Category Archives: Interview Rockstar

Feb 13 Comments comments
Careerist, Interview Rockstar

4 Common Job Interview Mishaps and How To Recover From Them

Hi! Welcome to Twenty Set. Here you will find 4-5 insightful new articles each week about personal and professional development. I write candidly from personal experience.

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People get so nervous during job interviews because the belief is that one false move will ruin a job prospect.  Here’s a reality check: people don’t lose out on jobs over one job interview mishap.  Instead, they lose out because they allow their mistake to shatter their confidence, thus doing poorly throughout the entire rest of the interview.  But any time you put yourself out there you are vulnerable to making mistakes; why not accept that you might make a mistake on your interview and learn how to handle it instead?  Here are four common job interview mishaps, complete with ideas on how to recover from them:

Tardiness

Should have:  Arrived 10 minutes early.

Mishap: Missed your train or got stuck in traffic - arrived 10 minutes late.

Recovery: A simple apology - “Sorry to keep you waiting.”  No need to explain why you’re late as it’s probably due to your own poor planning in some way.  I did this myself on an interview, and while the recruiter was irritated, I still had a great interview with the people hiring.

Dress Code

Should have: Worn a suit.  Even if your prospective employer’s website says the dress code is casual.  Even if you’re a woman.  Other tips: Schedule a haircut a week or two before job interviews (so it has time to grow out a little).  Wear great shoes.  For women, add some makeup and subtle jewelry.

Mishap: Wore something other than described above.

Recovery: Don’t make a joke about your attire or draw attention to it in any way, and don’t lose confidence because of it.  No (good) employer is going to overlook you for a job because of your wardrobe choices as long as you are impressive otherwise - so make it up to them with your talent and experience.  (And buy yourself a suit afterwards.)

Mistakes on Your Resume

Should have: Proofread your resume before sending it out, or asked others to proofread for you.

Mishap: You put something incorrect on your resume.  When I was searching for my last job, I updated my college resume to reflect my professional experience.  Big mistake - I left some undergraduate language classes on there, which included intermediate Japanese and Spanish, neither of which I can speak at an intermediate level.  Imagine my surprise when one of my interviewers asked me his last question… in Japanese.

Recovery: Complete transparency.  Explain you made a mistake on the resume and how/why you made it without sounding like an excuse-maker.  Own up and apologize for the confusion.  Don’t write off the interview at that point - I still received a job offer because I showed high integrity.

Confessing Too Much

Should have:  Learned to edit yourself in professional situations.

Mishap: Gave too much information, answered a question too honestly (ie: “My biggest weakness is that I’m lazy”), or shared an inappropriate personal story.

Recovery: Do not say, “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this.”  That sets off warning bells in the interviewer’s mind.  Instead, keep your confidence high.  If you realize you’re giving away to much, try to spin the tables by explaining how the experience changed you or made you a stronger person.  When you’ve said too much to spin it, stop talking - mid-sentence even - and switch gears.  Try “That example isn’t the best; here’s another one.”

One of the most important skills to have for any job is adaptability, so knowing how to handle mistakes in an interview is essential to landing a job.

Do you have any interview horror stories?  I’d love to hear from you.

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Jan 03 Comments comments
Careerist, Interview Rockstar

Send Thank You Cards, Not Emails

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It’s important to say thank you to your interviewers, whether interviewing for a job, grad school, or anything else.  You probably already knew that, but my guess is you’re still struggling with whether you should send a thank you through snail mail or email.  Even if you are sure of your answer, this article might make you question everything you’ve been told.

The Great Debate 

With the fast-paced environments of businesses and the amount of technology available, email should be embraced as a common communication tool that is here to stay.  Email is the newest and most common way of communicating in corporate organizations, but the boundary of when email becomes too casual or overused is still up for debate.

Why Email Is Better 

Because of the speed at which hiring decisions are made, many career experts say email is the way to go with thank you letters.  The biggest advantage to sending an e-mail is same-day delivery.  Some companies interview in the morning and discuss the hiring decision that afternoon.  Turnaround is fast for competitive companies, so same-day delivery is essential if you want to make any impression with your thank you.

A Stronger Argument for Sending a Card 

I said same-day delivery is the biggest advantage of sending a thank you through email, but the truth is I couldn’t think of any other reasons someone would be compelled to do so.  Email is usually an acceptable form of sending thanks, but is it an effective one?  Here are some reasons I think sending a card is a better option:

  • Nothing says personal like handwriting - personal is effective and stands out, while email is… just email.  We get email all day every day, but aside from birthdays and holidays, we rarely get cards.
  • Cards get opened, Emails go unread - People love mail.  People don’t love extra stuff in their inbox when it’s already overflowing with requests and fires to put out.  What is the likelihood your email will make it past the flames?
  • Emails are easy to forward… to half the company - you think I’m kidding, but I’ve had some pretty funny ones forwarded to me.  Write a lame thank you email and lessen your chances of interviewing with any other managers in the company.  Write a lame card, and… at least the packaging is nice.

Best of Both Worlds - prepare your thank you cards ahead of time.

The recruiter conducting your interview can usually give you the names of the interviewers.  Write these out on envelopes ahead of time, and while you’re at it, write the first halves of your thank you cards too.  After the interviews, ask the recruiter how to deliver the thank you cards later that day.  Then find a nice bench or cafe and finish your thank you cards right then, refering to conversation points for each interviewer to personalize the notes.  When completed, take your cards back to the company and leave them with the front desk assistant or the recruiter.

This way, you get the same benefits of timely delivery while also outshining all your competition and reiterating your interest in the job.

 What do you think?  Do you prefer email or snail mail when sending/receiving thank you notes?  I’m interested to hear other’s viewpoints on this matter.

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