Thursday, June 11, 2009

Ten Signs You Nailed the Interview

For Brevity's sake (OK being succinct is not my strength) I am going to break this one in half. You get Five today and you get five more on the next post. I bet the suspense is gonna kill you right? OK, here goes:

1. Round two
The easiest way to gauge short-term success is if the interviewer asks you to return for another round of interviews. If he wasn't interested, he would be evasive as whether or not you could expect to hear back from someone. The hiring manager does not want to waste any more time interviewing you if you are not a fit.

2. References please
Why would you be asked for references unless someone cared to learn more about you? A firm will not spend the time to do background checks and talk with references if you are out of the candidate pool.Provide specific, knowledgeable references and bring those to the interview.

3. Meet the team
It's a good sign when the hiring manager chooses to introduce you to the team on the spot, or mentions that there are some people she would like you to meet. If she wasn't interested, again, she wouldn't take the time in making acquaintances.

Leaders are protective of their team and will not risk introducing a candidate if they are not a potential fit to join the organization.Remember that the hiring manager may request feedback from the team on their first impressions of you, so be nice to anyone you meet.

4. What are the transition steps?
When a company is interested in you, you'll be asked things like the amount of time needed for a transition or what non-competes might be in place. If the hiring manager is interested in moving forward with an offer, they will typically ask what steps need to be taken for your departure from your current organization so that you can assume the new role.

5. Dollars and sense
Depending on what stage of the interview process you're in, it could be a good thing if you're asked about salary expectations. It demonstrates that the company might be willing to invest in you. Be careful, we will go over this later, but salary questions need to be handled cautiously. You can have the absolute best interview ever and be dead in the water if you answer this question incorrectly. The question comes in two forms: 'What are your salary expectations?' or 'What is your current compensation?' Arrive at any interview with current compensation details written down for your own reference -- if asked -- and have an idea of how you will answer this question.

These are the first five, I will get the next five posted soon.