Interviews!!!

[Deleted]

Ok folks, let me have it. The do's and dont's in interviews, but most importantly how to stand out.

I am good at interviewing but this time I need to be phenomenal, I need to stand out because the two stores I want in MA I an up against the son of one our VP's and the nephew of my current Zone Director.

Either way, I've applied for 5 stores and the odds are good that I will get at least one of them... But I want those two because they are higher volume and the next step after that is store manager (the two recent co's got promoted to store managers).

Also my wife applied for 5 positions in Boston,MA and she will go thru the whole interview process also; so those tips will help both of us.

I've asked 4 of the store managers in this area to interview me and got that 1 down 3 to go this coming week. I've called one 2 of my old bosses to schedule mock interviews and did the same for my current and old HR specialist.

Does that show how much I want one of those two stores? The goal is not to interview well, the goal is to knock their socks off and they only want me for the job no matter who is related to who.

I will take all the tips I can get...

[Deleted]

I think you both need to play to your strengths... if memory serves, your wife is pretty modest and shy. You and she should probably talk through her accomplishments together over and over again until she is comfortable talking about her skills and experience. Make bullet point lists of how super awesome she is. Moments where she really shined. Find a way that she can talk about those things confidently.

"I am so grateful to have been a part of such a great team. My boss really mentored me and trusted my skills, which gave me the opportunity to do (insert awesome thing)." Or whatever. People like it if you are a team player... but only if you contribute to the team. So she may need to work to get past that first "everyone is so great" phase. I suspect you would be a good coach for her here.

She should probably be your wardrobe coach.

You will want to practice your city and company loyalty speech. You moved to BFE because you are a team player, you are committed to a career with your company and you want to learn about different roles and markets. But you weren't there very long, so you need to make it clear to them that you wouldn't leave Boston in the same rush. You see this opportunity as a chance for your family to put down permanent roots. Boston is a chance for you to be closer to family (your wife has siblings there, right?) while supporting both of your careers, blah blah blah.

[Colleenz]

Remember too that a relative of a VP may have the deck stacked against them. They will almost always get an interview as a professional courtesy. A hiring manager will be very skeptical though, because if they hire them and there are problems the disciplinary process can be very political.

Good luck!

[Deleted]

There is no problem in your company jumping stores so soon? Unless that is the culture, I wouldn't hire you. You better have your reasoning on lock.

[Deleted]

I agree that since you're trying to leave your current store after just a few months, you should be prepared to address any concerns with an excellent explanation/reason.

Then again, I haven't changed jobs in years so my opinion could be useless. lol Anyway, good luck to both of you!

[midjd]

My employer also tends to shy away from people who have been at several jobs for <1 year - but it seems like in Carl's company there is a lot of shuffling, so it may not be as big a deal as it is in other industries. Agree that you need to have an ironclad reason for the change (and probably not "my wife couldn't find a job there").

[Deleted]

The job hoping won't be an issue and if asked I got a good answer. It is not frown upon in my company like others and sense it is all within the same company and latera move, even less of an issue.

[happyhoix]

1) Be ten minutes early.
2) Turn your cell phone OFF during the interview.
3) Practise your answers in advance so you can answer a question in a complete but succinct style. (No rambling, no wandering off topic.)
4) Create a summary of why they should hire you by considering your strengths and including examples of why those strengths would benefit the company. Let several other (honest) people read it to make sure you don't come off as boastful, arrogant, or mean (saying, for example, that your previous supervisor was an idiot and you had to fix everything he did so you essentially ran the store - this may be true, but you don't want to phrase it this way. Say instead "My previous manager relied on my ability to step in and satisfactorily solve problems form him in his absence."
5) Practise answering negative questions, like "what is your worst quality" and "have you made any professional mistakes in the past."

In my experience interviewing, the more practise I do up front - in the mirror, to my spouse, and on paper - the more confident I am, and the smoother my delivery in the interview itself.

Good luck!

[Peace77]

Better to turn off the cell phone just before you leave your car to enter the interview or just before leaving public transportation near the interview site. Don't do it DURING the interview.

Better to plan to arrive 15 -20 minutes early in case of bad traffic, GPS error or difficulty finding the place.

[8 Bit WWBG]

I agree that the whole "kid of VP" thing could work against a candidate. Nobody wants to discipline a "corporate prince/princess" since Mom/Dad might step in. There is also the fear that these people are already guaranteed to sail up the ranks, and so they have no incentive whatsoever to actually do any work -- they are just waiting for their next promotion.

My favorite interview question (and one I'm convinced helped get me my current job) is some variant of "what is one thing you've always wanted to have done around here, but never been willing/resourced to do?" When I used that question, the issue happened to be statistical reporting. I showed how I could meet that need, and after I was hired, I did indeed work on that project.

Another thought -- are you going to have to spend a lot of time going back/forth to MA for these? That is certainly a factor in that you need to take leave or have someone step in for you.

I agree with knowing your strengths, and I love the idea of making it more of a conversation.

[Deleted]

Thanks folks, and my company is family owned, family run, etc. So no being the son of a VP or nephew of a Zone Director does not goes against you.
Actually got confirmation that they already know what store the VP's son is going to, and interviews are not till next week.

Anyway, my interview is next Friday in Marlborough , MA. It will be a panel interview, the 3 store managers, the HR specialist and the Zone Director.

Keep the good tips coming.