Entries tagged 'interview-tips'
Searching for a job while happily employed
Dear JobsBlog: I’m pretty happily with my current job, but I’m ready to take the next step in my career. How do I negotiate a job search while I am still employed? I am nervous about my current employer finding out that I am interested in looking at other companies. Is there a way for me to do this tactfully?-Happily Employed
Dear Happy: Though it might be scary, one of the best things you can do for yourself while you are content in your current job is to keep yourself marketable. This means that you have to take the initiative and step out of your comfort zone a bit. Trying a few of these things below can really keep your skills fresh. And who knows? It may also lead you exactly to that next step in your career. 1. “Finding out what you’re worth” – Someone I know recently coined this phrase. It had been 14 years since he had last interviewed outside of his company and it was an eye opening experience for him. To keep yourself marketable, you should interview outside of your company at least once every two years to keep your interview skills strong, see how employers in your field are evaluating candidates, and to “see what you’re worth” as far as any potential offers might receive. This is invaluable because you are forced to go through preparation, perform industry research, and see what it takes to get to the next step or into the top company for your field. If you can’t even get out of the gate (i.e. land an interview) you know that you have a lot of work to do. And that is a whole other blog topic!
Your tips for video conferencing interviews
Last week we asked whether you prefer a video or phone interview and you suprised us with your responses. Times they are a changin'. This week, since you seemed to indicate that video interviews were your top choice, so we asked you to share your top tips for making video interviews successful with other jobseekers. We seemed to be on target with our advice, but here are the top three we liked.
Video conferencing is a preferred method to phone interviews
The responses to this week’s question: “What would you prefer - a video conference or a telephone interview?”, left us scratching our head a little. Really almost all of you – a whopping 88% - said you would rather have a video conference instead of just a phone interview. Our original guess was that, with some of the technical limitations, you would rather have a phone interview. That hypothesis was definitely blown out of the water!It did get us thinking about the advantages of seeing who you are talking to, but also some potential pitfalls. Here are a few quick tips for a successful visual – if not live in person – interview for both participants.
Get your interview skills in shape
Feeling like your interview skills need a little exercise? Can't wait for the next recruiting event, webinar or Dear JobsBlog post? We've got something for you to check out especially if your skills are feeling a bit rusty.Enter your personal drill sargent. Wendy Hill is ready to kick your interview skills into gear with her Job Interview Bootcamp presentation. She covers pretty much everything you need to know about preparing for the interviews - your resume, how to research, what to wear, developing a game plan. You name it - she's on it! One favorite tip: trying on your interview outfit before the big day. Enjoy!
5 questions you may not want to ask your interviewer
Dear JobsBlog: I’ve heard it’s a good idea for interviewees to have a few questions ready for their interviewers, especially if the interviewer asks, “Do you have any questions for me?” This got me thinking: What are some of the most memorable questions interview candidates have asked you?- Questioning the questions
Dear Questioning: Yes, it’s a great idea to come prepared with questions for your interviewer. The interview isn’t just about letting a company evaluate you; it’s also a time for you to make sure the company, team and job are a good match for your career and interests.In the theme of “what not to do,” here are a few memorable (funny, unexpected and maybe a little inappropriate) questions interview candidates have asked. And, yes, these are real. You can’t make this stuff up.
How to show recruiters that you're a creative problem solver
I've noticed a trend over the last months: hiring managers are seeking "creative thinking" or "creative problem solving" as the top abstract skill among job candidates. Of course, hiring managers still need technical talent who are adept communicators, but - beyond that - creative problem solving is the skill for which everyone is searching.
We can all agree that creative problems solving skills sound important, but, on deeper examination, many candidates are unsure of how to actually define the term. So, what exactly is “creative problem solving?”Your interview: finance, sales and marketing
My last series of postings (see the original articles here) were written to help people better prepare for their interview day at Microsoft. One of the comments we received asked how an interview for a position outside of our core-tech roles may be different.Since I am primarily a technical recruiter, I decided to sit down with one of my fellow Staffing Consultants, Theresa Larson, who recruits for the finance, sales and marketing teams within the Microsoft Business Division (MBD).
As we were discussing the differences between the interviews – it seemed the main difference was the absence of technical questions, such as the need to code on the whiteboard. In this posting you’ll get a sense of what types of questions you may encounter. For those of you interviewing for one of our core-tech roles, (SDE, SDET, PM, etc.), you are also asked these types of questions, so this could be helpful for you as well.
How to prepare questions for your interview
I recently participated in a job group panel and was asked for my interview tips. As I answered the question, I realized that I've come up with a whole bunch of additional suggestions since I last wrote about interviews for JobsBlog.The first thing isn't a tip, so much as a philosophy of interviews: when faced with an interview, it is important to recognize that the process serves a dual purpose.
1) Interviews gives us a chance to find out whether or not you can contribute to the company, add value to your team and do the duties that are listed in the job description. This is the obvious purpose of an interview.
2) An interview is also a chance for YOU to interview the team to find out if it is a place where you want to work, a role that you want to take and a manager and team with whom you will "fit in."
It is imperative that you remember this second purpose. Interviewers will almost always open the floor to the interviewee at the end of the session to ask THEM questions. So be prepared!
Seattle Times on Microsoft Recruiting
Following my last articles about interviewing at Microsoft (read:Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), many of you asked for some pointers about how to get noticed by a recruiter or how to get your foot in the door at Microsoft. I didn’t respond with a post on the topics because I had already done an interview with The Seattle Times back in April and knew there would be a story was coming out.
Take a look through the article "Online presence helps companies such as Amazon, Expedia and Microsoft notice you" and gain some insight from myself and other recruiters in the industry as well.
I’ll look forward to hearing your specific questions after you read the article.
Microsoft interview study guide: Part II of II
This posting details a candidate´s viewpoint and advice on interviewing with Microsoft. Our guest poster, Joe, has further recorded his insights on his recently relaunched blog My Technical Interview Experience.
In Part I, Joe wrote, "Now that I’ve been through the Microsoft interview (and many just like it), I’m here to present you with what I wished I had: a comprehensive study guide that specifically tells you how to prepare for your recent college graduate / intern SDE or SDET interview at Microsoft."
The following is the second half of Joe's study guide:
