that dream job that’s going to elevate you from broke bitch to not so broke bitch.
I have a million & one of my own personal experiences on both sides of that interview table. I interviewed with a TON of companies throughout my working life. I also interviewed a TON of prospective applicants when I was a store manager & later on, a district manager. I was sent to multiple seminars on how to interview effectively, & what specifically to look for in the applicant’s response that would make it a good one or a not so good one. So here’s some inside information on how to interview like a boss bitch – & how to make that first impression a lasting one.
THE APPLICATION STAGE:
– If you have a resume already created, REVIEW it before you attach & send. Review your employment date range, spell check the entire document, & make sure your contact details are correct. I once attached my resume (without reviewing it first) to a college application, & a friend who previously used my laptop had jokingly edited my employment history to include a strip club. Learn from my mistakes, ladies… always review it before you send it.
*There’s nothing wrong with being a stripper if that’s your trade, by the way.. but having “shaking my thang up & down the pole” as one of my bulleted responsibilities of the occupation was semi-embarrassing.
– If you don’t have a resume yet, make one! Microsoft Word has premade templates that you can easily download & input your information into fairly quickly. The general rule of thumb is to keep it to a page in length. (**I will make a blog post at a later date outlining how to construct a resume & curriculum vitae.)
ONCE YOU’VE SCHEDULED AN INTERVIEW:
– Bring a paper copy of your resume in a clear, presentation folder with you to the physical interview. The person you’re interviewing with may already have a copy of your resume with them, but in the event that there’s issues (with printers or whatever else that may come into play), you’ll be prepared.
– RESEARCH the company you’re interviewing with. Know the CEO’s name, their mission statement, & review the description of the position you’ve applied for. If you have at least a generalized background on the company, you’ll look more informed than most.
– Brainstorm & write down questions you have for your interviewer. Obviously, you’ll be most curious about the pay structure – but hold off on asking anything about that until the very end of the interview. Having questions for your interviewer such as “how did you get started in this company?” & “what does a typical day in this position look like?” show that you care more about the culture & advancement within the opportunity than just what your paycheck will look like.
– At least a day ahead of your interview, use your GPS to help map out travel time to the interview destination. This way, you can plan ahead for traffic. You’ll want to arrive at least 20 minutes ahead of your scheduled time, allowing you a few minutes to get lost in the building, to have a mini-mental breakdown, take a few deep breaths, etc.
– Make sure your gas tank is full the day prior to the interview as well.
– Plan out your interview attire the day before as well. You don’t need to wear a formal gown or anything, but business casual attire will help you appear both professional, & like you give a shit about the interview. Keep the jeans for your day off.
THE ACTUAL INTERVIEW:
⁃ Maintain eye contact & smile. This isn’t a criminal interrogation, FYI. Relax.
– Be specific in your responses. If the interviewer is using something called the “STAR” method, they’ll be asking a question & hoping for a specific situation, task, action, & result. Questions will typically start out with “tell me about a time..” or “tell me about someone..” Due to anxiety & panic, you might feel like you need to answer immediately & you’ll come up with a hypothetical situation. Breathe, think about the question, and respond when you have something concise.
For example:
SITUATION: The clothing store I worked for was falling behind on items per transaction.
TASK: I needed to get my staff motivated & confident to add on items to their sales.
ACTION: I ran a contest with my employees during the “buy one get one half off” sale we ran during the holidays, & gave the associate with the best performance an extra day of PTO.
RESULT: Our store increased their items per transaction from 1.2 to 3.0.
⁃ You may find it hard to prepare for behavioral based interviewing questions, so here’s a tip. Think of some recent, positive interactions & situations you had at work. Write them down in STAR format. This will give you specific instances to relay to the interviewer, & it will keep you from going off on a tangent after being given a question.
⁃ When asked about your strengths, speak honestly & don’t reach for what you think they “want” to hear. Think back to previous evaluations, or compliments you received by a previous supervisor.
⁃ When asked about your weaknesses, i would tread lightly on brutal honesty. Let’s say you’ve been reprimanded in previous employment.. I would assume you would head into your newest venture with plans to put the past behind you right? Sometimes these things if resurfaced, can be a red flag to future employers. Or, they may use it against you later on if they do hire you. Think of something in this instance that could be both a strength & a weakness. Something like being “over analytical”, or “overly focused”. Or, if you choose to divulge a real weakness from previous employment, tell your potential future employer the steps you’ve taken to overcome this weakness. I’d air towards the side of caution here though.
⁃ Have references available upon request. This gives you the power to choose who your future employer speaks to. If you left your previous employer on bad terms or your supervisor wasn’t the greatest, you obviously don’t want them being the ones to provide a recommendation for you right? Have both personal & professional references already typed up, keep them with you, & furnish them only when your interviewer requests them.
⁃ Don’t bad mouth your former employer. Find a nice way to explain your parting of ways, even if it wasn’t the best circumstances. If you talk shit, the interviewer in this case will undoubtedly think that you’ll do the same to them eventually if you leave their company.
⁃ If the interviewer has a picture of children, their dog, their cat, etc on their desk.. reference your children, your dog, or your cat. Humanize on a personal level. People remember this kind of stuff.
⁃ Remember the questions you brainstormed when the interviewer asks if you have any. Use this opportunity to ask the interviewer something personal about their journey in the company. They’re an employee too, & they may help you make your decision easier if offered a position down the line. Plus, people like to talk about themselves. It’s fact, babes.
AT THE END OF THE INTERVIEW:
⁃ Shake the interviewer’s hand. Thank them for taking time out of their day to meet you.
⁃ When you get home, type up an email to send to your interviewer thanking them again for the opportunity. Make sure you say that you look forward to hearing from them soon. This step is very rarely utilized, and it’s 100% remembered. You’ll be more likely to get a response either way, if you send the follow up email.
