1- Make sure you¡¯re energetic, positive and upbeat in the interview! If possible address the interviewer by his/her name, as this will personalize the message. Hiring Managers are looking not only for people with strong technical skills but also people that are passionate about Technology.
2- Make sure that you don¡¯t talk about money or benefits. That can jeopardize your opportunity to get the job. If they ask, don¡¯t be resistant. Tell them what you are at right now and let them know you are confident that they will make a competitive offer based on your background and experience.
3- Make sure you ask up front what would be the duties of the position? You don¡¯t want to catch yourself rambling on and find out that it is not specifically what they are looking for. Sometimes what you think they are looking for might not be exactly what they are looking for. Listen to them and find out the duties of the position to give you a good springboard into expressing how you would be a good fit for the position! Another good question to ask after you have been talking with the Hiring Manager for a while is ¡°Do you have any questions about my qualifications?¡± This will reveal any concerns they may have. Sometimes you only get one chance to resolve their concerns if there are any. Once again, you definitely want to be descriptive when answering a question but you don¡¯t want to talk too much either.
4- Make sure you are ready before the appointed time. Review the night before any relevant topics or methodologies that you might be quizzed on. If you feel like you are a little rusty on certain topics definitely study up on it. You want to be sharp and quick when speaking to them. Hiring Managers are looking for prospective candidate¡¯s to answer the questions descriptively. Many candidates fail to be descriptive enough. In other words they are too vague.
5-
Make sure you have taken a very good look at their web site. Find out about the
company and what they are doing. This will show that you are very serious and
interested in the opportunity!
6-Have
some questions ready to ask the hiring manager
For
example, how big is the Design group or what kinds of projects are you working
on? Things to avoid that can impede you from getting to the next step can be
swearing, boasting, talking bad about your company or current or past employees
and etc. Remember to be confident but not overly confident where it would
intimidate the Hiring Manager.
7-
Common questions that Hiring Managers ask are:
-
What
do you like/dislike about your current position?
-
What
are your reasons for wanting to leave your current company? (Don¡¯t be negative
about your company!)
-
Why
did you leave your Company? Have answers ready as to why you left. Hiring
Manager are sometimes concerned about a candidate who has been with two or
three Companies in a three year time span. You need to give a legitimate reason
as to why you moved on to another company. Hiring Managers want to make sure
the person they pick will be there long term.
-
What
are you looking for in a new position?
-
What
are your reasons for wanting to relocate?
-
Tell
me about you accomplishments and achievements.
-
Tell
me about your short and long term goals?
Why are you interested in this position?
Have an answer ready as these types of questions might come up.
By preparing before hand you will be sharp and quick when answering the
Manager¡¯s question. If you are not sure what to say on the above mentioned
questions or any others please call me, as I want you to do well in the
interview.
8-Toward
the end, definitely express your interest and ask, ¡°what the next step in the
process is or where do we go from here?¡± It is always good to softly close in
this manner. It shows that you are pro-active.
9-
Finally, always tell them thanks for the opportunity to speak with him/her.
Manager¡¯s are many times looking for engineers who are courteous and
appreciative.
10-
After the interview give me a call to give feedback on how it went. I will
follow up with the hiring manager to get feedback on their end.
11-Make
sure you give me a call afterwards so that we can discuss how it went.
12-
Finally, good luck on the interview!