What Color Is Your Parachute? (36 page)

As we just pointed out, you’re interviewing the interviewer or employer too. Be sure to ask these three questions of
yourself
(not the interviewer):

  1.
Do I want to work with these people?
Pay attention to your intuition. Sometimes your interviewer will give all the “right” answers to your questions, but you’ll still have an uneasy feeling. Don’t ignore that feeling. You want to know whether you can work well with these people and whether
they share values that are important to you. You want a work environment where you’ll thrive. Author and venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki put it starkly: “In a job, your real job is to make your boss look good.” During an interview, ask yourself, “Is this person someone I want to work hard for and make him or her look good?”

  2.
Can I do this job? Do I want to do this job?
Back in
chapter 1
, we talked about “can-do” skills and “want-to” skills. Be sure you know which skills you really want to use in a job. You’re much more likely to be happy in a job that uses a high number of the skills you want to use.

  3.
If the job seems to be a good fit, can I persuade the organization that there’s something that makes me different from other people who can do the same tasks?
It’s important to formulate an answer to this question before you walk into the interview. You need to know how you work and be able to describe it. What is the style in which you do your work (for example, independently, collaboratively, quickly, carefully, and so on)? Ideally, your style fits with what your hoped-for employer is looking for.

TIPS FOR HIRING INTERVIEWS

Before your interview, ask yourself these questions:

• What information do I need to communicate about myself?

• What do I need to know about this job at this organization?

At your interview:

• Be on time.

• Look the interviewer in the eye as you greet him or her.

• Shake hands warmly and firmly.

• Ask your interviewer these questions:
- What does this job involve (from the interviewer’s perspective)?
- What are the skills a top employee in the job needs to have?

• Ask yourself these questions:
- Do I want to work with these people?
- Can I do this job? Do I want to do this job?
- Can I persuade the interviewer that there’s something that makes me different from other people who can do the same tasks?

After your interview:

• Always send a thank-you note.

Ending an Interview with Finesse

As the interview proceeds, if the interviewer’s questions move from the past toward the future, the interview is going well. If you are determined to get a certain job, always ask the following five questions before the end of the interview. Don’t be afraid to speak up—you need the answers to these questions.

  1. Can you offer me this job? (If you want the job, be sure to ask for it; 20 percent of the people who ask for a job get it.)

  2. Do you want me to come back for another interview, perhaps with some of the other decision makers here?

  3. When may I expect to hear from you?

  4. What is the latest I can expect to hear from you?

  5. May I contact you after that date, if for any reason you haven’t gotten back to me by that time?

If, however, it’s clear from the interview that the interviewer doesn’t view you as qualified for this particular job, don’t assume all is lost. Be sure to ask these two questions:

  1. Do you have work for which you do think I’m qualified?

  2. Can you think of anyone else who might be interested in hiring me?

After an Interview

STUCK ON THE THANK-YOU?

You can learn more about writing
thank-you notes by doing an Internet search on “job interview thank-you notes.”

Always send a thank-you note to your interviewer. If more than one person was involved in the interview, send a thank-you note to each person on the interview team. (To review thank-you note basics, see
chapter 4
.)

• Thank your interviewer for his or her time.

• If you enjoyed meeting the interviewer, say so.

• Remind the interviewer of one or two parts of your background (skills, training, or previous jobs) that qualify you for the job. When you write your note, don’t make it too long.

SAMPLE THANK-YOU NOTE

(Date)

Dear Mr. Monroe:

Thank you so much for interviewing me for the job of nurse’s aide. I was so impressed that you took the time to show me around and introduce me to some of the other employees.

I feel my training makes me very qualified for this job. My experience helping my grandmother after her last surgery taught me how to work with older patients who are sick or slightly confused.

I hope I’ll hear from you on Friday, as you indicated. If not, I’ll call you next week.

Sincerely,
Sean Jones

A letter of just three or four paragraphs (with three to four sentences in each paragraph) can be read quickly. A longer letter may make your interviewer think that you’re doing another interview in writing rather than saying thank you. Always make certain your note—whether typed or email—is grammatically correct with no spelling errors. Send it within twenty-four hours of your interview.

You’re Hired! Now What?

Congratulations! All your hard work has paid off and you’ve been hired. Over the next few weeks, let your contacts and professional network know your job hunt has been successful. Enjoy the good news and be sure to celebrate.

Now, of course, you’ll start your new job. Is there something else you should be doing? The late John Crystal, author and creative job-search pioneer, once said, “To take charge of your career, you need to look further down the road than headlight range. You need to begin your next job hunt the day you start your current job.”

Oof! That’s probably not what you wanted to hear right now. But taking charge of your career is simply a continuation of what you’ve already been doing—from identifying your skills and interests to naming your potential dream jobs, from getting the appropriate training or education to researching and interviewing for this particular job. It may be that the job you’ve just gotten isn’t quite your dream job, but it is a step on the way toward that dream job. To help you continue on the road to your dream job, we have a few more recommendations for you.

Start a Job Journal

Each week, spend ten to fifteen minutes making notes about what you did during the week. (Friday after lunch is a great time to update your job journal.) Jot down names of projects, tasks, activities, or important meetings. Make notes about what should be included in a future job portfolio. Note what you like with a + and use a – for job duties you didn’t like. Be sure to include committees you’ve been asked to serve on and the names of professional organizations you’ve joined. (Also note any offices you may hold.)

After a couple of months, it’s easy to forget what you’ve done. If you write down all the tasks and responsibilities of your job, you won’t forget them. Your job journal will be a valuable resource when you face performance reviews and self-evaluations, as well as when you begin the search for your next job or take the next step toward your dream job.